“Transformed by Hope” is proposed as a space of listening and discernment on the Sunday Gospels that will accompany our Lenten journey.

The initiative, promoted by the UISG Women Theologians, is situated within the horizon opened by the Jubilee and seeks to prolong its grace, continuing to live our vocation as pilgrims of hope amid the challenges of the present time.

Each week, in the light of the Word of God, we will contemplate an aspect of the conversion to which we are called, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit on the journey toward Easter. It is an invitation to allow evangelical hope to shape our way of believing, of living communion, and of participating in the mission of the Church.

During the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the reflection on the Gospel of John (11:1–45) is offered by Sr. Julia María Violero Álvarez.

In this account, the evangelist draws our attention to the journey of faith undertaken by Martha and Mary, whose names appear as many as eight times throughout the passage. It is in them that the story’s fundamental theological dialogue is centred. Both sisters react differently, yet they share the same confession addressed to Jesus: «Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died». Their faith recognises in him the one who has healed others and who could also have prevented this death. However, the miracle that Jesus is about to perform is not intended simply to bring Lazarus back to life, but to lead the disciples and those present to a deeper understanding of who He truly is. Jesus himself explains that his delay is linked to the growth of his disciples’ faith.

If we consider this passage from this perspective, it is fruitful to turn our gaze to Mary. The account is explicitly set in «the village of Mary and her sister Martha». From the outset, it is emphasised that «Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus». The verb used by John is ἀγαπάω (agapáo), which expresses a love that is complete, selfless and willing to give itself entirely. Mary is also presented as a figure already familiar to the Gospel’s readers: ‘she was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair’. The evangelist mentions here a gesture which He will recount only in the following chapter, thus establishing a foreshadowing of the connection between the scene at Bethany and the anointing that precedes the Passion.

In fact, the entire narrative establishes a connection between the present and the future. The sign that Jesus is about to perform foreshadows both his own destiny and the inner journey of faith of those around him, especially that of Mary and her sister.

Jesus remains outside the village and does not enter until Mary arrives. The text suggests a significant wait. «Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet». She repeats the very words Martha had spoken earlier, but the account does not dwell on a lengthy dialogue. Mary knows that only He can understand her grief. And Jesus weeps with her. «Deeply moved» by her suffering, his tears are not a sign of helplessness, but an expression of compassion that takes on the full weight of human suffering. The Son of God enters into the experience of the pain and death that weighs upon those He loves.

At the same time, it becomes clear that He too must pass through death in order to reveal fully that He is Life.

This scene also echoes the episode recounted by Luke concerning Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary. There, Mary was sitting at the Master’s feet, listening to his words. Here, she remains seated at home until the Master calls her. This detail is significant: Mary does not act impulsively; she waits. She stays put until the call comes.

If we consider together the three Gospel scenes in which Mary of Bethany appears, her spiritual journey becomes clear. In the first, she learns to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to his word and treasure it in her heart. In the second, she learns to wait for the Master’s call. Her reason tells her that Jesus could have prevented her brother’s death, but her faith begins to mature and she realises that the Lord works in his own time.

Finally, in John 12, Mary once again bows down at Jesus’ feet, no longer to listen to him, but to dwell in a silence filled with gestures of selfless love. The poured-out perfume symbolises a life given without reserve. Like the perfume that is used up completely, a life offered out of love may seem pointless in the eyes of the world. Yet Mary’s gesture reveals a profound communion with the heart of Christ. Mary cares for Jesus at the very moment when his path towards the cross begins to become clear.

The account concludes by stating that many of those who had come to Mary’s house, on seeing what Jesus had done, came to believe in him. Mary’s house thus becomes a place where faith begins to take root. Faith spreads like perfume; it cannot be contained or controlled, but flows freely.

Viewed from our current reality, this Gospel poses a challenging question. In a world marked by war, growing hostility and uncertainty, what kind of presence are we called to offer? If Mary’s home was a place of encounter with the true God, we too are invited today to create spaces of welcome, hospitality and listening.