Fifth Sunday of Lent

Martha says: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. It's the prayer of everyone who's ever felt abandoned by God. Where were you when it mattered?

Jesus doesn't explain his absence. He says: I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?

Then he goes to the tomb. Four days dead. The body stinks. Everyone tells him it's too late. He says: take away the stone. And he shouts: Lazarus, come out!

In your twenties, you might already have things that feel dead. A faith you abandoned in college. A relationship you buried. A version of yourself you gave up on. You've moved on. You've accepted it.

Jesus doesn't accept it. He stands at the mouth of the tomb - your tomb - and calls what's dead by name. He doesn't ask how long it's been. He doesn't check if it's too far gone. He commands life.

But notice: he tells the community to untie Lazarus and let him go. Resurrection requires hands. It's not just between you and God. You need people to roll the stone and cut the bands.

Paul says: if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he will give life to your mortal bodies. The resurrection isn't just future tense. It starts now.