God will raise us. This seems to be the message of all our readings. In our first reading from Ezekiel, we hear God say that he will raise us up out of our graves. St Paul says in our second reading that the same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead, lives in us. In our Gospel we hear about Lazarus who is raised from the dead by Jesus.

God will raise us. He raises us out of addictions, things that enslave us and have power over us. He lifts us up out that…because the spirit that rose Jesus from the dead which is living in us is more powerful!

A lot of times people have disappointments and setbacks. Jesu raises us up out of it.  Sometimes it’s daily circumstances and problems that plague us. Sometimes there is great loss.  God weeps with you, just as he weeps with Mary and Martha.  God doesn’t just take the pain away, but he enters us into it. He brings meaning and hope to it.

Even our sins, Jesus raises us up out of them and back into a state of grace…every time we go to holy confession.  Jesus divinizes us very time we go to holy communion.

Jesus is constantly lifting us up….from sin to grace, from unbelief into belief, from darkness into light, from ignorance into wisdom, sickness to health.

Sometimes we get so stuck in the thing we want lifted out of, that we start to lose hope. But here’s the thing: we know he will lift us up because he’s done it a thousand times before. Just read the bible….story after story of God raising folks up.  God works on his own clock.  His clock is different from ours. That’s ok.  Just like this Spring: I’m not sure it will ever come.  But it will, because it has come every year.  So I can have confidence it will come again this year.

Twofold is the call today:

1. We gotta let Jesus lift us up.  We can be stubborn sometimes. We like our ruts.
2. We have to also lift others up. We believe that we are the Church–and the Church is Jesus–so that means it’s our job to lift others up.  Sometimes it’s a simple kind word. Sometimes it’s the heroic actions of the saints.  O yes, we are called to those too sometimes.  This is why we started St Vincent de Paul, why we have our habitat for humanity project, why we do all the chairtable things we do here.  It’s because we are Jesus and Jesus lifts people, raises people up.

God bless you.