Hope in the Resurrection (John 11:17-27)

All Soul's Day & All Saint's Day (A)

Wis 3:1-9; Rom 5:5-11; Mt 5:1-12a; Jn 11:17-27

01-02 November 2023

Hope in the Resurrection

On the Feast of all saints, we honor all the saints. And on the feast of all Souls, we pray for the souls of all those who have died, especially all our near and dear ones. The faith journey of our dear saints gives us courage to persevere still for the ever-lasting life with God, and that they make efficacious prayers for our dearest departed ones. The liturgy of the day presents us with different Biblical readings. And we want to focus on our faith and belief in the resurrection of the dead. Jesus promises us eternal life with the Triune God. The Gospel story of the raising of Lazarus presents us many reflective insights about our faith. 

When Lazarus had fallen ill, his sisters Martha and Mary had sent word to Jesus. On his arrival at Bethany, he found that Lazarus was dead and had been buried for four days. The crying Martha said to Jesus that if he had been there, his brother Lazarus would not have died. Jesus promised that Lazarus would rise from the dead. And Martha affirms her belief that there will be resurrection of the dead in the last days. 

Jesus promises much more - that he himself is the Resurrection and the life for all those who believe in him. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God – alpha and omega. This is the profession of faith we continue to make, and it is the promise on which we base our hope for eternal life for ourselves and for all those who have died. This is the faith that the martyrs and saints held strong and offered their lives, shed their blood for Christ. They believed in his death and Resurrection. He has conquered death for all those who believe in him. Whether cremated and the ashes been spread in the sea or buried, our dearest departed people will be risen on the last day to receive judgement. God will raise all of them on that day as he raised the dead with their dry bones to life – that we read in the book of Ezekiel 37: 1-10. “Nothing is impossible for God”.

We believe that we continue to share a relationship with those who have died seeking even ardent intercessory prayers of our dearest saints. When we pray for the souls of the faithful departed, we are praying for those whose souls are journeying through purgatory. They are preparing for eternal life in heaven. They are like a plant in our garden that is fallen on the ground looking for some support of a stick. We believe that our prayers would be like that of a stick giving support to the fallen plant. Our prayers will help them to speed up their journey to eternal life with God in heaven. Martha professed her faith acknowledging that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God. And in the same way “Blessed are YOU merciful: for YOU shall obtain mercy. Blessed are YOU the pure in heart: for YOU shall see God”.