Mother Church leads the Elect by means of the Scrutinies to consider stark contrasts: thirst and water (the First Scrutiny with the Samaritan woman); blindness and sight (the Second Scrutiny with the Man Born Blind). The account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45) forms the Third and Final Scrutiny, as our Lord enters the ultimate contrast: from death, he calls forth life.

Our Lord comes to Bethany, near Jerusalem, knowing that his presence there and the miracle he works will lead soon to his own Passion and Death. St. Thomas, ever a realist, says to the others: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16).

The scene is filled with emotion. When Jesus, the one who came to give us life in abundance, encounters death, he is deeply disturbed and greatly troubled. For four long days, Lazarus had lain in the earth—four days, which in the Jewish understanding meant that he had decayed beyond recognition, fully overcome by the power of death. And yet, the one who proclaims to Martha “I am the resurrection and the life,” is not restrained by the decay of death. “Lazarus, come out!”

At the Great Easter Vigil, the Elect will be led in spirit to the Stational Church of St. John Lateran. The baptismal font attached to that magnificent Basilica is shaped like a tomb. Through this Third Scrutiny, the Elect begin their final journey toward the font. There, they will “die with him;” there also they will embrace new life in the risen Christ. May we all, who accompany our brothers and sisters on this journey, renew our faith in the Son of God, who embraced our death, in order, by the power of his Resurrection, to bring us new and eternal life.