Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year A), March 13, 2005

BCP: Ezek. 37:1-3(4-10)11-14; Psalm 130; Rom. 6:16-23; John 11:(1-17)18-44

RCL: Ezek. 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Rom. 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

Death is a constant companion on our journey through life. Most of us live through the deaths of our grandparents and parents. Nearly half of us muddle through the death of our spouse. And all of us entertain intermittent thoughts of our own sure and certain demise.

Those who minister to the dying are well acquainted with the hopelessness that can overwhelm people in their final weeks and days. As death approaches, they sometimes become conscious of all the evil they’ve done in their lives. They can become obsessed with the people they’ve lied to and hurt. They might think obsessively about those of whom they’ve taken advantage. As any hospice worker can testify, the unforgiven sins with which people have lived are the sins with which they die. And that can be a frightening prospect.

Yet repentance is always available to us during this life. The sacrament of reconciliation assures us that God’s pardon is always available to us through the medium of others — through the forgiveness of those to whom we have done wrong, or in exceptional cases through a priest. The secret to peaceful dying lies in asking for and receiving forgiveness for our most pressing sins.

For those who have made genuine peace with their fellows and with their God, dying can be both peaceful and welcome. They appear to know, apparently through special revelation, that what will eventually become their own dry bones will ultimately have life in its fullness: “and the breath came into them, and they lived” (Ezek. 37:10). And all who sleep in peaceful death have the assurance of resurrection into the kingdom: “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,” promises Jesus our Lord (John 11:25b). And their life shall last forever.

Those who die in sin are the only ones who have reason to fear death. The rest of us shall know life. This is true because, as Paul puts it, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

Look It Up

How does Paul understand the nature of resurrected life? (1 Cor. 15:35-50)

Think About It

What are some of the pressing sins which, left unforgiven, can make death difficult and frightening? What can be done about those sins?

Next Sunday

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday (Year A), March 20, 2005

BCP: Isaiah 45:21-25 or Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22:1-21 or 22:1-11; Phil. 2:5-11; Matt. (26:36-75) 27:1-54 (55-66)

RCL: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Phil. 2:5-11; Matt. 26:14 — 27:66 or Matt. 27:11-54