March 22, 2026 Fifth Sunday of Lent Passion Sunday

March 22, 2026

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Passion Sunday

There’s an old story about Sister Mary Margaret, who worked as a visiting nurse. It was back in the day when nuns still wore habits. One day, the good Sister was driving around visiting homebound patients when she ran out of gas, just across the street from a gas station. She walked over and asked the attendant if he had a gas can she could borrow.

“Sorry, Sister,” he said. “Some guy was here yesterday with the same problem. We loaned him our gas can and never got it back.”

The gas was so near and yet so far. But necessity is the mother superior of invention, and Sister Mary Margaret came up with a creative solution. The sister opened up the trunk of her car and pulled out an old-fashioned metal bedpan. It even had a spout at one end. She brought it across the street, paid the attendant to fill it up, then slowly made her way back across, carrying it carefully in front of her like an offering plate.

She was tilting the pan to pour the gas in the tank when a local Protestant minister pulled into the gas station. He stared out his car window in astonishment. It was a rare sight — a nun in full habit, emptying a bedpan into the gas tank of a car.

The minister turned to the gas station attendant and said, “If that car starts, I’m turning Catholic!”

Now that would have been a miracle! And miracle stories are one of the classic techniques used by the Gospel writers to spread the good news.

This is especially true for John. The first dozen or so chapters of his Gospel deliver one miracle story after another.

Only John never uses the word “miracle.” The word never occurs in his Gospel at all. Instead, he speaks of “signs.” Each of those signs is based on something significant Jesus has done, something that helps answer the question of who he really is. And the greatest “sign” story John tells is his account of the raising of Lazarus.

The text begins, “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany. …” He is a close friend of Jesus, as are his two sisters, Mary and Martha.

This is no ordinary illness Lazarus has. He is in mortal peril. Fearing for their brother’s life, Mary and Martha send Jesus an urgent message: “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

He whom you love — the two sisters are counting on Jesus’ friendship.

But the Lord doesn’t heed their urgent call. He doesn’t rush right over. He takes his time finishing up what he is doing. By the time he arrives at the outskirts of Bethany, several days have passed.

He turns to his disciples and announces, “Lazarus is dead.” It is unclear how he knows it. Just at that moment, they see Martha walking purposefully in their direction.

She gives Jesus a piece of her mind. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

If you have ever been in a home where someone has died before their time, then you know how emotionally raw and chaotic the scene can be. In accordance with Jewish law, Lazarus’ body was placed in the tomb immediately, but the prayers for the dead have brought little comfort. Emotions are still raw. The rhythmic wailing of mourners punctures the air. The pain is very real.

The next thing Martha says shows what a powerful woman of faith she is. “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” What could she mean?

Jesus says, “Your brother will rise again.”

His statement seems snarky and callous. Of course he’ll rise again, they think. Everybody knows God will raise up the righteous dead on the last day.

What Jesus says next are the most important words in the whole story, and some of the most important in all the New Testament: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha’s response is extraordinary. In that moment, she proves herself to be one of the first apostles by what she confesses about him. “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world,”

Take note of this: Martha makes that proclamation even before Jesus performs his mighty sign. She speaks while her brother is still dead.

Martha sends word to her sister Mary, who likewise comes out of the village to meet him. Trailing behind her are all the people who have been sitting shiva back at their house -  the week-long, intensive mourning period in Judaism for first-degree relatives that begins immediately after the burial She offers the same rebuke, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

But Mary isn’t like her sister. She doesn’t stare back at Jesus in steely defiance. She collapses at his feet in a heap of despair. Seeing the tears on her face, and on the faces of everyone else, Jesus is “greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.”

Then comes the shortest verse in the New Testament: “Jesus wept.”

Jesus continues to be visibly upset. As they arrive at Lazarus’ tomb, John tells us he’s still “greatly disturbed.” He orders them to take away the stone from the entrance to the cave.

The tomb is small, just a hole cut into the rock, opening into a small chamber within. According to burial practices of the day, bodies were laid inside rough-cut stone tombs like this for a number of months, until the flesh decayed. The bones would then be removed and placed into a stone box called an ossuary, or bone box. The tomb would then be reused for someone else.

There was no embalming, no concrete vault and no preservation of the body. Everyone expected that the only thing that would ever happen behind that stone was decay — and, in that hot climate, it would proceed rapidly. That is the reason for Martha’s objection to Jesus’ command to remove the stone. “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” A few old-timers may remember the glee with which Sunday school kids of years past would receive those ultimate gross-out words from the King James Version: “Lord, by this time he stinketh.” Those humorous words seem to convey the situation more directly.

But Martha’s objection is about more than a pungent odor. Jesus is proposing they put aside the ritual-cleanliness taboos of their culture and breach a barrier that few faithful Jews would ever imagine crossing — the entrance to a tomb, the barrier between life and death.

The heavy stone symbolizes the firmness of that unbreachable barrier. Now that Lazarus’ body has been placed inside and the stone rolled across the entrance, his sisters are quite certain they will never see him again. In the ordinary course of events, only his bones will remain the next time the stone is moved many months later.

But Jesus is audacious enough to ignore that boundary. When he calls Lazarus by name — and the once-dead man comes stumbling out of the tomb bound up like a mummy in his burial-cloths like some modern day horror movie — everyone who sees it knows they have witnessed something truly extraordinary. It’s a mighty sign indeed, a sign of new life such as they never imagined!

Finally, there is the gracious instruction Jesus gives to the crowd as they’re staring, slack-jawed, in disbelief: “Unbind him and let him go.” With those words, Jesus calls the church into existence to do what the church does best — act as a community of the faithful to unbind people. We seek to unbind people from everything that belongs to the realm of death, to release them from everything that holds them back and keeps them from realizing the fullness of life that God intends for us all.

“Unbind them and let them go” is perhaps the oldest mission statement of this and every Christian church.

When Jesus gives the command to roll away the stone and calls Lazarus out by name, he’s reversing the time-honored order of things. To the consternation of all who hear his words, he is raising the possibility that the pathway into that tomb is not one-way. And when those people see Lazarus come stumbling out — and he is probably just as surprised as they are about what has happened to him — they realize they are witnessing a wondrous sign indeed!

We must be careful what we call this sign. What Lazarus experiences in the Gospel story is not resurrection. Instead, the miracle is generally referred to as “the raising of Lazarus.”

We could just as well call it his resuscitation, because that’s really what it is. Even though four long days have elapsed, and even though his body “stinketh,” Jesus brings him back to life. Lazarus is restored to home and family, and — so far as we know — he lives out a normal human lifespan. We do not know the age of Lazarus when Jesus resuscitated him. Jesus bought him 10, 20, maybe 30 more years of living. Lazarus undoubtedly dies again at the end of that time.

This is not the same thing that will soon happen to Jesus, the wonder we celebrate on Easter Day. What happens to our Lord is accurately called resurrection. When Jesus emerges from a similar tomb behind a similar large stone, he has not returned to die again one day. From that day forward, Jesus is living a wholly new sort of life, a resurrected life. An eternal life.

The apostle Paul refers to him as “the firstfruits of those who have died” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus’ resurrected life is the first sign of a rich harvest, promised by God to all who trust in him, and who — by his redeeming grace — are judged worthy.

While the tomb of Jesus — like any other first-century, rock-hewn tomb — had only one door, there is no biblical evidence he passed through that doorway on his way back into this world. None of the Gospel writers tell of any witnesses who may have seen him actually walk out. According to the New Testament, the resurrected Jesus appears to many different people in many different places, often unexpectedly. On one occasion, he shows up in a room filled with his disciples, a room with locked doors.

When, in the Bible, the Angel comes to roll the stone away, this is not happening to let Jesus out. In all likelihood he’s already out — and he never needed the stone rolled away to do so. The real reason the Angel rolls the stone away is so the Easter witnesses — his disciples and even those terrified Roman guards — can see in. The stone is a barrier that gets in our way, not his.

Only two weeks remain between us and Easter. As we gather on that glorious day as God’s people, the words of our Lord from verses 25-26 provide comfort and strength:

“I am the resurrection and the life.Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?”

Martha did. Mary did. Lazarus did. And we can, too!

Let us pray.

In today’s gospel we read how Jesus rewarded the faith of Mary and Martha when he raised Lazarus from the dead.  We pray that we, too, can match their faith and look forward with confidence to sharing the joy of resurrection and reunion with our Heavenly Father. We pray to the Lord.               

We pray for all who mourn the loss of loved ones, that Christ , who wept at the death of Lazarus, may comfort them. We pray to the Lord.               

We pray for those who are sick, both at home and in hospital, that our loving and caring Father look down on them with compassion and grant them healing in their pain or distress. We pray to the Lord.               

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we pray for all those engaged in giving, in works of charity, and in penitential exercises, that their commitment, sacrifices and good intentions be recognized and rewarded by the Lord. We pray to the Lord.                       

We pray for peace in the midst of all the violence and tragedy affected by the conflicts in Middle East.  We pray that God will show mercy and support to those who suffer so unjustly and a swift end to this war. We pray to the Lord.      

We pray for new vocations to the priesthood. We pray to the Lord.

We pray that those with ample means, that they may be led to our parish where they will be inspired to give generously. We pray to the Lord.

For those on our parish prayer list, that they may receive swift answers to their needs and that they may find consolation through Christ’s healing presence. We pray to the Lord.

We bow our heads and remember in silence our own personal intentions and the intentions of those who have asked for our prayers (pause). We pray to the Lord.        

As we come to this place of prayer, O God, we come with distress as we survey the world around us, both near and far. We read of disorder in our communities -- homes are robbed, citizens are mugged, businesses are swindled, executives have absconded with millions and graffiti and garbage litter what once was lovely. Beyond our own communities, we learn with dismay of the violence in every corner of the world. Children kidnapped and held for ransom, hospitals bombed and the innocent slain. We learn of the destruction of communities and natural resources, all in the search for power and money. We feel overwhelmed at what is and hardly know where to begin to bring about change. Let us breathe deeply of your calming presence, Creator God and begin with you. Let us make pathways of peace in our own homes first, by being at peace with one another. Then let us look to our communities and each do one thing to make our communities better.

Lastly, Father God, you told us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. We’re still not sure we want to go that far. We had hoped that becoming followers in this day and age would be a more rational business; we had hoped to fit our religion in the spare corners of our lives. It wasn’t supposed to be an inconvenience. Yet you continue to call us, and we squirm uncomfortably. Teach us to respond gratefully to your invitation. Teach us to sacrifice — not only for others, but for you. And take what we can give right now, transforming it into an offering of our deepest selves. We ask all these things through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

God Love You +++

The Most Rev. Robert Winzens

Pastor – St. Francis Chapel

San Diego, CA.

As a small parish, we come to you all as beggars! Share with us this Christmas, a little sacrifice for the Christ Child. Your generous support also allows us to continue these important projects that fuel the movement of progressive Christianity. Thank you and God bless you! +++