1: The Death of Lazarus

By way of introduction, this formation path contains six short reflections prepared for use during the Centenary Celebration of the Stigmata of St. Francis taking place in calendar year 2024, which is precisely 800 years after the actual event, which took place in 1224. 

The first two entries come from a series of reflections for the season of Lent that I have written for myself but not published anywhere yet.  Perhaps I will work on that before Lent rolls around next year.  They are included here as introduction and preparation for what is to follow.

Entries three, four and five are focused on the Stigmata itself as presented by Thomas of Celano in Book Two (starts on page 258) of his original hagiography, The Life of St. Francis, written for the occasion of Francis’ beatification.  The reason the first two reflections are present is hopefully made completely clear by the context of these three reflections.

The sixth entry recalls Francis’ definition of True and Perfect Joy, the understanding of which is always challenging, but which is perhaps clarified by the five entries that came before.  

This first entry examines the death of Lazarus (from the perspective of Lazarus) with the intention of inviting the reader to meditate seriously upon the reasons that God not only allows but often deliberately introduces suffering into our lives.  (Hint:  It has nothing to do with disciplining us for our sins, no matter how much we might be worthy of that discipline.)   

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John Chapter 11:1-16

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.  It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”  Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

In verse three, John makes it clear that the sisters of Lazarus believe that Jesus loves their brother.  In verse five, He explicitly reinforces this idea by declaring Jesus’ love outright.  Why then does Jesus wait two days before heading out to see his sick friend?

This delay might not be a big deal if I did it, because I do not have the power to heal my friends from their illnesses.  But Jesus does.  He explains to the disciples (twice) the reason for the delay.  In verse four he tells them it is for God’s glory and the glorification of His Son.  And then in verse fourteen, after he tells them that Lazarus is dead, he tells them the delay is meant to help them believe.

There is no indication that Lazarus was aware of Jesus’ plan.  Perhaps, like Joseph, an angel could have been sent to him with assurances that everything was going to be ok.  But if that had happened, one would expect that such a visit would have been recorded and presented to us with the rest of the story.

When I occupy the place of Lazarus, I find myself with many questions:

• Did he understand the seriousness of his illness?  Did he know his sisters had sent for Jesus?
• Was he hoping or even expecting that his powerful friend would come and heal him?
• Short of healing, did he at least want to be comforted by Jesus before he died?
• As time drew out, did Lazarus become more and more despondent over the absence of Jesus?
• Was the faith of Lazarus shaken by Jesus’ delay?
• Did Lazarus continue to believe, even to his last breath, that Jesus would somehow make everything ok?  Or did he, perhaps, feel abandoned or forsaken by Jesus at the end?

Point of Emphasis: Lent is a time when the idea of suffering is front and center.  We most often think of this in terms of the hardship that Jesus endured during His Passion, but here we are reminded that suffering is integral to God’s overall plan.  None of us should expect to escape it.  All of us should be interested in learning how to accept it, willingly participate in it, and even benefit from it.   

We must admit and believe that God will turn all suffering to good, and here we have a story where Jesus openly demonstrates this ability.  Lazarus is expected to suffer and die for the edification of his fellow Israelites.  His permission is not sought, and Jesus does not feel the need to forewarn him that his hardship is part of a bigger plan that will result in great good being accomplished.

Jesus uses the suffering and death of Lazarus as a teaching tool to turn eyes and hearts toward Himself and His Father in heaven and, ever the obedient Son, He does not allow His Love for Lazarus to interfere with the overarching plans of His Father.

• Be assured that He will do the same with you and me.  Is that distressing, or comforting?
• When I suffer, I experience the same kind of doubts I attribute to Lazarus.  How does knowing the outcome of the story help prepare me for the suffering and hardship that I will inevitably be asked to endure for the good of the Kingdom?

Proceed to Reflection 2: “I am the Resurrection and the Life”