FR. MIKE’S HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF LENT (1)

FR. MIKE’S HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF LENT

THEME: THE PROPHESY OF CAIPHAS

BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas

HOMILY: Jn 11:45-56

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”

The most astounding miracle that Jesus did was the raising of the dead. He raised back to life the son of a widow in Naim (Lk 7:11-17), and the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:21-43; Mt 9:18:26; Lk 8:40-56). But the raising of Lazarus had the greatest impact on the people. First, because he did it on purpose. “So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was” (Jn 11:6). He stated the reason for this: “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (Jn 11:4). He should have come earlier to heal his friend, but he waited until he died and buried in the tomb for four days. After receiving the news that Lazarus died, he said, “And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe” (Jn 11:15).
And second, because the miracle took place in Bethany which was only two miles from Jerusalem. News about it spread like wildfire into the city, and many people believed in him. The Pharisees soon heard about it because some of those who saw the miracle went to inform them. They, then, decided to kill Jesus.

What made the Jewish leaders decide to put Jesus to death? It is not about the good works He did, nor the teachings He proclaimed. Not even His ‘blasphemy’ of claiming He is God. The Gospel gives the answer: as the result of this miracle, many people believed in Him, and the Jewish leaders were afraid to lose their followers to Him. It was all about protecting their vested interests, ostensibly for the good of the people and the welfare of the entire nation.

They had to stop this exodus of their followers. And the only way is to kill Jesus, Lazarus and His supporters. They did kill Jesus ‐ and after Him they killed many of His followers, beginning with St Stephen. But the more people they killed, the more people believed in Jesus. As Tertullian, the ancient Christian writer, said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.”

The selfishness, envy, lies and the insatiable desire for money, prestige and power of these Jewish leaders led Jesus to His death on the cross. These same sins, worse than ever, persist until now and continue to bring misery to our world and the lives of so many people.

Tomorrow, we begin the Holy Week. These are days we have to set aside in order to have ample time to earnestly pray, reflect and examine our conscience. May God grant us the grace of true repentance and conversion.

Let the words from St. John of the Cross serve as our constant reminder: “As to the Passion of our Lord, …never in anything follow your own will and your own inclination, for that was the cause of His death and passion.”

Fr. Mike Lagrimas
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
Diocese of Novaliches