Lent 5

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Jesus says in the Gospel today that “I am the resurrection and the life” and in another place it says “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.”  I want to focus on today one word that both these passages have in common the word “Life.” When I was a student I had a poster from Trainspotting a film from the early 1996 about people who took drugs.  The last phrase after going through many different situations was “Chose Life.” This always struck me as a positive statement.
But, many people are in dead end jobs where they are stuck and there life is just one long commute. And when they get home they are too tired to do anything. It is interesting that the BBC have done a poll where they saw where the jobs that gave people the best job satisfaction the worst was publicans and the best was being a priest or a vicar.
When people have no life then they can be in what Pope Francis says:  “perpetual lent without any hope of Easter.”
So who brings us life? Let us look at what is we said in the beginning that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. We have life through Jesus. He brings us life. We can gain life by knowing Jesus and knowing that we are loved by him.

Knowing Jesus and doing his will, being aware of those who do not have the same sense of life, the lonely, the bereaved those in pain. To bring the life of Jesus to these people is very important. To unburden those who are weighed down by anxieties and self-doubt. To seek the last and the frightened to be aware of others pain. This may mean to weep with people who are going through a tough time. Jesus wept for his friend surely we can do the same. To help and for them to be important enough that we strive to be Christ to them. This is all that we can do and bring by knowing that Jesus is the way the truth and the life.


Yesterday morning I was giving a few hours to the assistants at the Larche community.  We focused on the story in Luke of Mary and Martha. It struck me when reflecting on this gospel passage it is a gospel about being in the present moment. Seeing Christ now in people. Seeing the beauty of life now. What we do now is important where we see Christ now is vital seeing and rejoicing in the life we have now is all we can do. Then when the time comes for our earthly life to come to an end we can live that everlasting life with Jesus.   

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