Enter Into The Light
Last Monday, 20th March, was the official first day of spring. This marks the “spring equinox” in the Northern Hemisphere. The spring equinox occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south to north. It’s called the “celestial” equator because it’s an imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin words for “equal night”—aequus (equal) and nox (night). At the equinox, the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world.
What we all enjoy as we move into spring are the signs of new life; the early blossom on the trees, many of them showing new growth, daffodils and early flowers appearing in abundance.
In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus stands before the tomb where his friend Lazarus has been buried, and prays. After he has prayed, he cries in a loud voice, “Lazarus, here! Come out!” The dead man comes out, his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face. Jesus says to those around him, “Unbind him, let him go free.” Lazarus emerges from the darkness of the tomb and is brought back to life.
This reminds me of the words in Isaiah:
Thus says the Lord “I will restore the land and assign you the estates that lie waste. I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out’, to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’”
This is what Jesus is doing as he brings Lazarus from the darkness; so he brings us from darkness into life. Earlier in St John’s Gospel we read:
“for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves. At the sound of his voice, those who did good will rise again to life and those who did evil, to condemnation.”
We might feel that we are in the darkness of our own selfishness and sinfulness. We need to hear Jesus calling us from that darkness into the light of his love and compassion. He can take away all that binds us and keeps us prisoner. He is the one who sets us free.
This Sunday evening at Mass, those who are to be baptised at Easter will hear this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, by raising Lazarus from the dead you showed that you came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Free from the grasp of death those who await your life-giving sacraments and deliver them from the spirit of corruption. Through your Spirit who gives life, fill them with faith, hope and charity, that they may live with you always in the glory of your resurrection, for you are Lord for ever and ever.”
How can we hear the voice of Jesus calling us out of darkness and freeing us from what binds us?
One excellent way is to encounter the loving Jesus, friend of Lazarus and our friend, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this encounter we are healed and brought back to life. There are extra opportunities to celebrate this sacrament in these next two weeks. This coming Wednesday we have a Parish Reconciliation Service at which three priests will be present for individual confession. In our Holy Week handout, times of Reconciliation (Confession) are listed. Make the time to enter into the light and be set free.