4th Sunday of Abib - Raising of Lazarus
Introduction
Why did the Lord weep?
In the beginning of the gospel, the Lord said:
"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
And later he explained it to the disciples:
"Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I might wake him up."
So He knows that the Lord will be glorified through this miracle, He knows that Lazarus will live and walk again.
So why, later on, did the Lord weep? Of course, the Lord loved Lazarus - but His tears were not simply for his friend's death. His tears were for sin. For humanity's fallen nature.
Sin is death.
When I am in sin, I am dead. If sin is separation from God, and God is Life, then when I separate myself from Life, I am dead. When I am far from God, I am dead. When I am far from Light, I am in darkness. But when I repent from the sin, I am raised again to life.
In the four gospels, the Lord is documented to have raised three people from the dead. Of course, there are many miracles not documented in the Gospels as St John tells us - but there are three Resurrections performed by the Lord that are described...
- The raising of Jairus' daughter
- The raising of the son of the Widow of Nain
- The raising of Lazarus
So what do these three Resurrections represent?
The Resurrection of Jairus' daughter happened when she had just fallen asleep. She was not even removed from her house yet. It's right after she died, that the Lord came and raised her.
The Resurrection of the Son of the Widow of Nain happened after he had died, and was taken out of his home and carried in a coffin, but not yet buried. At this time, the Lord came and raised him.
The Resurrection of Lazarus happened after he had died, was taken out of his home, carried to a tomb and buried in it, and then left for four days. The Gospel tell us - "there was a stench." At that time, the Lord came and raised him.
The Fathers see these three Resurrections as symbolizing our Resurrection from Sin at its various stages.
Maybe I am in the beginning stage of sin - I have heard about it, I am considering doing it, I tried it once. I did it on accident. I was pressured into doing it. I am like Jairus' daughter who was JUST pronounced dead a few minutes ago.
Maybe I am at a further stage - I have repeated the sin more than once, I am hiding it from my Father of Confession. I am like the son of the widow - dead and on the way to be buried.
Maybe I am at an even further stage - I am living the sin, I am not ashamed or embarrassed of it, I am encouraging others to do it or teaching them how. I am like Lazarus - I am dead, buried in the tomb, and there is a stench.
Let's Take some Examples:
Gambling
- My friend told me about an app and I used it and then I found out it's gambling and it's a sin. This is still early stages. Jairus' Daughter
- Well even after I found out that it is gambling and it's a sin, I continued to do it. I made some money, I'm happy with the money! Everyone else is doing it, why not? It's not gambling if you do research, right?! Now sin is at the next level. The son of the widow of Nain.
- Now I'm teaching others how to play. I don't think what I'm doing is wrong... whoever said it was a sin didn't know about it. Now sin is at the last level - Lazarus.
The same can be said of any sin
- My friend showed me how easy it is to use AI to write my essay for school - so I tried it and it worked. I submitted my essay and I got a good grade... then I found out this is cheating. This is still early stages.
- I am browsing the internet and I came across an advertisement or an image that is not suitable for my eyes, and it caused my eye to sin. I closed it right away. Early stages. I go and look again. Middle stages. I become addicted. Late stages.
There are stages of sin that the Fathers see in these three dead people - but what unites these three stories is that the Lord RAISED all of them. He is the Resurrection and the Life, as He told Martha today.
No matter what I am struggling with, the Lord is able to raise me out of it. No matter how new it is, how old it is, how deep I am, how much I stand to lose, how much people know or don't know, the Lord can bring me out of it. He can raise me from the dead.
Let me ask myself - what is it that I am struggling with? What is it that I am keeping from my Father of Confession? What is it that I can't seem to shake, or that I've become addicted to? The Lord can bring me out of it.
How?
The Lord Seeks Our Repentance
Adam, Cain, King David, St Peter
The Lord Calls For Us
"Lazarus, come forth!"
The Lord Frees Us
"Loose him and let him go"
Action
Let me ask myself - what is it that I am struggling with? What is it that I am keeping from my Father of Confession? What is it that I can't seem to shake, or that I've become addicted to? And the Lord can bring me out of it.
Set an appointment with your Father of Confession. The Lord seeks your repentance. The Lord rejoices in my repentance. The Lord is calling for me - all of those signs I've been ignoring, the Gospel Readings, Abouna's sermons, or the Sunday School Lessons, the Bible verses that come as notifications or come across my feed, - let me take them as signs to repent and confess. And the Lord will set me free.
Glory be to God, forever. Amen.