This beautiful fresco by Luca Signorelli is from the Chapel of San Brizio in the Cathedral of Orvieto, Italy. Two angels sound trumpets announcing the end of times. Skeletons rise from the ground and their bodies are restored as they resurrect to live eternally in the presence of God. This weekend I gave the following homily on the pledge of eternal life.
In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus make a pledge: “whoever believes in me, though they should die, will come to life; and whoever is alive and believes in me will never die.”
After pronouncing these powerful words, you can sense the drama of the moment when he asks Martha immediately afterward looking straight into her eyes, “Do you believe this?” Her faith is strong and mature. She answers calmly, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
By raising Lazarus, Jesus shows us we can trust his words and believe in his promise: he has power over life and death. He can truly give life to those who believe in him.
Jesus offered living water to the Samaritan woman. He offered sight to the blind man. He offers eternal life to Martha. All of these Jesus offers to us too and asks, “Do you believe this? Do you believe I can give you living water? Do you believe I can open your eyes? Do you believe that though you should die, you will come to life? Do you believe that if you believe in me, you will never die?”
In the Old Testament God told us through the prophet Ezekiel, “When I open your graves and have you rise from them, then you shall know that I am the Lord. O my people! I have promised, and I will do it, says the Lord.”
Do we believe in eternal life? Do you believe in life with Christ after death?
Today we conclude our five-week series on the Eucharist speaking of the pledge of eternal life. In the Eucharist Jesus renews with us this pledge of eternal life. Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote a beautiful prayer called O Sacrum Convivium, O Sacred Banquet, which reads:
O Sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given to us.
How does the Eucharist give us this pledge of future glory?
In the Eucharist we recall the suffering and death of Jesus and rejoice in His resurrection. He celebrate that Jesus died and rose from the dead. At each Mass, the risen Christ tells us “whoever believes in me, though they should die, will come to life; and whoever is alive and believes in me will never die.” We kneel as witness to his power over sin and death. He then asks us, “do you believe this?” “do you believe that I’m alive? Do you believe this is my body, that this is my blood?” We answer amen, I do believe.
By receiving the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist we affirm our belief that though Jesus died, he now lives forever.
We affirm our belief that though we die, we will live forever.
We affirm our belief that one day the stone of our graves will be taken away and we will come out.
All the while, Jesus is asking us, “Do you believe this?”
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