1993
The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
9
entary --
The resurrection of Lazarus: Jesus as author of life
ml commentary for
1993, Fifth Sunday of
Cycle A: John 11:1-45.
Once more Jesus took refuge
I his enemies to escape arrest
pe the fate of John tile
disciples we
rare in the
east of the Jordan
'Where both he and John the
at one time conducted
t Scorn to have been compet-
d ministries. A mes-
r arrives from two sisters,
and Mary, who lived at
was west of the
and close to Jerusalem. Their brother
Was sick. Jesus did not rush to Bethany
ited two days. Then he announced to his
that they were returning to Judea, west
, The disciples knew of the attempts
esus life and protested. Jesus tells them not
Then he told them that Lazarus had
would make the trip. A worried
"Let's go die with Jesus."
Jesus gets to Bethany Lazarus
in the tomb four days. The time is ira-
cause an opinion of that time was that
d around the body for three
death. After that there was no hope of
There could be no loopholes in this mira-
they approach the city of Bethany,
eats Martha first. There is a dialogue be-
Jesus. She makes a profession of
"I believe that you are the Christ,
1 of God, who is coming into the world."
comes Mary's turn, another dialogue.
BJN FATHER
DILGER
COLUMNIST
When she meets Jesus she falls at
his feet. In both the Gospels of
Luke and John Mary either sits at
Jesus' feet or falls on her face at
his feet. That seems to be her
place. Martha is always active.
Mary, like Martha earlier, seems
to scold Jesus for being late. Jesus
shows deep emotion. The Greek
verb seems to describe anger. He
asks for the location of the tomb.
They go to the tomb where Jesus
orders the stone over the entrance
removed. They object that Lazarus
already stinks. Jesus tells them
they are about to see the glory of
God.
Jesus prays to his Father who always hears
him. Within the prayer he says that the prayer is
not because it is needed but for the benefit of tile
many friends and relatives of the family who are
standing by. Loudly he calls: "Lazarus] Come
out!" Lazarus, who is wrapped hand and foot
like a mummy, shuffles out. Jesus orders them to
untie him and let him go. Then John adds what
he considers the real result. There is good news
and bad news. The good news is that many Jews
believed in Jesus because of the miracle. The bad
news: spies went to report to the religious au-
thorities what had happened.
John is the only gospel that records this stu-
pendous miracle. The others know nothing about
it. In the other three gospels the immediate cause
of Jesus' arrest is his riot in the temple. John puts
this riot or cleansing at the beginning of Jesus'
ministry to make room for the story of the rest[r-
rection of Lazarus. For him this miracle is the
climax of seven miracles or, as John calls them,
"signs." They are signs because they signify
something much greater than the physical mira-
cle itself.
With most of the signs John adds a long dis-
course or sermon that explains what he wants
that miracle to mean or signify. In the feeding of
the multitude the sermon explains that Jesus'
teaching is the bread of life, that Jesus himself is
the bread of life. The curing of the paralytic both
in body and in spirit signified that Jesus has full
authority to bestow both spiritual and physical
health and to do so even on the Sabbath, a pre-
rogative of God only. The giving of sight to the
blind demonstrated Jesus to be the light of the
world. And finally, the resurrection of Lazarus
demonstrates and wraps up what has been im-
plied earlier in the gospel: Jesus is in total charge
of the final judgment. It is his power that calls
the dead back to life, not only physical life but
eternal life.
This is the third of three lengthy stories or
signs that were used in the ancient Church to in-
struct catechumens. We look within the story for
some connection with the baptism for which
they were preparing. It was their final exam.
They were to be baptized during the celebration
of Jesus' resurrection, Easter Sunday. The topic
was the resurrection of Jesus and his power to
raise them from the dead. The illustration of it
was the resurrection of Lazarus. At the end of the
explanation, a question: "Do you believe this?"
the same question asked of Martha by Jesus. The
answer: "You are the Christ, the Son of God, who
has come into this world." Thus the catechu-
mens responded in their final exam!
Other readings: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans
8:8-11.
ic groups join coalition urging universal health care
N (CNS)-
,concerned
care reform
• ranging coali-
personnel, in-
and health
urging Pres-
take swift ac-
Universal health coy-
not need to recite
about the grow-
of uninsured and
people," said a
to Clinton
more than 180 or-
do want to force-
our shared con-
the crucial ele-
care reform is
health coverage
Jrehensive benefits
cans," they
Signers of the letter in-
cluded the Catholic Health
Association of the United
States, the Jesuit-run Center
of Concern in Washington,
the Columban Fathers Justice
and Peace Office, the Na-
tional Office of Jesuit Social
Ministries, the National
Council of Catholic Women,
and Network, which is the
national Catholic social jus-
tice lobby.
Other signers with religious
ties were the American Jew-
ish Committee, American
Jewish Congress, B'nai B'rith
Women, Congress of National
Black Churches, Washington
office of the Episcopal
Church, National Council of
Jewish Women, Southern
Christian Leadership Confer-
ence, Unitian Universalist
Service Committee and
Arts
hn One 477-1532 ,ue
aM Gutzweiler
Delivery
S Riverside
Governor
422-9981
's Pharmacy
e Delivery
J(h- 413 Locust Street
"and JUdy Stratman
: 425-5293
PAUL'S
PHARMACY
Paul Mayer, Owner
2107 W. Franklin St.
425-4364
Plaza Pharmacy
Newburgh Plaza
Shopping.Center
Fast Prcdption Service
Ken and Rebecca Hacker
853-7141
Oak Hill Pharmacy
Prescription Specialists
Hwy. 62 and N. Welnbach Ave.
LARRY SCHULTHEIS, Prop.
425-4422
Women's League for Conser-
vative Judaism.
The ,joint ,letter was orga-
nized by Families USA, a
consumer group concerned
about health care costs,
which said each signing
group would contact the pres-
ident about its own specific
concerns regarding health
care.
"Our united message, how-
ever, is that each and every
American must be assured
that he or she can count on
having comprehensive health
care coverage," the letter said.
"Otherwise the reforms will
be deemed a failure."
Among the largest organi-
zations signing the letter were
the American Medical Asso-
ciation, the American Hospi -
tal Association, the Health In-
surance Association. of
America, the Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Association,
Blue Cross & Blue Shield As-
sociation, the Consumer Fed-
eration of America, Chil-
dren's Defense Fund,
Alzheimer's Association and
several major unions, includ-
ing the Service Employees In-
ternational Union and the
Steelworkers.
"Doctors, hospitals, insur-
ers and consumers may seem
like strange bedfellows on
health reform," said Ron Pol-
lack, executive director of
F ,amilies USA; "' : "" '":'; ",.-:.,) "
' But we come together-on: • ....
this key issue: the most cru ....
cial element of health reform r"
is guaranteeing comprehem
sire health coverage to all
Americans and doing it "
quickly," he added.
President Clinton has
named his wife, Hillary Rod-
ham Clinton, to head a task
force drawing up a compre-
hensive health care reform
plan. The task force hopes to
complete its work by late
spring.
Salvador archbishop condemns amnesty for war criminals
SAN SALVADOR (CNS) w
Archbishop Arturo Rivera
Damas of San Salvador said
an amnesty for war criminals
passed by E1 Salvador's con-
servative ruling party was a
maneuver to sweep 12 years
of atrocities under the rug.
The amnesty is "a desper-
ate government maneuver to
throw a blanket of forgetting
and, as such, impunity" over
the worst crimes of the civil
war, Archbishop Rivera
Damas said in a March 21
homily.
President Alfredo Cris-
tiani's ruling ARENA party
and its allies pushed the
blanket amnesty through the
Salvadoran legislature March
20, only five days after the
United Nations issued a re-
port on human rights atroci-
ties.
Those convicted of war
crimes are now expected to
walk free shortly. Among
them the five military men
convicted of raping and mur-
dering three U.S. nuns and a
lay worker in 1980.
The U.N. report reopened
the wounds left over from the
war, which ended last year
with a U.N.-brokered peace
accord signed 15 months ago.
On March 15, the U.N.-ap-
pointed Truth Commission
report said the army was
guilty of most of E1 Salvador's
war crimes.
The report blamed a string
of massacres on the army. De-
fense Minister Gen. Rene
Emilio Ponce was cited for
ordering the 1989 murder of
six Jesuit priests, their house-
keeper and her 15-year- old
daughter at Central American
University in San Salvador.
ARENA deputies and right-
wing groups have accused the
commission of trying to de-
stroy the armed forces,
ARENA's insistence in
pushing through an amnesty
was widely seen as an open
challenge to the U.N. spon-
sors of the Truth Commis-
sion, headed by former
Colombian president Belis-
ario Betancur.
"Some reject the (U.N.) re-
port. Others, unable to reject
it. take away its power with
other measures," Archbishop
Rivera Damas said.
The Truth Commission re-
port cited late army Maj.
Roberto D'Aubuisson,
ARENA's founder and still a
hero to its rank-and-ilia, for
ordering the murder of Arch-
bishop Oscar Remora in 1980
and as a mastermind of the
death squads that killed thou-
sands of suspected leftists in
the 1980s.
Among those to benefit
from the amnesty law were
Col. Guillermo Benavides and
Lt. Yusshy Mendoza, both
serving 30 years in prison for
their part in the Jesuit mur-
ders.
Rebels serving time for the
murder of four U.S. Marines
at a care in San-Salvador in
1985 and facing charges for
killing two downed U.S. air-
men in 1991 also were to be
