Following is the prepared text from Bishop Olmsted’s homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent.

Not in the flesh but the Spirit

March 21, 2021

“…you are not in the flesh; on the contrary you are in the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom 8:9).

These words of St. Paul tie together all the Sacred Readings today. They describe how Jesus transforms our lives completely when we surrender to Him through faith. They tell us who disciples of Christ become: we are no longer “in the flesh” no longer alienated from God, no longer distant from Him. Quite the opposite, every day and every place, God draws near to us as a loving Father. At the moment of Baptism, when we renounce Satan, profess our faith in God and are washed clean of our sins, we are rescued from the powers of darkness, freed from bondage to “the world, the flesh and the devil,” filled with the Holy Spirit and made beloved children of God. All our Sacred Readings today speak of this wondrous blessing.

In our First Reading, Ezekiel (Cf. Ezek 37:12f) prophesied the impact that would happen at Baptism: “O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them…Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my Spirit in you that you may live.” This prophecy of Ezekiel was fulfilled when Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb. After being buried for four days, Lazarus was restored to life when Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” At once, the dead man came out, still tied hand and foot with burial bands. Then, Jesus said, “Untie him and let him go.”

Let us savor these words in our hearts. For they tell us of the freedom that Jesus gives at Baptism and make clear what He wishes to say and do for everyone who gets tangled up by addictions and bound like a slave in sin. How great is the desire of Jesus to free us from the bonds of sin and restore us to new life in Him.

When the merciful love of Jesus, conquering the powers of darkness, freed Lazarus from the bonds of death and restored him to life, many who witnessed this miracle began to believe in Jesus as Lord and decided to follow the example of Jesus’ friends. They also wanted to experience the fulfillment of Christ’s words, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” The miraculous new life that Lazarus experienced is what Jesus will bestow on our catechumens in two weeks as they are baptized at the Easter Vigil. The Lord, in the words prophesied by Ezekiel, will say to them (37:13), “O my people! I will put my Spirit in you that you may live;” and (Ezek 36:26), “A new heart I will give you.” Never let us forget this promise. God promises to replace hearts of stone with hearts made new in the Holy Spirit.

But how does the Holy Spirit work in our hearts? Not by force but by attraction. He does not drive us by threats but draws us by love. He invites us to  surrender in filial trust to God and allow His Spirit to make us new within, for wherever God is present, there is kindness and mercy. The depth of God’s love that draws us, His mercy that attracts us like a magnet, is revealed in the tears of Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb: “Jesus wept.” Jn 11:35   Seeing His tears, the people said, “See how He loved him.” His tears reveal something far greater than words can express; they point forward to the moment when Jesus redeemed the world on the Cross and cried out “It is finished!” “Consumatum est.” At that moment, a sword pierced His heart, and immediately blood and water flowed forth, symbols of the new life we receive in the Sacraments, especially Baptism and the Eucharist.

Jesus did far more than restore the earthly life of Lazarus; He revealed a truth that His forthcoming death and Resurrection would bring into our world: the triumph of His mercy over sin and death. He pointed forward to the day that St. Paul would write: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

The Letter to the Hebrew (5:7) tells us that Jesus’ tears were part and parcel of His prayer as the great High Priest of the New Covenant: “In the days when He was in the flesh, Jesus offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears…and He was heard because of His reverence. Son those He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered, and when He was made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Through His obedience, Jesus reversed the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Just as sin caused suffering and death to enter history, Jesus’ obedience restored life (Lk 22:42), “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.”

By becoming one with us in the flesh, Jesus entered every dimension of human life, including suffering and death, in order to conquer them from within and transform them into sacrificial love. The tears of Jesus confirm the truth of what He taught in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Mt 5:3

In His friendship with Lazarus, we see the love of Christ as both God and man. “For as true man, He wept for Lazarus His friend and as eternal God raised Him from the tomb.”

This is who Jesus was for Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary, and who He is today for you and me. As St. Paul wrote to the Romans (vs 8:9), “…you are not in the flesh; on the contrary you are in the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Rom 8:9   At every Eucharistic sacrifice, we have the privilege of hearing Him say to us what He said to the Twelve at the Last Supper (John 15:9ff), “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love…”