by Mark Escobar

Created on: January 02, 2010

Readings:  Ez 37:12-14; Ps 130:1-8; Rm 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45 or 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

The Raising of Lazarus

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”

The Roman playwright Lucius Annaeus Seneca[1] once wrote: “Anyone can stop a man’s life but no one his death; a thousand doors open on to it.”  Death is something beyond our power; it is inevitable, real, and it is marked by a specific day on the calendar.  “Everyone is destined to die”(Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 – ASV).

            History can tell us about many forms of death and our interpretations continue to mold our lives.  Like that of John Donne’s ‘Death be not proud.’  It is very meaningful as it says towards the end of the poem, “one short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, and death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.”  Legends and stories of death and dying have drawn us to see and grasp the meanings and their implications with a great deal of sorrow.  We come to think, for instance, of the Black Plague, the Medieval Dark Ages, war, starvation, and murder.

            Today’s gospel is another episode of Jesus’ miracle when he raised Lazarus from the dead.  Lazarus is like a celebrity here, an attraction for a number of people.  However, some scripture scholars doubt the veracity of the story.  They say that it is only found in the gospel of John.  Then, in the gospel of Luke it’s never mentioned that Mary and Martha have a brother (Lk 10:38-42).  And some say that probably it originated from the parable of the rich man and a beggar named Lazarus who both died (Lk 16:19-31).  The rich man went to hell and Lazarus appeared at Abraham’s side. 

          Anyway, the story itself is a moving experience and a faith building event that truly reveals the nature of real miracles and displays the power of the Son of God.  Its purpose is not only for the glory of God but “that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it.”  According to the gospels, there are three people who were raised from the dead by Jesus.  These are Lazarus who

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