CATALYST
- Mar 18
- 1 min read
The Gospel of John can be divided into the Book of Signs (John 1-12) and the Book of Glory (John 13-21).
The first sign is given at Cana (John 2). The last sign is given at Bethany (John 11).
We witness ‘water turned into wine,’ and now ‘death put to death.’ Lazarus has been dead for four days, but now finds himself resuscitated:
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
The event is a catalyst.
The religious authorities have had enough. They want Jesus dead. They hate him with a passion. He dies in utter disgrace on a gibbet, brutally scourged by maniacs.
But his death is different. The evangelists choose their language carefully:
Jesus ‘lays down his life.’
Jesus lets himself be ‘handed over.’
It was Leo the Great (400-460) who proclaimed:
Let happen in your hearts what is going to happen to your bodies.
We remind ourselves that the most important day in our life is the day of our death.
Why?
Because we will meet Jesus who will resurrect us into himself.
AMEN.
