Raising of Lazarus

Jesus Wept

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. 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.”

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"  John 11:

Preparing For Holy Week This post is intended to be a guide for your prayer during the whole of the fifth week of Lent. Revisit it each day, mining deeply into the mystery of the raising of Lazarus and its meaning for your life of faith. *Additions to this post will be added during the week.*

REFLECTIONS FOR PRAYER

The verses above, selected from John's account of the raising of Lazarus, provide us with some key elements for our prayer. Read the whole of John 11:1-44.

SETTING THE SCENE: 

• Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary are very dear friends of Jesus.
• They live in Bethany, a town just east of Jerusalem, and Jesus stays at their home when he travels to Jerusalem.
• Jesus has retreated to the Jordan River, about twenty miles east of Jerusalem. He is seeking to avoid the Jewish rulers who are planning to kill Him.
• Lazarus falls gravely ill and his sisters fear he is dying. They send a messenger to inform Jesus, believing he will come at once and heal him.

 THE TIME LINE:

• Day 1: The messenger sets out to inform Jesus. He travels to where Jesus is staying, a distance of about 20 miles - a days journey. But on his way, that very day, Lazarus dies and is buried before sunset, as is the Jewish practice. (Jesus sees in his spirit Lazarus has died.)
• Day 2: Jesus remains at the Jordan river.
• Day 3: Jesus continues to remain at the Jordan. 
• Day 4: Jesus travels to Bethany and meets with Martha and Mary. This is the fourth day Lazarus has been in the tomb.

THE GRACE I SEEK:

O Lord, grant me a renewed and confident faith, that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God - not even death itself. Heal the wounds of doubt that inflict me.

 CONTEMPLATION:

Entering into the mystery:

• Ask yourself why Jesus delayed returning to Bethany for two more days.

• Did Jesus need to enter into a time of profound prayer, deep communion with the Father? 
•  Did the Father reveal to Jesus that the time is now, that this moment in the history of salvation would begin the final conflict with the Angel of Death, who holds the keys of death, which is the "great lie", that imprisons the hope of all people?
• Did the Father reveal to Jesus that he too must suffer the wrath of all hell, that will try to crush his trust in the Father by bring death upon him?

• Is your faith ready to face the ravages of pain and suffering and death should they be waged against you?
• Suffering and death appear to contradict a God of love. What is your answer to this argument?

• Consider Martha and Mary, they hold the same belief that there would be a day of resurrection that would be like a "resuscitation" of those in the grave, bring them back to life again in this world. 

• They do not blame Jesus for not being there when Lazarus died, there was no time for him to make it. They are only expressing their regret, knowing he could have healed Lazarus had he been able to be there.

• What of your own situations, what regrets do you carry in your heart regarding those who have died?
• Do you wonder why Jesus did not come when you needed Him? 

• Jesus wept! But why?

• Lazarus was a healthy man, in the prime of his life, respected by all in his community. His illness was unexpected and seen as tragic. 
• Many have come to pay their respects and to comfort Martha and Mary deeply grieving.
• Jesus must know what he is about to do, yet he cries.
• Some see Lazarus death and Jesus crying as proof he is fraud. 

• How do you respond in the face of death? Do you question why?
• Have you grieved? Has your heart healed? 
• Are you able to comfort others who are grieving? 

•  "Lazarus, come out!"

• Jesus demands the grave be opened and Martha is shocked at this. One more knock against Jesus - Lazarus is dead, he will smell, what do you need to see, have you no respect for the dead?
• An audible groan emits from the depths of Jesus spirit. The battle is on, Jesus and Satan locked in fierce combat. "He's mine claims the voice of Death - go home.
• The gates of death are shattered, Lazarus spirit flees from the grip of death back into his body. He is alive again!
• Everyone is stupefied, frozen in their tracks, speechless. Jesus must tell them to unbind Lazarus from his grave cloths.

• What a scene to contemplate. With your imagination enter into it.
•  See the various characters, what they are doing; hear what they are saying.
• Imagine the scene at the gates of death.Hear the cries of souls wait to be set free.
• Image Jesus, the true superhero, needing only the authority of his voice to subdue the enemy.
• Do you realize that Lazarus is now you?

Jesus, the Key of Salvation

* * Look for additions to be added here, to this post, during this week.* *