We experience God when, as Ezekiel prophesies, we recognize him as the one who opens the graves to give us the Spirit of life. Ezekiel’s vision refers not so much to an individual resurrection as to the rebirth of Israel, which is brought back from exile to the land of the fathers. This return for the prophet is a passage from death to life. Ezekiel’s vision has the merit of reminding us that the resurrection is not only an individual destiny, but a community one. New life is life in the communion of saints. By raising Lazarus, Jesus snatches him not only from the sepulcher, but from the solitude of death, to restore him to the beauty of true relationships. That all this happens in a relationship whose friendship is underlined – Lazarus is the one whom Jesus loved – also announces this theme, far from secondary. Jesus goes to give life to Lazarus because there is no greater love than someone who gives his life for his friends. But also because giving real life means giving back the truth of friendship. According to St. Paul, those who remain a prisoner of themselves, closed in their own safety and in their solitary self-sufficiency, remain under the dominion of the flesh. The Spirit, on the other hand, always opens us to the multiplicity of true encounters, with God and among us.

Commentary by Comunità di Dumenza

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey