THE RAISING OF LAZARUS IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

A Reflection for the 5th Sunday of Lent 2014

(Jn 11: 1-45)

Among the four gospels, John's account of the raising of Lazarus is surely one of the most remarkable. Along with the stories of Jesus walking on water and the healing of the man born blind, the raising of Lazarus from the dead serves the evangelists' purpose of showing that this man, this Jesus of Nazareth, was truly the Messiah and the One who was to come.

Today's gospel passage has inspired much creative writing and artistic interpretation over the centuries. In the art work reproduced here, the Raising of Lazarus by Giotto di Bondone (1267 - 1337), we see how the gospel has inspired the artist to interpret the meaning of John's account.
Giotto shows Jesus with his hand extended in authority towards Lazarus, who in response to Jesus' bidding, has come forth from the tomb. Lazarus is shown, still bound by the grave cloths, but about to be released from them by Jesus' command. In fact, the artist has interpreted the gospel accurately for the viewer: although it is Jesus who has called Lazarus forth to new life ("I am the Resurrection and the Life"), it is a member of the community who is unwinding the cloths. The new life that Jesus promises flows from the concerned, believing community.

The raising of Lazarus has great relevance for our human condition today, when so many people are bound by their addictions: to pornography, to drugs and alcohol, to abusive relationships. Anything that keeps us un-free, that inhibits our human potential for development, growth and the fullness of life that Jesus came to bring can be seen as binding us into helplessness, suffocation and death.

But a person entombed in addiction will not hear the voice of Jesus, calling them back to life, unless someone from the community first rolls away the stone. At the point where compassion becomes action, the love of the Creator for the wellbeing of the created becomes manifest as social concern, as pastoral care, as wellness and recovery programs, and so on. Organizations of pastoral concern arise: St Vincent de Paul, Alcoholics Anonymous, CatholicCare, Jesuit Refugee Services.

In the final lines of Chapter 11 of his gospel, John makes his emphasis: "Unbind him; hand him back." It takes the love of one individual to begin the process of healing of the other. Do you know anyone who needs help today?