Passion Sunday 2026
5th Sunday of Lent: Passion Sunday 2026
Gospel Text: John 11.1-45
The Very Revd Dr Paul Shackerley
Dean of Brecon
If Christ had attended his friend’s illness, would he have offered healing or palliative care, or prevented his death?
Lazarus of Bethany was man a who died twice, unlike Jesus, who died once. Lazarus returned to his earthly body and is said to be buried in Cyprus. Lazarus was not raised with a glorified, immortal body, which is why he was still subject to mortality. Jesus didn’t grow old and die again after His resurrection like Lazarus. This was the miracle that sealed Jesus’ fate, ‘from that day on they plotted to take his life’. The tables have turned, and this is reflected in our worship this week from Passion Sunday and through Holy Week.
I have sat at the bedside of many deaths as priest, and witnessed the grief, tears and anger of many grieving loved ones. The only words I can offer are the beautiful and poetic prayers of the Church, recited by the priest at death:
‘Go forth on your journey from this world, O Christian soul, in the name of God the Father who created you, the Son who suffered death for you, the Holy Spirit, who strengthens you; in communion with all the saints and aided by the angels and archangels, and all the armies of the heavenly host. May your portion be this day in peace and your dwelling the heavenly Jerusalem… into your hands, Lord, most loving redeemer, we commend your child (N) for s/he is yours in death and s/he was in life’’.
These are deep words of comfort at death. While Martha exhibits hope in Jesus, Mary’s interaction with Jesus is noticeably different. By comparison, Martha immediately went out to meet Jesus, and said ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died’. Mary doesn’t meet Jesus until Martha gets her. What is striking is that Mary says the exact same thing as her sister Martha said to Jesus: ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died’. She utters the same words as Martha. But do they mean the same thing? There is a subtle omission. It rests in what Mary doesn’t say. She doesn’t follow up this statement the way Martha did, with the words, ‘But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you’. No, Mary just says that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’s death. For Mary, now Lazarus is dead, so that’s that. Jesus was too late. He did nothing! There is no hope expressed by Mary.
It seems like Mary didn’t entertain the idea that Jesus could do anything now that death had come. Death, after all, is the great enemy and the end of life. Martha, on the other hand, has hope. Mary has none. Mary’s lack of hope in the face of death is understandable. Humans had no powers or options over death. With all our advanced science and medicine, the best we could do is delay death. We can put it off for a while. But we cannot prevent it from happening in the end. And once it happens, there is nothing we can do about it. The finality of death is clear to all humanity, and that’s how Mary accepts this finality of death without hope in resurrection or faith in Jesus that her sister had. Martha is confused and hurt. Jesus said to her those lovely words we recite at funerals today, ‘I am the resurrection and the life, those who believe in me, even though they die, will live’. His response to Mary weeping was different. It was human and compassionate. He was ‘greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved…. Jesus wept. His response to Martha was cerebral and theological. To Mary, compassionate, grieving and weeping with her. Two different people experience deep grief and sadness, who need different responses from Christ.
Yet now, Christians, the Church, society and politicians have brought a very different thinking about death that has been a live topic this week. Because while death is final, laws are being presented in our parliaments not to delay death, but to make it happen with assisted dying. That means bringing laws to make assisted suicide possible. And what is the place of palliative care in a good death? If Christ had attended his friend’s illness, would he have offered healing or palliative care, or prevented his death?
The debate around assisted dying and palliative care, between those who are pro-assisted dying and those against, is deeply emotive for us all. This week, the Terminally ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was presented in Scotland and fell. Weighty responsibilities and decisions on our politicians and careers, who need our prayers. Religious, legal and data-driven arguments voicing fears about loved ones in agony who would be ineligible under the proposed law to control the end of their lives. Controls that Lazarus, Martha and Mary could not have conceived. Then we add into this mix the lack of provision for palliative care, which is a potent and common concern, as is a worry about pressure being put on people in vulnerable circumstances to end their lives, particularly considering wider societal attitudes to ill health, disability, and death. Good access to social and palliative care are key pillars of living well with disability, vulnerability, and incurable illness.
The theological debate about Lazarus’s death, and the responses of Martha and Mary may appear complex around the theme of the death of loved ones. But so is the debate about assisted dying, which is more complex as we see it develop in our parliaments and medical profession. It shines a light on the lack of sufficient palliative and social care that needs action to ensure people’s right to live and die well. For Mary and Marther, one had hope, the other didn’t. Some of us will be Marys and see death as the end. Some of us will be Marthas who hope in a resurrection and life to come. And yet others are a mix between Martha and Mary. These are the themes we enter in Passion Sunday and Holy Week. They are uncomfortable. As we move closer to the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, may we continue to find our hope from death to life; from darkness to light, because there’s a part of us as Christians who are like both Mary and Martha as we prayerfully engage with our intellects, hearts and feelings, and experiences. We are in good company with both Mary and Martha. But let the Church be a voice in the debates about assisted dying and the provision of palliative care.
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