30. Thursday after the IV Sunday of Lent:
The Death of Lazarus
Thursday of the IV week of Lent
“Our friend Lazarus sleeps” (John 11:11)
I. We call someone “Our friend” because of the numerous benefits and services they have rendered to us; therefore, we should not neglect them in their time of need.
“…Lazarus sleeps”: this is the reason we need to assist him. “A friend… becomes a brother in the time of misfortune” (Proverbs 17:17). In the words of Saint Augustine, he sleeps for the Lord; for men, who cannot raise him, he is dead.
The word sleep can be used to signify many things: natural sleep itself, negligence, the sleep of guilt, the rest of contemplation or future glory, and sometimes death, as Saint Paul says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Death is called sleep because of the hope of resurrection. For this reason, it is often referred to as “rest” since the time when Our Lord died and rose again: “I lay down and slept” (Psalm 3:6).
II. “but I will awaken him.” With this, Jesus implies that it is as easy for Him to raise Lazarus from the tomb as it is to wake someone from sleep. There is nothing surprising in this, for it is He who raises the dead and gives them life. That is why He said: “Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God” (John 5:28).
III. “let us go to him.” The mercy of God shines here; while men, in a state of sin and as the dead, cannot go to Him on their own, it is He who draws them, mercifully preceding them, as stated in the Scriptures: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3).
IV. “And when Jesus arrived, he found that he had already been in the tomb four days.” According to Saint Augustine, Lazarus, dead for four days, signifies the sinner held by the death of a quadruple sin: original sin, sin against natural law, actual sin against positive law, and actual sin against Gospel law and grace.
Alternatively, it can be said that the first day represents the sin of the heart, cf. “Cease to do evil; remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes” (Isaiah 1:16); the second, the sin of the tongue, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29); the third, the sin of deeds, about which Isaiah says, “Cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1:16); the fourth day represents the sin of bad habits.
In any way the text is presented, the Lord sometimes heals those who have been dead for four days, that is, those who transgress the law of the Gospel and are trapped in the habit of sin.
In John, XI
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
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30. Quinta-feira depois do IV domingo da Quaresma:
A morte de Lázaro
Quinta-feira da IV semana da Quaresma
«Nosso amigo Lázaro dorme» (Jo 11, 11)
I. Chamamos alguém de "Nosso amigo", por causa dos numerosos benefícios e serviços que nos prestou; é por isso que não devemos faltar-lhe na necessidade.
"...Lázaro dorme": essa a razão de precisarmos socorrê-lo. "Aquele que é amigo... torna-se um irmão no tempo da desventura" (Pr 17, 17). No dizer de santo Agostinho, ele dorme para o Senhor; para os homens, que não o podem ressuscitar, está morto.
A palavra sono pode ser utilizada para significar muitas coisas: o próprio sono natural, as negligências, o sono da culpa, o repouso da contemplação ou da glória futura e, por vezes, a morte, como diz São Paulo, "não queremos, irmãos, que estais na ignorância acerca dos que dormem, para que não vos entristeçais como os outros, que não têm esperança" (1 Ts 4, 13).
A morte é chamada de sono por causa da esperança da ressurreição. Por isso costuma-se chamá-la de "repouso" desde o tempo em que Nosso Senhor morreu e ressuscitou: "Deitei-me e adormeci" (Sl 3, 6).
II. "mas vou despertá-lo." Com isso, Jesus dá a entender que lhe é tão fácil ressuscitar Lázaro do túmulo quanto despertar alguém da cama. Nada que possa surpreender, pois é Ele quem suscita os mortos e os vivifica. Por isso disse: "Não vos admireis disso, porque virá tempo em que todos os que se encontram nos sepulcros escutarão a voz do Filho de Deus" (Jo 5, 28).
III. "vamos ter com ele". Brilha aqui a clemência de Deus, enquanto os homens, em estado de pecado e como mortos, não podem por si mesmos ir até Ele, é Ele quem os atrai, precedendo-lhes misericordiosamente, como aquilo das Escrituras: "Eu amei-te com amor eterno; por isso, mantive o meu favor para contigo" (Jr 31, 3).
IV. "Chegou, pois, Jesus, e encontrou-o já há quatro dias no sepulcro." Segundo santo Agostinho, Lázaro, morto há quatro dias, significa o pecador retido pela morte de um pecado quádruplo: o pecado original, o pecado contra a lei natural, o pecado atual contra a lei positiva, o pecado atual contra a lei do Evangelho e da graça.
Ou então, pode-se dizer que o primeiro dia é o pecado do coração, cf. "tirai de diante dos meus olhos a malícia dos vossos pensamentos" (Is 1, 16); o segundo, o pecado da língua,"Nenhuma palavra má saia da vossa boca" (Ef 4, 19); o terceiro, o pecado das obras, sobre o qual diz Isaías, "cessai de fazer o mal" (Is 1, 16); o quarto dia é o pecado dos hábitos maus.
De qualquer modo que se exponha o texto, o Senhor cura por vezes os mortos de quatro dias, isto é, os que transgridem a lei do Evangelho e estão presos no hábito do pecado.
In Joan, XI
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
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29. Wednesday after the IV Sunday of Lent: The Divine Friend
Wednesday after the IV Sunday of Lent
“Therefore his sisters sent to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’” (John 11:3)
Here there are three things to consider:
a) The first is that the friends of God sometimes suffer in body. Thus, it is not a sign of a lack of friendship with God to suffer in body. Eliphaz was wrong to say to Job, “Remember: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where were the upright ever destroyed?” (Job 4:7), as demonstrated by the sisters of Lazarus: “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” We read in the book of Proverbs (3:12): “For whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
b) The second is that they do not say, “Lord, come, heal him,” but simply state his condition: “behold, he is sick.” This means that it suffices to express our needs to a friend, without adding any request; for a friend, just as he seeks his own good and fights against his personal evils, will fight against the evils of his friend. And this is especially true of one who truly loves. The psalm says (144:20): “The Lord preserves all who love Him.”
c) The third is that the two sisters, desiring the healing of their sick brother, do not come personally to Christ, as the paralytic and the centurion did; and this is because of their confidence in Jesus Christ, due to the special love and familiarity that He will show them. And perhaps they were held back by grief, as St. John Chrysostom said, in accordance with what is stated in Ecclesiasticus (6:11): “If your friend perseveres in firmness, he will be to you as an equal; he will deal at ease with those of your household.”
In John, XI
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
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29. Quarta-feira depois do IV domingo da Quaresma: O amigo divino
Quarta-feira depois do IV domingo da Quaresma
«Mandaram, pois, suas irmãs dizer a Jesus: Senhor, eis que está enfermo aquele que tu amas» (Jo 11, 3 )
Aqui há três coisas que se deve considerar:
a) A primeira é que os amigos de Deus por vezes padecem no corpo. Assim, não é sinal de falta de amizade com Deus o padecermos no corpo. Elifaz errava ao dizer a Jó, Lembra-te: que inocente pereceu jamais? ou quando foram os justos destruídos? (Jó 4, 7), como provam as irmãs de Lázaro: Senhor, eis que está enfermo aquele que tu amas. Lemos no livros dos Provérbios (3, 12): O Senhor castiga aquele a quem ama, como um pai a seu filho querido.
b) A segunda é que elas não dizem: Senhor, vinde, curai-o, mas apenas expõem o seu estado: eis que está enfermo. O que significa que basta exprimir a um amigo as nossas necessidades, sem acrescenta pedido algum; pois um amigo, assim como procura seu próprio bem e combate seus males pessoais, combaterá os males de seu amigo. E isto é sobretudo verdadeiro de quem verdadeiramente ama. Diz o salmo (144, 20): O Senhor guarda todos os que o amam.
c) A terceira é que as duas irmãs, desejando a cura de seu irmão doente, não vêm pessoalmente ao Cristo, como o fizeram o paralítico e o centurião; e isso por causa de sua confiança em Jesus Cristo, em virtude do amor especial e da familiaridade que lhes testemunhará. E talvez estivessem detidas pela dor, como disse são João Cristóstomo, em conformidade com aquilo do Eclesiástico (6, 11): Se o teu amigo perseverar firme, será para ti como um igual, tratará à vontade com os da tua casa.
In Joan, XI
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
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28. Tuesday after the IV Sunday of Lent: The Example of Christ Crucified
Tuesday after the IV Sunday of Lent
Our Lord assumed human nature to repair the fall of man. Therefore, it was necessary for Christ to suffer and live according to human nature, as a remedy for the fall into sin.
Now, man’s sin consisted in man clinging to worldly goods and being disinterested in spiritual ones. It was fitting, therefore, for the Son of God, through all that He did and suffered in the human nature He had assumed, to show Himself in such a way that men would regard worldly goods and adversities as nothing, abandon disordered attachment, and devote themselves to spiritual goods.
That is why Christ chose to be born of poor but virtuous parents, to teach us not to glory in the nobility of the flesh or in the wealth of parents.
He lived a poor life to teach the contempt of riches.
He lived without honors to pull men from the disordered greed for them.
He endured labor, thirst, hunger, and bodily torments, so that men, desiring pleasures and delights, would not be led astray from the good of virtue by the miseries of this life.
Finally, it was fitting that the Son of God made man should die, so that, out of fear of death, we would not abandon the path of virtue. And so that we would not fear the ignominious death, He chose the worst of deaths, death on the Cross.
It was also fitting that the Son of God made man should suffer death, so that, by His example, we would be encouraged toward virtue, and so that the words of Saint Peter would be true: "Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow His steps." (1 Pet 2:21)
Against Armen. Sarac., VII
But Christ also suffered for us, leaving you the example of tribulation, mockery, scourging, the cross, and death, so that we might walk in His footsteps. If we endure tribulations and sufferings for Christ, we will also reign with Him in eternal beatitude. Saint Bernard says: "How few, O Lord, are those who wish to follow you, despite all wanting to be with you and knowing that the beatitudes will be by your side until the end. Now, everyone wants to enjoy you, but few wish to imitate you; they want to reign, but do not want to suffer with you; they do not seek you, but want to find you; they desire to gain, but do not follow."
On the Humanity of Christ, chap. 47
(P. D. Mézard, O.P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
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