This Gospel gives us a series of facts. Jesus knew before it happened that Lazarus would be terminally ill. He knew that Lazarus had died before anyone told him. He knew that the Father had planned things in this way so that it would lead to the glory to God. The most important and astonishing facts are that Jesus knew in prayer that the Father had given him the authorization to raise Lazarus from the dead even before He actually called him out of the grave; that He summoned the soul of Lazarus from the great beyond to re-enter his decomposing body and called him, body and soul, out of the grave; and, finally, the fact that Jesus, true man and true God, had power and authority over death and the dead. These are the chief facts of the case.

We hear of various responses to these facts. There is the unadulterated faith of Martha and Mary in Jesus as the resurrection and the life. There is the faith of the bystanders in response to this marvellous deed of Jesus. There are those who witness it but remain unconvinced, uncertain. And there are those who witness it but refuse to believe in Jesus. These responses are the same today as they were at the time, because this Gospel is itself still alive and active today. We may not see the historical event itself, but the Gospel makes it present to us as truly as if we had been there. Jesus still calls Lazarus out of the tomb, and he is still coming out of the tomb. The Gospel is not just, nor primarily, a record of the past, but the living power of Christ and the Holy Spirit challenging us to take our position here and now towards the Lord.

In terms of Scrutiny Sunday n.3, the Gospel raises some questions for our RCIA candidates, and indeed all of us, to consider.

First, and without morbidly dwelling on it, do I truly face the reality that I will die. Do I truly realise and accept that I am mortal, that the endgame of my human reality on this earth is eventually death and the grave? How am I, how will I prepare for my death? Have I given serious thought to what comes after my death? Do I even believe there is an afterlife of some sort?

Second, what solutions have human beings given to the mystery of death? Enjoy life while you can, as the Epicureans say? Ignore death and live as fulfilling a life as you can, as humanism says? The Buddhist teaching of the constant cycle of life, death and rebirth driven by karma? The teaching of nihilism which says that life is inherently meaningless and without objective value, so death is a release, but a release into nothingness?

Third, do I truly believe that Jesus died for me and rose again for me, so that my death will lead to resurrection by Him? Do I believe that He will raise all humanity from the dead in the body on the last day of human history for judgment? Does this power of Jesus scare me or fill me with hope? As Jesus summoned the soul of Lazarus from the beyond to resume residence in his mortal flesh, do I believe that when I die, Jesus will take my soul to Himself, to dwell in some beautiful and mysterious way in Him, until the Day of Resurrection comes?

Fourth, if I can face serenely my own mortality and my own death, the departure of my soul to Christ and my destiny to resurrection in the body by Christ’s power, what does that mean about how I now live my life, my loves, my sufferings, my hopes and dreams? If Christ is my destiny, where is He now in my life? What role doesHe have, should He have? What will I do to let Him assume that role?

Fifth, am I among the uncertain, the cynical or even those who reject Christ, if not completely, then to some extent, because there are things in my life that I do not want to surrender to his Lordship, to His sovereignty over me? And if that is so, is it a realistic or even rational stance to adopt in view of the fact that He will be my Judge, albeit merciful?

Jesus knew Lazarus personally and loved him as a friend. Raising him from the dead, Jesus associated Lazarus with His own mission to show that the power of God’s kingdom had arrived in Jesus. It was the miracle which would clinch the final decision of the Jewish leaders to arrest and kill Jesus. It was the herald of the even greater and unsurpassable miracle of Jesus’ own resurrection from the grave. It is very moving to hear how Jesus wept for his friend, and how deeply disturbed he was as the Son of God in the face of this death, any death, all death.

Jesus knows personally each of you, our candidates, and each one of us, and desires to enjoy the love of friendship with us. If he teaches us His truth, it is only so that we will love Him all the more and learn ourselves how to grow in true love. You cannot love what or whom you don’t know. The RCIA course from beginning to end is not primarily about information in the head, but about the formation of the love of Christ in the heart through the information received. Christ wants to be there with us throughout our lives, drawing us to respond in total love to Him. He wants to be there as our life passes into dying and into death, for precious in His eyes is the death of His faithful. Friendship with Jesus opens up to us new vistas of understanding and of loving, which are simply impossible without Him. Given all this, perhaps I can pray to Him in words like these:

Lord Jesus, I believe with all my heart that you created me out of infinite love. I accept with joy that you call me to respond to You with all the love of my heart. I praise and thank You for giving me the incredible destiny of living and loving with you forever in the heart of the Most Holy Trinity and the communion of saints. I accept all that You have provided in love for my life: my body and soul, with all their faculties, the gifts of faith, hope and love, my call to belong to your Church, the family from which I have come, the people you have given me to love, the culture and language and point in history in which you have chosen to immerse me. I also thank you for the sufferings and challenges through which you purify and prepare my soul to love You more deeply and to free me from my sins and weaknesses. Even now, I accept with total trust in You, the circumstances and time of my death. I know You will be near me, weeping as You wept for Lazarus, and yet that You will take me exultantly to Yourself until the day You will call me and all people to come out of the grave, and to stand radiant, glorious and joyful with all who have ever loved You. Empty my heart of all fear, doubt and uncertainty, and let it be invaded by the love of Your own heart. Unbind me from the shackles of unbelief, lovelessness and despair, and let me long for the Day when You call me by name that I may be free for ever of sin and death. For I believe, I truly believe, that you are the Resurrection and the Life, the Son of the living God, the One Redeemer and Saviour of the human race.