The raising of Lazarus

The Gospel of the raising of Lazarus taken from John 11:1-45 is rich in imagery and meaning.

Given that this is the Jubilee Year of St Francis of Assisi marking 800 years since his death, I was reading on one of the Franciscan sites, that 'the figure of Saint Francis is particularly valuable in the context of spiritual fatigue. He does not propose “more practices,” but simplicity and authenticity: a return to personal reading of the Gospel, joy in small things, a faith lived in relationships, not only in events.' I hope that resonates with you as it did me.

I mention this because I was struck by, 'a return to personal reading of the Gospel.' I suppose one can understand that in two ways. Simply taking up the Gospels and reading them or reading them from a personal perspective. I can't help reading the Gospels from a personal perspective these days. My involvement with Ignatian spirituality and Ignatian contemplation by placing oneself in the Gospel scene has contributed to that.

Now back to the raising of Lazarus. These were some of the things that struck me reading it the first time through. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, sent a message to Jesus to say that the man he loved was ill. Mary was deeply aware of the love that Jesus had for Lazarus and their family. Jesus loves you and me. We can pray for a deepening of this awareness for ourselves and those we are in relationship with. I am a man that Jesus loves and you are men and women that Jesus loves. We know it but I wonder if it really impacts on me sometimes. We can sit with this profound reality and simply be grateful. Because of that love relationship Jesus has with us, he wants to raise us up too, free us from the things that burden and constrain us.

Jesus does a lot of sighing in this Gospel. Sighing is cathartic. It releases the emotions. Māori people talk about the breath of life, the Tihei mauri ora. We hear that Jesus 'breathed on them,' his disciples, in the upper room. The breath of Jesus brings life and of course this is precisely what Lazarus receives but for Jesus there are tears too. He weeps for his friend who is dead, he weeps for Martha and Mary and their neighbours but perhaps he weeps for himself too and what is about to happen to him, he weeps for all those who refuse to believe in him, who fail to see, unlike his friends from Bethany, how much they are loved. He wants them to see the power of God working in and through him. He wants us to share in the intimate and love relationship he has with the Father. We get an insight into this relationship when he says that his prayer to the Father is always heard. We can have absolute trust in him because he intercedes for us precisely because we are the women and men he loves. Nothing is beyond the power of Jesus. This Gospel challenges me to believe this.

I think 'You raise me up,' is a very appropriate song for us this week.

Blessings