Untie Him and Let Him Go Page 1 of 5 5th Sunday Lent A Fr. Manh Tran, SJ
Focus: The homily is about Jesus weeps with our loss and transforms our death into life
Function: To experience the life of Jesus here and now
Issue: Death
This past Friday, I was shocked to see a big bold headline on the front page of the San Diego
newspaper: U.S. now number 1 in cases. Yes, the U.S. now has the highest number of people
being infected, more than Italy and China. There are more than 90,000 being infected and
more than 1,000 deaths due to the Coronavirus pandemic. And the number keeps rising each
day. Moreover, there are more than 3 million people who filed for unemployment benefits
last week. Just 3 weeks ago, barely 200,000 people applied for unemployment benefits.
When you and I hear or read the news about this Coronavirus pandemic, we can experience
all kinds of emotions: fearful, anxious, isolated, sad, overwhelmed, powerless, worried about
the loss of income, feeling like living in a prison because of the state order, “Stay at home.”
Children feel stuck, bored, or missing their friends at school. These feelings, particularly fears
and anxiety, are real and powerful.
If you and I are feeling fearful, anxious, overwhelmed, powerless, isolated, or sad due to the
loss of our ordinary life or loved ones these days, if you and I ever wondered, “Where is God
these days?” God has 2 messages for you and me today
I’m here with you and
I will transform your fears and sadness into life. Untie Him and Let Him Go Page 2 of 5 5th Sunday Lent A Fr. Manh Tran, SJ
Message: I’m here with you
In today’s gospel, we see a family of two sisters losing their brother, Lazarus. We can
speculate that their parents were dead because the gospel didn’t mention them. Losing
parents and now a brother. I can’t imagine what it's like to live in a society where women
were considered inferior and now have to deal with the loss of their loved ones, which means
losing income, security, and emotional support. They must have felt scared, devastated, and
perhaps abandoned by their best friend, Jesus.
In the midst of this crisis and valley of tears, Jesus showed up. When Martha heard Jesus was
coming, Martha ran to meet Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have
died.” Similarly, Mary, her sister, ran toward Jesus and fell at his feet and cried to him, “Lord,
if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
What did Jesus do? When Jesus saw her weeping and the neighbors who had come with her
weeping, Jesus became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?”
And Jesus wept. Jesus wept. This is the shortest sentence in the entire bible, but it totally
captures the heart of God in the person of Jesus. Jesus loved Lazarus as the gospel described,
“When people saw Jesus weeping and said, ‘See how he loved him.’” Yes, Jesus wept because
he loved him. Jesus, the son of God, can enter into the reality of life: the loss of loved ones.
Jesus can feel what Mary and Martha must have felt--fearful, anxious, and perhaps
abandoned by God. Untie Him and Let Him Go Page 3 of 5 5th Sunday Lent A Fr. Manh Tran, SJ
I don’t know about you. When I am going through a tough time and someone shows up and
stays with me, I feel much consoled and that’s good enough for me. Jesus showed up and
wept because he loved Lazarus and their sisters and that’s probably enough for them. But
that’s not enough for Jesus.
His love didn’t end with some tears and feeling perturbed. His love moved him to transform
Mary and Martha’s river of tears into songs of joy, which leads me to the 2nd message today.
Message: Jesus can transform our fears and sorrows into life
Jesus can transform our fears and sorrows into life because he is the resurrection and the life.
As Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he
dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
I’m struck by the conversation between Martha and Jesus. When Jesus said to Martha, “Your
brother will rise.” Martha said to Jesus, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last
day.” And Jesus told her, “no, not on the last day. I mean right here right now.” Notice, Jesus
did not say, “I will be the resurrection and the life” which is in the future as Martha and most
of us believe. But Jesus said, “I am” which is in the present. Here and now. Jesus basically
told Martha, as well as you and me today, ``You can experience and share life with me here
and now,” because I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies,
will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Untie Him and Let Him Go Page 4 of 5 5th Sunday Lent A Fr. Manh Tran, SJ
Martha answered Jesus, “Yes, Lord. I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
And you know the rest of the story. Jesus went to the tomb and said, “Take away the stone.”
Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. He has transformed Mary and Martha’s river of tears into
a river of life because he is the resurrection and the life. Church, this is the good news.
Actions:
If you and I are feeling fearful, anxious, overwhelmed, powerless, isolated, or sad due to the
loss of our ordinary life or loved ones these days or if you and I ever wondered, “Where is
God these days?” God has 2 messages for you and me today.
I’m here with you.
I will transform your fears and sadness into life because I’m the resurrection and the
life.
Let me end with a short story to illustrate how God is at work these days. A few days ago, my
brother called me, which is very rare. I thought to myself, “Oh no. He’s in trouble.” I picked
up the phone and asked him right away, “Are you out of a job?” “How do you know?” he
asked. I told him, “Most people working in the restaurants are gettting laid off or furloughed.
Since you’re working at a restaurant, I’m guessing that you’re out of a job.”
“Yes, I got laid off for these past two weeks…. ”I thought to myself, “Oh no. He’s in trouble.
When my brother gets laid off, he gets really angry and causes a lot of trouble for his family.” Untie Him and Let Him Go Page 5 of 5 5th Sunday Lent A Fr. Manh Tran, SJ
As I was thinking the worst, he continued, “I have two pieces of good news to tell you. I quit
smoking and I quit taking sleeping pills. ”I was shocked to hear that. What helped you to quit
smoking and quit sleeping pills?
He explained, “I got laid off because of Coronavirus. For these past two weeks, I have been
spending a lot of time with my wife at home, our love for each other has gotten deeper. And
she kept nagging me to quit and I decided to quit.” I was thrilled to hear that. Church, Jesus
is at work! He can transform our fears and sorrows due to Coronavirus into the river of life.
Do you believe that? Let the church say Amen.
Fr. Manh Tran, SJ