As our Lenten journey nears its climax (it’s Palm Sunday next weekend!), we witness in this week’s Gospel perhaps Jesus’ most spectacular miracle – the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The name ‘Lazarus’ means ‘God helps’ and we read that he lives in a small town just a few miles away from Jerusalem called Bethany, which means “the house of the afflicted”. These names highlight that this is a story about all who are in any way afflicted and seeking the help of God, which means every one of us!

Lazarus, we hear, is the brother of Martha and Mary and John tells us that “Jesus loved all of them” – so they are the friends of God, his beloved – so once again that means all of us! But hearing that Lazarus is sick Jesus oddly does not rush to his aid but waits for 2 days. We might naturally ask, why the delay? One of the reasons is so that there could be no doubt that Lazarus was really dead. The Jewish belief was that the soul stayed near the body for 3 days, and so, with Lazarus already in the tomb for 4 days there can be no hope of resuscitation. Jesus waited so as to reveal his divine power through this miraculous resurrection. The death of Lazarus, then, is a necessary part of this sign, just as Jesus’s own death within a few days of this miracle will be a necessary part of God’s plan of salvation.

“I mean to raise you from your grave” – these words from the prophet Ezekiel in our first reading are spoken to each one of us. What we see in Lazarus is a sign of what Jesus desires for us all – that we will be set free from the bonds of death. But we also need to desire this - which means that we constantly need to be dying to sin and selfishness and coming to new life in Jesus. In the coming two weeks we will follow Jesus to the cross and beyond to the joy of the Resurrection. This is the only way – there is no shortcut to salvation. We cannot parachute by ourselves into heaven – we’ve got to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. If we are faithful to him, then Jesus’s promise is that we too will one day hear his words to Lazarus spoken directly to us: “Unbind him, let him go free!” Do all you can to stay as close as you can to Jesus during the coming days. Let him unbind you and raise you to new life!


With blessings & prayers from Fr Richard, Fr Ephrem & all the parish team
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