5th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A - March 22, 2026

5th Sunday of Lent – A 

March 22, 2026       8:30am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Resurrection on the Last Day 

 

Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, has died. 

 

His sister, Martha, says to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus replies: “Your brother will rise.”

 

And Martha responds with a sentence that is significant. She says: “I know he will rise in the resurrection, on the last day.”

 

Some Jews, in the centuries right before the birth of Christ, had come to believe in a resurrection. They believed that this would happen on the last day, at the end of time.  

 

So, Martha is asserting this belief. And her statement is significant because it sets up Jesus for declaring something dramatically new.   

 

“I am the resurrection…”

 

Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

 

Notice that Jesus says: “I am” – not I will be “the resurrection.” This means that resurrection is a present reality, and not only something in the future.  

 

And also notice that Jesus says: “I am.” This is dramatic because it means that resurrection is in some way not just a belief for the future, but it is a person in the present.

 

So, resurrection happens now through a relationship with Jesus in the present. This is why Jesus says: “Whoever believe in me, even if they die, will live.” 

 

Jesus invites us to believe in him and then to live out of this relationship so as to live in resurrected life right now. The idea is that Jesus calls Lazarus and us out of the tombs we are in right now. 

 

Our Tombs  

 

For example, Jesus gently calls us out of our tomb of grief and loss. 

 

He knows what it is like to be abandoned and to feel the loss of those closest to him. He walks with us in that experience and assures us that he is always with us. 

 

He offers himself as our companion especially in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. He calls us, as we are able to do it, to come out of the tomb of grief and back into the current of life that God must still want for us. 

 

Jesus calls us out of the tomb of anxiety and worry.

 

He paints that touching and powerful image: “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they?

 

“Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan?” He calls us out of the tomb of worry and anxiety and into a trusting relationship with God.

 

Then Jesus calls us out of the tomb of guilt and shame.

 

We may be burdened with guilt for something we have done or crippled in shame about who we are. Remember the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman that we heard here just two weeks ago.

 

She had a sordid past and felt guilty and ashamed. And yet Jesus takes her where she is and she emerges with a renewed sense of worth and dignity.   

 

One last example: Jesus may be calling us out of the tomb of self-absorption.

 

Self-absorption means that I am thinking only about myself and my concerns. I may not even be able to relate to the world or viewpoint or feelings of others.

 

Jesus calls us out of this tomb of self-absorption by teaching us the balance of loving others as we love ourselves. He brings us to the awareness that our true happiness is connected with the well-being of others.

 

“Do you believe?”

 

So, the real issue today is the question that Jesus asks Martha: “Do you believe this?” 

 

“Do you believe that I am the resurrection – that “I am the resurrection”? If we do, then he can raise us up and help us out of the tombs we are in right now.

4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A - March 15, 2026

 4th Sunday of Lent – A 

March 15, 2026       11am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

I Am Nameless

 

Did you notice that the gospel writer, Saint John, never tells you my name?

 

In the entire story that you just heard, John only refers to me as “a man blind from birth.”  He never uses my name.

 

I want to tell you why he doesn’t but first, I want to make two observations about what happens here.  After all, I’m the one at the center of the story, so I really experienced what happened.  

 

Observation 1: Seeing Spiritually 

 

First, did you notice that Jesus says that my blindness is not due to any sin, either my parents’ sin or my sin?

 

It just happened.  Period.

 

So, you are probably not responsible for any physical blindness.  But you may be, in fact you and all of us are probably responsible for spiritual blindness in ourselves.  

 

When I look in this story at my religious leaders and my neighbors and even my parents, I think they are afraid: afraid that they will have to change the way they think about Jesus, or afraid that their status will be threatened, or afraid of what others will think about them. That’s why they are unable to see and to say that Jesus healed me.

 

They remain spiritually blind and they are responsible for that. So, please don’t let that happen to you. 

 

Maybe you are afraid that if you really listen to Jesus, you will have to face up to some habit in your life, like talking negatively about people or a substance abuse problem. Or maybe you are afraid that you will have to deal with your part of a marriage problem.  

 

You know, this sort of spiritual blindness diminishes who you are and doesn’t make you feel any better about yourself. Jesus is so insightful when he says: “I came into this world so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” 

 

What Jesus means is: don’t be so certain that you are really seeing, because then you may end up spiritually blind. Instead, admit that you are blind to some extent, and then allow Jesus to help you to see – spiritually.

 

Observation 2: Seeing More

 

And that takes me to my other observation: Did you notice that I did not see fully all at once?

 

Oh yes, I instantly got my eyesight, my physical sight. But my spiritual sight – that was another thing.

 

At first, I saw Jesus as just another person; then as a prophet; then as one sent from God; then as the Son of Man or Messiah; and finally, as the Lord or God himself. It took me a while to see him for all that he is.

 

There’s a good lesson here for you. You need to grow in your faith – to keep seeing more and more and never stop growing.

 

So, don’t get stuck into thinking that your understanding of God or of the Mass or of Catholic traditions has to be the way it was when you were a kid. Keep your mind and your eyes open and trying to see more.

 

I’m telling you: it’s a lot more exciting to keep growing and to keep seeing more and more. And it will lead you, as it led me, to a much fuller relationship with Jesus – and that means with God.

 

Why I Am Nameless

 

Okay! I just had to make these observations about 1) seeing spiritually and 2) seeing more and more.

 

Now, I want to tell you why John never tells you my name. He does not do this because he wants each of you – each of you – to realize that you are me.

 

So, you – Mary, Michael, Rita, Robert – you are the “man blind from birth.” Jesus also wants to give you sight, and he will do this 1) if you are willing to admit that you may be spiritually blind and that you want spiritual vision and 2) if you are willing to keep trying to see more and more for as long as you live.