Weekend Reflection for 4/3/14

Let him go!

And when Jesus had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” (John 11: 43-44)

I often wonder what it would have been like to have been Lazarus! He was dead and brought back to life. What did he experience in those days in the tomb? I am sure if Lazarus were around today there would be newspaper articles, television interviews, guest appearances… Everyone would be fascinated by Lazarus — and all he did was die.

I wonder what he would say; I wonder how he would live his life in the time before he died again. I can’t help but think that he would embrace the value of life, the joy of love, the spirit of gratitude, the holiness of the present moment. Lazarus would realize that death is not supreme, but God’s love is — for God’s love overcomes even death.

We are also called to die — in more than a physical way. We are called to die to ourselves, to sin, to selfishness, to fear, to hate. We are called to die to all that is deadly and death-dealing in us. This is the dying which also leads to the resurrection from the dead.

What garments of death do I wear now — sin, possessions and possessiveness, power, pride, guilt. These are the bonds which bind me and hem me in. These are the garments about which I pray that I hear Jesus say: Untie him and let him go!