…when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live…- Ezekiel 37:13-14
Imagine a tropical island getaway. Everything there has been arranged for you. All you have to do is get there. But there’s a catch: you have to get there completely on your own. No planes, trains, or automobiles; no boats or helicopters. Just you and your own power. None of us could possibly get there on our own. Instead, we’re just stuck in Kansas. lol!
Now extrapolate the idea of a tropical getaway to heaven. The same thing applies–we cannot get there on our own. We are powerless to reach heaven alone; we cannot save ourselves from death. We need some power outside of ourselves to obtain eternal life. We need someone powerful that has gone before us to take us to heaven. In short, we need a savior.
Jesus died for our sins on the cross, and His resurrection and ascension into heaven is the promise of our own resurrection through Him. St. Paul taught that Jesus was “handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). Christ’s death saved us from our sins and made us righteous or “justified” in God’s eyes; His resurrection and ascension is our one-way, all expenses paid ticket to heaven. We will be raised to eternal life through the power of the Holy Trinity (CCC 989).
In our Gospel passage for this Sunday, Lazarus is raised up to mortal life by Christ’s power. On the last day, the faithful will be raised up to eternal life by the power of Christ. Jesus told Martha, “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” (John 11:25-26).
It is Christ’s Spirit, His life in us, that is the promise of our own bodily resurrection at the end of the world (CCC 1001). This verse from Sunday’s second reading is key: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). It is the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ dwelling in us, abiding in us, making a home in us, that will raise us up on the last day.
This makes me consider if I am attentive to the Holy Spirit alive within me. Do I truly believe that I will rise again, not just in spirit, but also with this very same body of mine, only glorified and made perfect (see CCC 990)? Do I make every attempt to remain in Jesus by keeping His commandments and frequently receiving His sacraments (see John 6:56; 14:23, 15:4)? Do I think I can make it to heaven without Him in some way, trying to save myself instead of depending on God’s grace?
Jesus, put your spirit in me so that I might live! (cf Ezekiel 37:14)