Today the Gospel of John recounts the story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. It’s a familiar story to us. We’ve heard it many times over the years, and perhaps we’ve even taken the time to read it and study it, either alone or maybe in a bible study group.
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead occurs only in John. However, it’s both interesting and insightful for us at this time of year to consider the story against that of another Lazarus, the Lazarus of Luke’s gospel, who lay in the rich man’s door and begged. It’s actually a story we hear in ordinary time during the C cycle of our liturgical year in the early fall.
Recall that in Luke’s gospel Lazarus died and was seen in Abraham’s bosom by the rich man who was being tormented in the grave. The rich man called out and begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to warn them. Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets….if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
During Lent we tend to focus on repenting from that which ultimately brings about the fate of the rich man in Luke’s story. Even though the story of Luke’s Lazarus is not one we hear during Lent, it does have the message of repenting or facing consequences in spiritual death, which is an important Lenten theme. However, what we hear today from John’s gospel, rather than focusing on death, focuses on life. In many ways the Lazarus of John gives us a mirror image of the Lazarus of Luke, who cannot return to warn the rich man’s brothers of the torments awaiting those who sin against justice.
Unlike Luke’s Lazarus, John’s Lazarus does return but does he convince us to refrain from the sin of injustice? Does his being raised open our eyes to the mercy of God who has allowed him to return? Aside from being a spectacular miracle, does Lazarus being raised from the dead spur us into action or does he fail to convince us just as the Abraham of Jesus’ parable warned?
Our reading from Ezekiel reveals not only the hope that awaits the righteous in the final judgment, the peace of heaven, but it also shows us the hope of transformation for the living in the world where we live now. God promises to enliven us. It seems obvious that enlivening occurs for a purpose.
On a spiritual level each one of us should rejoice and see ourselves being somehow like the Lazarus whom God has chosen to restore to life. The question remains as to what we do with the life we have been given. It seems that the opportunity exists for us, as spiritually enlivened beings, to bring about change in the world where we live.
We have the opportunity, unlike the first Lazarus, to go to our brothers and sisters and let them know that they can no longer turn their backs upon those who cry out in anguish. We are given the power, the life within, to heal the world. We must do it in a way that seems by analogy to be most like being in love.
In healing the world, in calling forth the dead into life, we tap into the deepest resources of our hearts and fully comprehend and share with others in our world. We take their part; we experience what they live, and we offer life. Like the poor man Lazarus, the Lazarus of today’s reading died, but God raised him. God has also raised us. With the spirit of God in us, whom will we call forth and restore from the world of the dead?
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