“Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” Come out of the tomb. Come out of the darkness. Come out of the stench. Come out of death. “Lazarus, come out!”
Since Jesus’ words are efficacious, the man, formerly dead, was brought back to life and came out, still tied hand and foot with burial bands and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus has done the heavy lifting. Jesus has rolled away the stone for us. But we still must come out. We have to leave the familiar comfort of our tomb. In addition, Jesus invites others to help Lazarus become fully unbound. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” The theme for this Lenten weekend could be, “Untie him and let him go.”
In this Gospel account, the writer, John, tells of one of the most spectacular examples of Jesus’ liberation: his releasing Lazarus from the grip of natural death. But the deeper level from which Christ speaks is another kind of life that is foretold; a life that is more spectacular, and a more freeing experience, that would soon follow, when Jesus dies on the cross and rises from the dead.
While we Catholic Christians recognize that the freedom Jesus wants to give us extends beyond this world to eternal salvation, God wants to give us freedom in this life, too. When we are free from sin, life is so much more beautiful. The air is fresh. We sometimes forget how great it is to live in fresh air. The birds are singing. Our ears are no longer ringing with the noise of me, me, me. Life smells good. Life is beautiful now as we walk to the one who is calling us, as we walk to Jesus. Which can then get us to ask ourselves: What, especially inside of us, blocks our freedom? Or to use the term of the Gospel, what ties us up? Today, we are being called away from our sins — negativity, blaming, accusing, judging, lack of forgiveness, gossip, revenge, complaining, anger, addictions, self-loathing or whatever keeps us from the land of the living.
Once we are freed from what binds us, we have a call to help others. Others who are still bound. We can invite them, like Jesus, to come out of the tombs and come into life. We are called to care for others, re-affirm them, encourage them, let them know that God’s mercy is infinitely greater than sin. We can tell them, “You don’t belong in the darkness, you belong out here in the light. You don’t belong among the dead. You belong among the living.” We can have a hand in untying them, so they also can be free to live. We are called to remind others that they are known, loved and chosen, and that they are beautiful, respected and beloved daughters and sons of God. We see clearly in this passage who has the power not only to love us despite our sins, but also to bring about our freedom in this life and in the life to come.
Father Mark Joppa is pastor of St. Rita in Cottage Grove.
Sunday, March 26
Fifth Sunday of Lent
