Lazarus, come forth!

 

The Resurrection of Lazarus, 12th century; St. Katherine's Monastery, Sinai

 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  

 

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  

 

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  

 

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  

 

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

- John 11:30-44 

 

Yesterday, we read the continuation of the story of the raising of Lazarus (for the first part, see Wednesday's reading). So when Jesus came to the town of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

 

  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  The first thing to notice here is that Mary now approaches Christ with precisely the same words that Martha did:  "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  My study Bible comments that while Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He will engage Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother Lazarus from the dead which follows.

 

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Here St. John emphasizes in his Gospel that Jesus wept, and groaned in spirit (verses 33, 38), in order to show that Christ had fully taken on human nature.  He was thus as subject to grief as any man would be.  My study Bible comments that weeping is the natural response to the tragedy of death.  It's also true that these sisters, their brother, and Jesus share a special bond of friendship, and so He responds to the suffering of these whom He loves as well.  There is a Compline hymn from Lazarus Saturday, in which it is sung, "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt love."

 

 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  My study Bible notes that, although Martha's faith had increased (see yesterday's reading, above), she still did not understand Christ's will nor His power.  The spices and oil which were used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time, and Lazarus has now been dead for four days.  Many icons of the raising of Lazarus show bystanders covering their noses (as we can see in the icon reproduced above), which illustrates the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh, and also that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead. 

 

 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  To show that Christ's divine will was one with the Father's, and also that His human will was freely subject to the Father's in every way, Jesus prays aloud for the sake of the people. 

 

 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of the Father, but by His own authority.  According to my study Bible, this shows the people that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.  See also John 5:28-29.  

 

 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  My study Bible cites patristic commentary in which it is widely seen that Lazarus coming out bound in his gravelothes is an indication that he will need them again; his resurrection continues an earthly life, which will again end in death.  By contrast, Christ's own graveclothes will be left in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike this resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus' Resurrection transfigures human nature:  He will never die again.  Furthermore, my study Bible affirms that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but as the words of the Orthodox hymn for the day say, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," and proves that it is Christ who has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13).  

 

Life and death; the beginning and the end.  It is interesting how the events of Christ's ministry unfold to span the widest possible territory, and challenge the way of the world on the deepest levels.  In this seventh and final sign in St. John's Gospel, we're given this absolute of power:  the power of life over death, affirming that He is the One who is "the resurrection and the life."   These words of Christ (from yesterday's reading, above) will take on even greater dimension and power in His Resurrection following His Crucifixion.  But for now, this event of raising Lazarus from the dead will have its phenomenal impact.  Just as Christ's trajectory in His ministry expands from the earliest times of His preaching to this act of pure power, the power of resurrection, so the religious authorities will continue to be headed in the opposite direction.  It is this raising of Lazarus from the dead that will certify for the religious leaders that they must be rid of Him, for He is a threat to their own authority.  As Jesus expands the expression of His authority, so they expand also their opposition to Him.  Now there are witnesses present from Jerusalem who had gone to Bethany to join the sisters in mourning, and the Council will be unable to ignore that and the news of this event as it spreads through the community.  In the Gospel and in subsequent Church history, it is recorded that Lazarus had threats upon his own life because of the impact of his resurrection (see John 12:10-11).  In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Lazarus eventually became a bishop of the Church in Cyprus, appointed by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas.  It is said that in the thirty years he lived after his resurrection, he never smiled but once, for he had seen unredeemed souls in Hades.  The one occasion was when he saw someone stealing a pot, and remarked "the clay steals the clay."  The story of Lazarus' subsequent life is a sobering one, telling us of the great seriousness of what has happened, and that issues of life and death must not be trivialized nor reduced to fantasy.  Let us rejoin with Christ His ministry as our readings in the Gospel continue.  

 

 

Loose him, and let him go

The Raising of Lazarus.  12th century, St. Katherine's Monastery, Mt. Sinai

 

 And when she had said these things, se went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  

 

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  

 

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  

 

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

- John 11:28-44 

 

Yesterday we read that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."   So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

 

  And when she had said these things, se went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."   Once again, we observe here the difference between these two sisters.  In yesterday's reading (above) we observed Martha, one more inclined to active service, and her efforts at hospitality (similarly to the story found at Luke 10:38-42), as she greeted Jesus while He was still on the road approaching their home, while Mary remained in mourning, in the traditional posture inside the home.  Now that Mary is called by the Teacher, Jesus, she arose quickly and came to Him.  The Jews who were with her in the house are those who have come from Jerusalem and have some connection with the ruling classes of the temple.  They likely reflect that Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are from a prominent family.  

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Here Mary approaches Christ with the identical words used by her sister Martha (see yesterday's reading, above).  While Jesus engaged Martha with words, my study Bible notes, here in today's reading He engages Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother from the dead.  John emphasizes that Jesus wept and groaned in the spirit.  These show that Christ had fully taken on human nature, and that He was subject to grief as any human being would be.  Weeping, my study Bible says, is the natural human response to the tragedy of death.  Today is Lazarus Saturday, and in the Compline service in the Orthodox Church, it is sung, "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt love."

 

 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Although Martha's faith had increased, she still understood neither Christ's will nor His power, my study Bible comments.  The spices and oils used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time.  In many icons of the raising of Lazarus one can observe bystanders depicted covering their noses, which illustrates both the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh and the fact that many did not believe that Christ could raise the dead.

 

 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  To show that His divine will is one with the Father's, my study Bible says, and that His human will was freely subject in every way to the Father's, Christ prays aloud for the sake of the people.  

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"   My study Bible notes that Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of God the Father, but by His own authority.  What it shows to the people is that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.   This event is a fulfillment of Christ's words from chapter 5, spoken to the religious authorities who questioned Him, "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29). 

 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."   My study Bible comments that the detail that Lazarus was wrapped in his graveclothes is seen as significant in patristic literature.  Many Church Fathers view this as an indication that Lazarus will need them again, that his resurrection continues an earthly life which will once again end in death.  By contrast, it notes, the Savior's graveclothes would be left in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike the resurrection of Lazarus, Christ's Resurrection transfigures human nature.  Jesus will never die again.  My study Bible further comments that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but in the words of the hymn for the day, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," proving Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise again (Ezekiel 37:1-13). 

 

 It seems that we don't get a proper sense of the significance of Christ's power without the awe that would accompany this scene, of Lazarus walking out of the tomb in his graveclothes, four days dead, and even smelling of death as well.  Awe may combine vast respect, admiration, fear, wonder, and even terror, and it seems that this event would combine all of those things for the people who witnessed it.  Awe is a product of exposure to something incomprehensible, outside of our realm of experience, unexpected, and belonging to something much greater than ourselves and our lives.  When Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life" in yesterday's reading (above), it is easy to take His words, as they have become familiar to us, as statements declaring an identity for Christ in an intellectually descriptive way.  But in this scene of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, we find the discernible elements of just how astounding -- and perhaps terrifying -- those words really are.  For they imply a kind of power that none of us can imagine nor encompass, but are clearly signs of the miraculous and the presence of God -- something much greater than we are or our experience can hold.  We don't have this power, much as we would like to believe that perhaps medical science can provide it to us.  For the people who are mourning with Martha and Mary, one can only imagine the impact of this experience as witnesses, and what a story they have to tell in Jerusalem.  Such is the visceral power of this scene that we have seen it used by others in novels and movies of the horror genre over and over again.  The story of Frankenstein draws on similar motifs of the dead walking again, bodies coming out of the grave and given life.  Inspired by archaeological interest in Egyptian tombs of the past century, films have given us stories of Egyptian mummies walking out of their tombs still wrapped in the bandages of graveclothes -- thus drawing upon this timeless text in John's Gospel, which does not fail to hit its mark and make its impact.  As my study Bible points out, Jesus responds to His friend Mary with action, a demonstration of the power of His identity as the resurrection and the life, as He told Martha in yesterday's reading, above.  Perhaps especially for those of us who have lost loved ones, this story touches upon the terrible mystery of death.  It should open up for us the importance of prayer for those who have passed as we consider that it is only our prayers which can reach into that mystery.  For it is Christ alone who has this power, who will release the captives of death and set the prisoners free; only Christ who has this power of life and death and judgment and resurrection.  When Jesus says about Lazarus, "Loose him, and let him go," we can also hear these words as the ones He will say in the realm of the dead, and for all the dead.  For, as we know, judgment is also about the power of resurrection, which we may note as we revisit His words from chapter 5:  "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29).  To Christ who has solely been entrusted with this power, we may pray for our loved ones and all who have passed, with a reverence that is appropriate to this image of resurrection in today's reading.  For, as He hears the pleas of Martha and Mary, and experiences so deeply their love and their loss, so He is the one who can also hear ours.

 

 

 

Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?

 

 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

 

Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  

 

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  

 

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

- John 11:28–44 

 

Yesterday we read that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

 

  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  We recall from yesterday's reading (see above) that Martha had come out to meet Jesus as He approached their home.  Martha is the sister who is more focused on acts of service, while Mary is the more contemplative sister.  Mary has been sitting in the home, in observance of mourning and receiving other mourners, according to the traditional religious practice (Job 2:8, 13; Ezekiel 8:14.)  As was observed yesterday, in chapter 11 of John's Gospel these two sisters remain true to character evidenced in Luke's Gospel, at Luke 10:38-42.  Let us note Mary's obedience to the word of Christ, the Teacher, as she arose quickly and came to Him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."   "The Jews" are the people who have come from Jerusalem to mourn with Martha and Mary, an indication that these people are likely from among prominent families of the leadership of the religious establishment at the temple.  All of the people in this story are Jews, including Martha and Mary, and the disciples of Christ. 

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."   Mary approaches Jesus with the same words used by Martha (in yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible comments that while Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He engages Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother Lazarus from the dead, which follows.  

 

 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"   In yesterday's reading, we were told that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus (see above).  Here, Christ's weeping clearly emphasizes His love for this family, and the compassion experienced at watching Mary and the other mourners weeping for Lazarus.  My study Bible remarks that John emphasizes that Jesus wept and groaned in spirit (verses 33, 38) to show that He had fully taken on human nature, and was therefore subject to grief as any man would be.  It says that weeping is the natural response to the tragedy of death.  An Orthodox hymn for the day of Lazarus Saturday (the day before Palm Sunday on the Orthodox calendar) declares, "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt love."  Once again, we note that the term "the Jews" is used similarly to a political label in John's Gospel, most frequently indicating the leaders of the religious establishment.  Here, we presume it is used to indicate mourners from among those important families who have come from Jerusalem to mourn with Martha and Mary.  Therefore they are witnesses to the event that will presently take place.  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  My study Bible comments that although Martha's faith had increased (verses 23-27), she still understood neither Christ's will nor His power.  The spices and oils used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time, it notes.  In many icons of the raising of Lazarus, bystanders are shown covering their noses with their sleeves, which illustrates both the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh, and also the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  My study Bible comments that to show His divine will was one with the Father's, and that His human will was freely subject in every way to the Father's, Christ prays aloud for the sake of the people. 

 

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  Jesus calls Lazarus forth.  But He does so, not in the name of the Father, but by His own authority.  My study Bible notes that this shows the people that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.  See also John 5:28-29. 

 

 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  My study Bible notes that in patristic commentary, that Lazarus came out bound in his graveclothes is seen by many as an indication that he will need them again -- Lazarus' resurrection continues an earthly life which will again end in death.  Christ's graveclothes, by contrast, will be left in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike that of Lazarus, Christ's Resurrection transfigures human nature; He will never die again.  This resurrection of Lazarus is the seventh of seven signs which are given in John's Gospel.  My study Bible tells us that not only did it prepare the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but in the words of the hymn for the day, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," proving Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13).  

In today's reading we are given the seventh and final sign in John's Gospel, the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  The seven signs are (1) changing water into wine (John 2:1-11); (2) curing the nobleman's son (John 4:46-54); (3) healing the paralytic (John 5:1-15); (4) feeding the five thousand (John 6:1-14); (5) walking on water (John 6:15-21); (6) opening the eyes of a blind man (John 9:1-41); and (7), the sign given in today's reading, the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  My study Bible explains that John uses the term "signs" in order to show that these miraculous actions point beyond themselves to the truth that the Kingdom of God has come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ.  It is this final sign that will seal the religious authorities' decision to put Jesus to death (John 11:47-50).  Today's event takes place at Bethany, which is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  Lazarus,  my study Bible says, is the same name as Eleazar, which literally means "God helps."  As indicated by the notes in my study Bible, this sign is a manifestation of Christ's words in John's fifth chapter, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself" (John 5:25-26).  In John's Prologue, we read, "In Him was life, and His life was the light of men" (John 1:4).  So Christ's ability to have life in Himself -- which He is able to confer to others -- is also connected to Him as the light He brings, and His words (in the next chapter) that one must walk while we have the light, for in the darkness one does not know where one is going (John 12:35).  Therefore according to the Gospel, we both see by that light and live by that light.  But let us consider what this means spiritually for us.  In the raising of Lazarus, we see a literal example of Christ giving life to someone.  If we are to think in the "iconic" sense that the Scriptures give us, we might make of this seventh sign a visible manifestation of Christ's power and how it might work in our own lives.  While we may not experience anything as spectacular as this particular sign in the Gospel, there are countless believers who testify to the experience of being made "alive again" through the power of faith in Christ.  This takes myriad forms, whether it is help in recovery from a devastating loss, or possibly through an addiction crisis with the use of the Twelve Steps, or simply through the uplifting power of the experience of the love we find in Christ and the great cloud of saints we find in communion during prayer.  This revival of Lazarus, which foreshadows Christ's own Resurrection to come (and which we will celebrate on Easter/Pascha), tells us a story of what Christ does and who Christ is, and we cannot limit the things for which that serves as icon which may echo throughout our own lives.  Are you disappointed in a project or plan that seems to have failed?  Is a chapter closed in your life?  Is something broken, like a relationship, or a long-cherished dream?  It is Christ's life and light to which one must turn in such a time; and indeed, in all times.  For this is the light by which we see the way forward, the life that is the light of all people.  This is the truth in this sign, given us in the Gospel, and through the "spirit and life" in the words of Jesus.  It's no accident that in telling the story of the life and light of Christ, we are given today's powerful story in the context of Jesus' great love for Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus.  Moreover, we are given His great compassion, for as He sees the sisters weeping, together with their friends, Jesus groans in the spirit, and also weeps -- giving us this memorably short verse of the Bible, "Jesus wept."  For the life and light of Christ is couched in love, which is the essence of the Divine.  As John also tells us, "God is love" (1 John 4:8).  We need His light and life, and we need God's love.   These shape the qualities that make life even in this world precious to us, and good, and beautiful.  In them, we also may share in beholding the glory of God.  For they remain true even when the world offers us darkness and denial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lazarus, come forth!

 

 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

- John 11:30-44 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came toward Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 

 

  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  My study Bible comments that Mary approaches Christ with the identical words Martha used (see yesterday's reading above, verse 21).  It notes that while Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He engages Mary with deeds --- the raising of her brother from the dead.

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  My study Bible says that John's emphasis on the specifics of Christ's response -- that Jesus wept, and groaned in spirit -- show that He has fully taken on human nature, and was subject to grief as any human being would be.  Weeping, it says, is the natural response to the tragedy of death.   An Orthodox hymn sung on Lazarus Saturday declares, "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt love."   While everyone in this story is a Jew (including the disciple John, author of the Gospel), the term the Jews is used like a political term, denoting those from Jerusalem and specifically linked to the religious leadership. 

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Although Martha's faith had increased (see yesterday's reading, above), my study Bible says that she still did not understand Christ's will, nor His power.  The spices and oils which were used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition for a short time.   Many icons of the raising of Lazarus show bystanders covering their noses -- an illustration of both the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh and also the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead.  He has been dead four days:  As noted in yesterday's reading and commentary, there was a rabbinical belief that the soul hung about the body for three days; but after that resuscitation was impossible. 

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Jesus shows that His divine will is one with the Father's, and that His human will is freely subject in every way to the Father's, by praying aloud for the sake of the people.  

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  My study Bible refers us to John 5:28-29, in which Jesus said, "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."  This statement, as well as Jesus' response to Martha in yesterday's reading, above, "I am the resurrection and the life," affirm that the raising of Lazarus is linked to Christ's power of life and death and resurrection.  My study Bible comments that Christ calls Lazarus to come forth not in the name of the Father, but by Christ's own authority.  This shows the people that while Jesus came from the Father, He fully posesses divine authority in Himself.  

And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  My study Bible notes that many patristic commentaries see Lazarus coming out bound hand and foot with graveclothes as an indication that he will need them again.  Lazarus' resurrection continues an earthly life which will once again end in death.  Christ's graveclothes, by contrast, will be left in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike the resurrection of Lazarus, Christ's Resurrection will transfigure human nature:  He will never die again.   My study Bible adds that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in the Resurrection of Christ, but again, in the words of the hymn for the day, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," proving that Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13). 

This image of Lazarus emerging from the tomb, bound hand and foot with graveclothes, is one that seems to haunt the imagination of human beings.  The notion of resurrection from the grave stirs a kind of fear of the unknown and also of the power of death itself.  Many "ghost stories" affirm this, and also even extending to modern culture in the West, such as the story of Frankenstein, and the many modern films (with what are called "iconic" images now) spawned from it.  Even the discoveries of the tombs of the Pharoahs seem to have echoed in the mind of the public and the creators of science fiction stories this image of Lazarus walking out of the tomb, bound hand and foot with graveclothes.  But these modern fantasies and iterations of this image only really serve to impress upon us the great significance of this seventh and final sign in John's Gospel, the one that will seal Christ's faith with the religious authorities in Jerusalem.  Death and the grave still have a powerful significance in our modern hearts and souls, despite advances in medicine and science and the understanding of our physical bodies.  Death remains an evil and a tragedy, the grave a place of fear.  This is not simply because it is unknown, but because we still have a sense of the evil of death, defined as the enemy of the good -- the opposition to God, to Christ who has told us in this chapter that He is the resurrection and the life, and that He has come that we may have life more abundantly (John 10:10).  That Lazarus is bound hand and foot with graveclothes suggests something to us about death and the nature of death and the one who brings death to the world:  it is a prison, brought by the one who wants to imprison and enslave human beings, to bind us hand and foot.  By contrast, Christ is the Liberator, our Deliverer, our Savior, and our Judge who sets right injustice at the final reckoning of Resurrection.  He is the One who declares, "Loose him, and let him go."  His action is to unbind us from what oppresses, and binds, and cloys at our hearts.   Many have used the notion of Judgment only to put a negative understanding on Christ's teachings, but that is a wrong perception.  It is through rejection of Christ's teachings that the "life more abundantly" that He promises will not come to fruition -- but the rejection has already made that choice, excluded that possibility.  This is not Christ's doing.  Christ offers us a gift of life, bound up in our faith in what He comes to give us, His word, and in that promise is this abundant life, and the Resurrection.  What we need to understand, even more deeply, is that the promise of Resurrection is the ultimate liberation from enslavement to death and sin, and from slavery to lies, which are all linked to one another spiritually (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4).  St. Paul calls death "the last enemy that will be destroyed" by Christ (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).  It is in offering to us the gift of faith, of life, and of resurrection, that death -- this last enemy that seeks to bind us hand and foot -- is destroyed.  And all we need to do is take up our cross and follow Him to find it, so that we participate in this victory over death, with Him.

 

 

Jesus wept

 

Resurrection of Lazarus, 12th century.  St. Katherine's Monastery, Sinai

 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there has been a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

- John 11:28–44 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

 

  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."   Once again, we note the differences in personalities distinctively set out for us in the Gospel between Mary and her sister Martha.  Martha has gone out to greet Jesus as He approaches their home in Bethany (see the reading above from yesterday); she is the sister more inclined to active service.  But Mary has sat in the proper tradition for mourning, inside the house, and awaits Christ's call, which Martha now relays to her, and to which she arose quickly and came to Him.   Note that the text indicates there are those from the ruling parties in Jerusalem ("the Jews," used as a political term in this Gospel to designate the religious leaders).  They have come to mourn with the sisters, indicating Lazarus and his sisters form a prominent family. 

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"   Mary approaches Jesus with the identical words used by Martha in verse 21, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."   My study bible remarks that while Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He engages Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother from the dead, which follows in subsequent verses.  But first John's Gospel emphasizes that Jesus wept, and groaned in spirit, to show that He had fully taken on human nature and was subject to grief as any person would be.  My study bible comments that weeping is the natural response to the tragedy of death.  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there has been a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Although Martha's faith had increased (see yesterday's reading, above), she still understood neither Christ's will nor His power.  The spices and oils used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time, my study bible comments, and Lazarus has now been dead for four days.  In many icons of this seventh of seven miracles or signs in John's Gospel, bystanders are shown covering their noses (as we can see in the icon from St. Katherine's Monastery, above).  This illustrates both the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh and also the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead.  

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."   My study bible notes that in order to show His divine will was one with the Father's and that His human will was freely subject in every way to the Father's, Christ prays aloud for the sake of the people.  Let us not forget those who have come from Jerusalem are also present to witness what happens.  

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"   My study bible comments that Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of the Father, but rather by His own authority.  This shows the people that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.  

And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  Many patristic commenters on this passage view Lazarus bound in his graveclothes as an indication that he will need them again.  In other words, Lazarus' resurrection continues an earthly life which will again end in death.  The Savior's graveclothes, by contrast, would remain in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike that of Lazarus, the Resurrection of Christ transfigures human nature; He will never die again.  My study bible adds that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but in the words of the Orthodox hymn for the day, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," proving that Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13).  

Christ's resurrection of Lazarus is a type of prefiguration of His own Resurrection, but it is a purely human one, so to speak.  While the Resurrection will confer eternal life, as my study bible points out, Lazarus' resurrection will mean he will live out a natural human life and once more die a natural human death.  But nevertheless, this life in the tomb is illustrative of our faith and its effects upon us while we still live an earthly life.  That Lazarus walks out of the tomb "bound hand and foot with graveclothes" symbolizes for us the type of binding by death, which is the last weapon of the evil one, as the Church Fathers might put it.  Death is the "last enemy" in this understanding, which Jesus, as Liberator or Savior (for the titles have the same connotation from the Old Testament Scriptures) will destroy for us with His Resurrection.  Lazarus is bound hand and foot, but it is Christ, our Liberator, who will defeat the enemy who has symbolically bound Lazarus, and who gives the command, "Loose him, and let him go."  In the story of Lazarus, nothing is sanitized.  Death is clearly looked at openly, even to the point of bearing with the stench of decomposition, and Lazarus walks out of the tomb bound in his graveclothes.  There is no flinching away from the reality of this world here, for with the light of Christ we go forward even into the darkness.  But it is that light that shines so that we may see life where we could not expect it with eyes shaded in the darkness of a purely materialistic perception.  In the modern world, we tend to have death and illness put away from us, unlike in the ancient world.  Those who have longterm illness may be housed in places that specialize in dealing with their conditions.  The same is true for conditions which affect the mind, or the conditions of the elderly.  There are, of course, important reasons for this.  But it was not always so, as care was focused in the home.   As a result of this separation, it seems to me, many have difficulty seeing the vital life that is still in a diseased body, or of a person who may be dying.  I experienced this in the care of my own mother, who for the last years of her life had Alzheimer's disease/dementia.  For her it took the form mainly of losing speech; that is, of finding the words to express herself, although she was mentally alert.  But I found, as she lost her highly articulate capacity for self-expression, that more of her persona shone through, and especially aspects of herself as a child.  I do not mean that she was childish, only that the personality of the child she had been shone through to me.  As daughter became mother, I found how much I delighted in and loved that child.  I could always make her laugh; and as we are mother and daughter, I could still understand, and often finish her sentences for her.  Communication is essential with this disease, ironically enough; it is social life that delays deeper onset, and fortunately we could still give her that.  But if I had eyes that could only see her deterioration from the person she had been, I would not have been able to see the beautiful life still inside of her, the person who delighted in beauty until the day she died, who could be moved by a sunset, or the words of Scripture, or by prayer, or a beautiful garden.  She could still delight in a delicious meal, and I marveled how she held herself elegantly.  She needed and fully appreciated care, the steamy healing of a warm shower on her back, the relaxation of a backrub.  She remained loving to her friends, enjoyed going out for a meal or coffee and a sweet, and retained her interest in people, even strangers and small children.  All of these aspects of beauty and life she retained through her illness, and quite fortunately her death was peaceful.   My faith gave me the vision of these good things of life present and vital in her, and, seemingly miraculously, I and others who were her friends and loved her watched her grow in her faith, and deepen her appreciation of Christ.   Those of her loved ones who did not share this faith were seemingly unable to cope with her changed condition, could not accept her as she was and still see what goodness and life was there, had no patience for her physical deterioration, and seemingly could not bear to be present for her last days, even telling me that for them she had passed long before.  The story of Lazarus being released from the tomb puts me in mind of the gift of my faith to see life, to know that Resurrection is present in each moment because of the values and sight that Christ has given to us.  The love of Lazarus and his sisters speaks so loudly in today's reading.  Jesus' tears as He wept testifies to that circle of love among these friends.  That love is inseparable from what we know as life, and it gives us eyes to see with, as Christ illumines our way to know that there is life in the tomb, for He has liberated us all from death.  We must remember that He is the One who shone the light in the darkness, even if the darkness did not comprehend (John 1:4-5), and we are to follow Him.  Jesus did not weep out of mere sadness, but out of love, an affirmation of life.  Let us not forget.

Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?

 

 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." 

 

- John 11:30–44 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came to Bethany, to the house of Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 

Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."   My study bible notes for us here that Mary approaches Jesus with the identical words used by Martha (see yesterday's reading, above).  While Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He engages Mary with works -- the raising of her brother Lazarus from death.

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  My study bible comments that John emphasizes that Jesus wept, and that He groaned in spirit.  "Jesus wept" is the shortest verse in the Bible, and it emphasizes that Christ had fully taken on human nature, and was as subject to grief as any other person.   It further adds that weeping is the natural response to the tragedy of death.  One Orthodox hymn for the commemoration of this event proclaims, "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt love."  What we also see on display here is another aspect of Christ's compassion.   Knowing what He will do, He nevertheless is moved to tears by human suffering.

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  My study bible tells us that although Martha's faith had increased, she still understood neither Christ's will nor His power.  The spices and oils which were used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition away for a short time.  Many icons of the raising of Lazarus include bystanders who are covering their noses, which illustrates both the reality of Lazarus's corrupted flesh, and also the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."   In order to show His divine will is one with the Father's and that Christ's human will is freely subject in all ways to the Father's, He prays aloud for the sake of the people.  Remember that many of those gathered here are from Jerusalem, possibly including members of the ruling Council.  The union with the Father has been Jesus' constant emphasis to the religious leaders all throughout John's Gospel.

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"   Citing 5:28-29, my study bible comments that Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of the Father, but by Christ's own authority.  What it shows to the people is that while Christ came from the Father, He also fully possesses divine authority in Himself.  This will all no doubt be reported back to the leadership in Jerusalem.

And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."    That Lazarus came out of the tomb bound in his graveclothes is understood by many patristic sources as an indication that he will need them again.  In other words, his resurrection continues an earthly life which will again end in natural death.  My study bible contrasts this with Christ's graveclothes, which, by contrast, would be left in the tomb (20:5-7).   Unlike Lazarus's, my study bible notes, Christ's Resurrection transfigures human nature.  He will never die again.

What is resurrection?  What does it mean to you, and what does it mean to me?  We, as human beings, can only look to resurrection as a sense in which death is, in some sense, meaningless and powerless.  But truly, resurrection is much more than that, at least when we understand it in the context of Jesus and His work in the world.  In the raising of Lazarus it is revealed to us truly that Christ has the power of life and death -- but possibly especially of life over death.  In the Resurrection Hymn of Easter, the Orthodox Church proclaims that Christ -- through His sacrifice on the Cross -- trampled down death by death.  Through His freely sacrificial death, Christ has destroyed the power of death for all of us.  But in the raising of Lazarus we find more in terms of the powerful symbolism of Christ's life-giving power for our own lives here in this world, and not just in the next.  Christ's display of healing power, even that which transcends and overcomes death, is one which affirms for us and for these witnesses from Jerusalem (who will spread the story to all, of course) that in Christ is life itself.  Over and over in John's Gospel, we have received images of light and life regarding Christ, that this very power of life in Christ is also the light by which we must seek to live.  It is the light by which we walk by day, so that we don't stumble in the darkness (see 11:9-10).  The power of the life Christ offers is one that can pick us up when we stumble.  It can lead us out of our own darkness, in the dark corners where we find ourselves stuck, out of the alleyways and byways we take because we don't know any better.  This is the life He brings to the world, and it is the power of life on display in the raising of Lazarus.  As with all things in the life of Christ, there is not simply one dimension within which we understand the power of God.  It applies in hidden and unknown and secret, yet-to-be-discovered ways for all of us, for each of us who cares to come to that light, and for each of us willing to give up a way that leads to death.  Even death we can understand also as having many dimensions:  our limited imaginations and understanding, our broken or misguided goals that don't really give us what we need or what we think they will, our desire to follow the world in ways that aren't really suitable, our own limitations of every sort.  It is Christ's light of life that comes to us to help us through all of that, to place us on a learning curve, so that we grow in our understanding and come closer to Christ in the process of doing so.   It is through Christ's power of life over death that we come to Him as we grow in faith, and walk on this journey that we can observe in the lives brought to us through the Gospels.  That is, in the lives of the disciples, in the growth of the faith of Mary and Martha, and still others like the Pharisee Nicodemus.  We also see the choice for darkness and death in the responses of many of the leaders, which will lead only to greater darkness -- and most certainly to death, especially when they hear of this extraordinary sign of the raising of Lazarus.  At this time, there are so many people beset with many hardships and viewing tragedies for both human beings and for nature as well.  Many of us are living under conditions we all find difficult.  But we should stop to think that for many of us there is a hidden and powerful message in the stress and difficulties, and that is the message of life in Christ.  We might view death all around us when we are visited with problems like a strange and frightening virus, with complex conditions set down for us we don't always understand.  We can see "death" in the difficulties we have coming together in traditional ways, in the fires that are burning huge portions of our forests, in the shutdown of business, work, and economies, and many other dimensions of what we're experiencing now.  But we should never forget the story of Lazarus especially at times like this.   Jesus said of Lazarus' death -- just like the blindness since birth of the man healed in chapter 9 -- "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (11:4).  While we do not have Jesus in the flesh walking among us, we have Christ present together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the uncountable angels which surround us, and the unknowable number of saints who pray with us.  We mustn't forget that in every experience of death (of any sort), we also may find an opportunity to beat the devil through our own prayer and supplication and faith.  We might find ways at this time where the glory of God shines through what appears to be nominally tragedy.  This is such a time that was made for faith, for realizing where God is hidden for us behind the scene, around a corner, in the secret room where we pray, in our hearts capable of discerning and knowing God's word for us.  This is a time where we are discovering that Zoom classes and bible studies are connecting us together across a country, even across an ocean.  This is a time when we have an internet that allows us to hear a good word when we can't get to our church.  It is a time when we have a choice to pull together and help one another or to dissolve helplessly into the spirit of blame and spite and division we see around ourselves.  At this time possibly as at no other time, we have a choice to reveal ourselves in the light of faith and to reject the darkness.  We have faith in resurrection, not in death.  Let us walk in the light with Christ, for His is the light of life indeed.  Christ wept with us.   Our Lord became one of us to be with us, and so that we might be always with Him.  Wherever we are, He has been there with us, and remains with us.  Our God is the God of life and of love, and in that understanding we are kept in His light.