Pastor’s Note 3/22/26

Dear Parishioners:

In the previous Sundays of this Lent, we’ve heard narratives from John’s gospel in which Jesus is providing for the human heart in ways that transcend the power of the world, or the power within ourselves. These stories are deeply human, profoundly moving, and can’t help but make us also reflect on our need, our inescapable need for God. We have heard of the Samaritan woman whose desire for truth, mercy, and restoration is met be Jesus offering her the living water. Last week, it was the man whose sight is cured as Jesus opens not only his physical sight but the eyes of his heart to recognize and worship Jesus as the Light of the World. On this fifth Sunday of Lent, we reach a climax in these narratives as now Jesus provides for the deepest and densest desire of the human heart: to find life beyond this earthly existence. By raising Lazarus from the tomb, Jesus declares that he is the Resurrection and the Life. Where the human heart most desires, where it most fears and finds baffling and insurmountable, Jesus offers the gift of eternal life. He is present to his people, to you and me, all the way to the grave, so that we might truly be raised with him.

God’s Peace,

Fr. John