Lazarus, Come Out! Wouldn’t it have been wondrous to witness the raising of Lazarus? Just to be in the crowd and hear Jesus say those words, “Lazarus Come Out!” and see someone we knew was dead walk out of the tomb. I’ll bet you could have just felt the power of God in the air.
But you know many people ask the question, “Why did Jesus wait two days after the sisters called for Him? And Why was important for Lazarus to be in the tomb four days? Well, Jesus answered the first question for us in the gospel reading. “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” He wanted to let all the people see the power of God so they would know the truth about Him and His mission.
Why the four days in the tomb? Well, the Jewish people believed that after 3 days the spirit leaves the body so on the 4th day for Jesus to bring him back to life was truly a miraculous thing from God. Jesus really wanted the people to have no doubt about who He was and the power of God.
Even His apostles didn’t understand what He was saying. “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” And Jesus replied, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.”
So how does this story help us? We already believe that Jesus is the second person in the Holy Trinity. We don’t need to be convinced anymore. Or do we? What is lent all about? It’s about turning back to the ways of God. It’s about turning away from our sinful ways and walking in the light. But sometimes that is easier said then done. Some of us think we are beyond the saving power of God. That it’s too late for us so why try. Sometimes to be able to accept God’s forgiveness we need to forgive ourselves first and sometimes we can’t or won’t take that step.
So we need to think about this gospel passage a little more. For if Jesus can raise a man dead 4 days back to life, what more can He do for us? We just need to listen and respond.
Lazarus, Come Out! And a dead man returned to life and walked out of the tomb. Brothers and Sisters even those of us who are spiritually dead because of sin, are called back to life by the unlimited mercy of God’s forgiveness. We just need to listen because Christ is calling out to us - Lazarus, Come Out!
He is calling us out of the dark tomb, the darkness of sin, to come out into the light, the light of forgiveness. We must not only listen for His call but we must respond to His command. Lazarus, Come Out! Jesus didn’t ask Lazarus to come out, He commanded him to come out and the dead man did.
So like Lazarus we must to respond to Jesus’ command and come out of our tomb of sin and enter into the LIGHT of Christ. Once we answer Jesus’ command to “Come OUT!” We must make the necessary changes so as not to fall back into the darkness of our sin. I think that’s the hardest part for most us because now we have to change. And Change is not always easy - especially if we are finding some sort of pleasure in our sin.
The modern World tells us that it’s always about what makes us happy or what is good for us. Doesn’t matter what happens to anyone else as long as we get what we think is due to us. The world calls us to be self-centered - but Jesus calls us to be selfless and put others needs before our own. Self - LESS. It’s a direct contradiction
The world tells us it’s ok to exploit people to get what we want. Have any of you seen the turkey sandwich commercial on TV? There is a woman model who is supposed to be Ms. Turkey, and then her dress comes off and she is in this little bikini that has tiny little turkey sandwiches all over it. They kind of look like dots and then the camera does a close up on the bikini bottoms until you see the little turkey sandwich emblem on the bikini. Really!
This ad exploits a woman’s body in order to sell turkey sandwiches. I know it’s just a commercial – but is it really necessary to use sex to sell a sandwich?
I know it’s not the worst thing out there but it is just an example of how the world wants us to think. In fact many times we see commercials like this and think nothing of it, right?
We become desensitized by the things around us. We even begin to not see what is right and wrong and it all becomes the same. This is how the evil one deceives us. In ways that are so subtle we never see it coming. Eventually we get conditioned to not recognize the sin in the world anymore. We even get to the point that we don’t recognize our own sinfulness anymore.
This is why we need the grace of Lord to help us stay centered in the light. Because Jesus tells us, “If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
So my friends, when you hear Jesus call out, “Lazarus, Come Out!” - respond to His command with joy, especially during this time of Lent. The Church in her wisdom has given us this time to reflect on our lives and have another chance to make things right with Our Lord.
In a few minutes we will get to be with Jesus in a very special way, the Eucharist. Jesus, our God, comes to us here in this place. Here in Garden City on Cypress Ave. to be with us physically as well as spiritually. How awesome is that! I think we receive communion so often that it becomes just one of those things we do at mass. But, think about it…
Our God loves us so much that He comes to us in the presence of bread and wine so that He can touch us, touch our hearts and souls – to physically and spiritually strengthen us to carry on His mission – to live the lives that He calls us to LIVE - to help each other get to heaven – to live as people of the Light – to see the TRUTH in Him.
So we must seek His forgiveness and strength so we can always walk in the Light of Christ.
AND…… when we stumble out of the darkness of our sin into the light of Jesus - he will say, “Untie him and let him go.”
