Justin Appel

Dear Friends in Christ,

This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday in Lent and the Gospel lesson is John’s account of the raising of Lazarus. While this story is an important foreshadowing of Christ’s resurrection, it also falls at an interesting moment in our liturgical year, anticipating the passion story, which for us is still weeks away in our procession through Lent. The story of Lazarus carries with it the ambiguities of time and of our current place in redemption history. We live in the present knowing full well the story of Christ’s resurrection in the past and of our faith that God will raise us also from the grave in the future. On the other hand, we recognize that death is still with us, that we succumb to it, at least for awhile. We know that death takes us all, but we believe that that death not the end. We also understand the suffering that St Paul speaks about in his letter to the Romans. We (and the whole of creation) wait with ‘groaning’ like a mother in childbirth for our full redemption, which will be accomplished in our final raising from the dead (Rom. 8:22-23).

This ‘in between’ quality incorporates our desire to pray for this who have died, recognizing that the full resurrection from the dead lies in the future. These prayers often ask for God to forgive the sins of those who have died and for mercy on the judgment day — which will occur in the future. There are also prayers asking God to grant ‘eternal rest’ to these in his presence.

In this vein, this Sunday, and indeed this Lenten season, is a time in which the words of the Requiem Mass can take on a special significance. Given this connection, I would like to recommend a remarkable recording made recently by the Trinity College Choir, Cambridge, of Maurice Durufle’s sublime Requiem. I’m not sure what to tell you except that this work reveals the composer’s devout spirit, and it beautifully illustrates the ‘already-not-yet’ quality of our current existence. It is supremely moving and worth 45 minutes of your time. However, if you can only look at one moment, watch the Kyrie.

Requiem, Maurice Duruflé, Choir of Trinity College, Stephen Layton

Yours in Christ,
Justin