5th Sunday of Lent

The gospel states: "Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him." (Jn 11: 45) It is interesting to see what counts for people when they come to believe in Jesus Christ. The Samaritans heard from the woman at the well: "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done" (Jn 4: 29) and believed once they saw Jesus for themselves. With the man born blind the Pharisees are so scandalized that Jesus worked a healing o the sabbath that they say: "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner." (Jn 9: 24) Today it is the bringing back of Lazarus from the dead. The question that can occur for us is: "what counts for me?" Often it will come down to the life and example of someone who has been a witness to the power of God. This makes it incumbent on me, as someone called in baptism to be a missionary disciple, to set such an example and to be a witness to how God's power has been at work in my life. In that way our joy can be complete since we will rejoice at seeing that power at work in the lives of others.