Bound and waddled

Well, this isn’t the first time in my life that I’ve been part of a quarantine. Many years ago, as a small child, I came down with a contagious disease called scarlet fever, and the city’s Board of Health plastered a huge “quarantine” sign on the front door and our entire family was in isolation.  Back then we had deliveries and the milkman was so frightened he left the milk bottles about twenty feet from the house, and probably didn’t take a breath either hurrying back to his truck.

 Friends and relatives would leave food and necessities at the front door, knock and run away. Finally, a few weeks later, the doctor gave us the all clear sign and life returned to normal, and the quarantine message removed.

Many of us are not living in complete isolation, although we may be experiencing cabin fever. But life is definitely different. We just want to “come out” of this tomb we are living in.

And yes, that brings me to today’s Gospel, to the tomb of Lazarus; to the incredible story of Jesus and his friend and the power of his divine nature.

Yes, Lazarus his friend was dead and the pain that must have been in the human heart of Jesus was recorded for us, “Jesus wept”. The shortest verse in all of Scripture showing the human side and compassion of Jesus. “Lazarus, come out”.

Sometimes I think of the lighter side of this and can only imagine Lazarus, like a mummy, tied at the hands and the feet and a veil wrapped around his face. Suddenly, he hears his voice being called, “Lazarus come out”. He can barely walk, probably taking small waddling baby steps and blinded by the veil, attempting to make his way to the light at entrance of the tomb. Maybe, too, wondering what that stench is in that room.

But then I begin to reflect and think of how much Lazarus is like some people we may know - Dead to God and bound by sin. And yet, Like Lazarus, each of us is loved by Jesus, in ways we can’t imagine.

It is no different for us, and those we may know, as Jesus wept over Lazarus, he weeps over our sufferings and calls us by name to come out of our own tombs of darkness and unbelief. “Untie him and let him go”. He weeps until we are free and back in his flock.

Yes, there was power that day, a miracle in the tomb. And we know Jesus cried, became troubled and he was extremely upset.  He prayed to our Heavenly Father, and the dead man came out. The crowd was in awe. “Untie him”. Untie this man bound in sin. Lazarus, our very image, is free to live his life, grateful he came back from the dead. 

There were no words exchanged between Jesus and Lazarus, but I can imagine there was much said between the hearts of these two friends. They both went into their inner room, and their souls joined as they stood there both reflecting on that moment.

We are in a quarantine, some in isolation. We may be bound, or overburdened with hardships and sufferings. It is a time when we can go deep into our own inner room and converse with God. Praying to be untied, unwrapped from what is keeping us from truly experiencing God.  

Yes, Jesus weeps for every soul who struggles, for every person who battles the forces of this world. And he protects those who seek his help, “God’s faithfulness is a protecting shield”. Be closer to him than ever before, for “All who call upon me I will answer”. He is the light and wants our veil removed to see his true light. So he calls us by name and tells us, “Come out”.