I wonder if you have had the privilege of sitting with a dying person or sharing time with family members immediately following the death of a loved one. Usually few words are spoken, but it is often a special and even sacred moment. Death has a way of stripping away our masks and trivial concerns. A precious person’s life journey has ended, and those remaining must begin a new chapter without the ongoing presence of the one who’s died.
When Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, died, Jesus wasn’t there. So his missed out on the rawness of the death and the grief that followed. But when Jesus does turn up, recriminations flow freely from Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. If you had been here, our brother would not have died … Moved with compassion, Jesus visits the tomb where the body has been laid, prays and then calls to Lazarus to come out. Lazarus emerges, alive again!
Based on this incident, Jesus claims to be the resurrection and the life, the one who promises to give life to us even though we die. It is also the seventh and final ‘sign’ in John’s Gospel that points to Jesus as the one who has come to bring life – eternal life – to the world. This sign stirs the imagination of the people and also hardens the opposition against Jesus. It is the event that precipitates the beginning of the end for Jesus as we move rapidly towards the events of Easter.
This story adds to the mystery surrounding death. Will we live again, even though we die? What will that new life look like? And do we need to fear death? May God give us hope and wisdom as we ponder these questions.