5th Sunday of Lent

by Fr. John Granato  |  03/22/2026  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

Today’s gospel reading is the raising of Lazarus. He is from Bethany and is the brother of Martha and Mary. It is at the tomb of Lazarus that St. John wrote the most moving line of Sacred Scripture. “Jesus wept.” The depth of his emotion, which he shows right before he raises Lazarus from the dead, shows a side of his humanity in the gospel that has many instances of showing his divinity.

Many scholars believe that the raising of Lazarus is St. John’s version of the Transfiguration, which St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke recall for us. W hereas in those gospels we see the glory of God in the dazzling white clothes of Jesus, in this account of Lazarus we see the glory of God in the shroud that encloses the body of Lazarus. Lazarus then becomes an icon of what will happen to all of us after our own deaths. Our body will be raised from the dead and be reunited with our soul in the presence of God in heaven. Many came to believe in Jesus because of his miracle of raising Lazarus so much that the Pharisees and other religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus and Lazarus to stop people from coming to believe in his name. Of course we know the story. Jesus was indeed crucified (a horrible and torturous death), but he conquered death in his own resurrection and many came to believe through the testimony of the apostles after Pentecost.

God bless