The Grave Yard

Our imagination can be very rewarding on our spiritual journey. We must know, visualize and sometimes it takes our imagination to understand that God is with us every step of our journey.

Imagine our Lord saying to you, “Oh my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them”.

I remember, when I was young, and passing through a cemetery at night.  I’ve taken this path many times before, but this was shortly after listening to this exact reading, “I will open your graves and have you rise from them”. Naturally, my imagination began to wander. It was pitch dark and the only sound was that of an owl hooting. I’m sure that owl hooted every time I walked through that cemetery, but tonight I heard it.

 And, as I walked further and further passed the graves, I swore I heard all kind of noises coming from those very grave sites. Then the the old black and white version of the movie the “Zombies’ came to my mind. And I began to imagine these creatures, one arm at a time, bone by bone, pushing through the earth and watching me. Wasn’t sure if they had appetites, or what zombies ate. I just told God that now was not a good time to open up those graves.

I prayed and the words of Jesus came to me, “I am with you always” and I pictured Jesus walking next to me, side by side, yet leading and comforting me.

Yes, that was some imagination, but in that imagination there was faith. Faith in the fact that I pictured and believed that Jesus was walking this journey with me.

Many recent readings are concerned with death and the resurrection to newness of life.

And there are grave yard scenes, we see a tomb, the ultimate place of death and decay. We see prayers, extreme faith, a miracle and joy.

We have Lazarus.  Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus. But before Jesus arrived, his illness became fatal and sadness and hurt and even anger, overcame the two sisters. But if we look closely at the reading there was also hope, there was crucial and critical faith, for Martha says to Jesus when he arrived, “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you”. That was a prayer of faith.

And there was weeping and Jesus became troubled and he was extremely upset and Jesus wept.  Yes, Jesus wept, tears of sorrow, tears no different than ours for the loose of someone close.

They remove the stone and Jesus prays. Jesus prays for the glory of God, not his glory. He prays with the faith that we all must have. And then he shouts.

 “Lazarus, come out”. Imagine Lazarus, laying in a prepared burial fashion, hands and feet tied and his face wrapped in a cloth. 

He manages to stagger to the entrance of the tomb and people are in awe – the dead man came out. There is no conversation between Jesus and Lazarus, but I can imagine there was much said between the hearts of these two friends, their souls joined as they stood there both reflecting on that moment. And I can imagine that every time Lazarus went into his inner room to pray, he placed himself in that loving image of Jesus, talking to him again from his heart.

We are called to be always in the Spirit, and that requires prayer, yes, unceasing prayer and talking to God, it is having Jesus by our side.

 No one is spared death and the grave swallows up the righteous and the sinner alike.

 But how we choose to live this life will decide where we spend eternity. Our weapon to heaven is prayer.

Our journey with Jesus begins at Baptism and we need to remember there will be hardships, temptation and our weaknesses will be become our crosses, but Jesus said, “I am with you always. Yes, believe and visually imagine Jesus with you every moment -allow him to guide your steps to heaven.

Lazarus is a symbol of all of us – dead to God and bound by sin. And, like Lazarus, each of is loved by Jesus.  Jesus weeps over our suffering and calls us by name to come out of our tombs of unbelief, self-centeredness, and ineffectiveness. 

In the face of death we are encouraged to choose life, and life can be found only in Christ, and his cross. 

Yes, we will rise from our graves on the last day, but even now we can rise with Jesus daily.  He promised it and we can experience it as we unite ourselves to him.

There is a story about a Catholic priest who stopped by to see a patient in a hospital room to say hello and asked how the elderly man was doing. "My doctors say I'm dying," replied the man, and I'm actually excited about it. I know I'm going to be with Jesus."

The priest asked how he could be so cheerful about death. The old man said, when I was younger I grew very discouraged about prayer. I tried to pray, but Jesus never seemed to be there and I never seemed to get an answer. So I just went through the motions. During a retreat a mission priest told me how common that was with prayer.

"The mission priest said, 'You'll have to become like a child. You know how little kids talk to their teddy bears? And get an answer? They use their imagination. Well, Jesus is really there when we pray, but we can't see him, unless we use our imagination.

Choose a room, the mission priest said, where you have some privacy. Put a chair in the room, and picture Jesus in the chair. See him in his robe and sandals, if you want. Then just talk to him in your own words. Tell him what you're upset about and what you're happy about.

 Do this every day, soon it will take less time to get comfortable with Jesus, and easier to talk with him.

Then try this: After you have had your say, just be quiet and listen. 'You'll hear Jesus speak to your heart. The God, who made you, can put ideas, memories, and images into your head, and that's how God talks to you and answers your prayers.'"

"So I tried it," the old man said, "and it worked! It wasn't long before Jesus would sit right there and talk with me, and we've become the best of friends.

 See this chair next to my bed? That's for Jesus. When the doctors told me I would die soon, I waited until they left the room. Then I invited Jesus
to come in and sit down, and I told him what the doctors said. 'I know, Jesus answered, 'I heard them. And I'm happy because we'll soon get to see each other face to face. That chair is special to me.

"That's why I'm excited about dying," the old man continued, "because I can't wait to be with my friend, Jesus." The priest was overwhelmed and, choking back tears, said he wanted to visit again.

But when he returned a few days later, he saw the man's daughter in the hall outside his room, crying. "He just died," she told the priest. "I left his room to get a bite to eat, and when I came back he was gone. I know he was ready, she said but what bothers me is how he must have suffered in his last moments.

 When I found him, he was halfway out of bed, and his head was on that
chair next to his bed."

The priest took her hand and smiled. "Let's take a minute to talk," he said. "There's a story I need to tell you about that chair."