Unrestrained discipleship

Israelites lived in exile in Babylon for much of the sixth century BCE. This period, called the Babylonian captivity, ended when Babylon fell to the Persians in 539 BCE and Israel was allowed to return to its native land. When they returned, the question of what would define their restored national culture loomed large. In this Sunday’s first reading, God commissions the prophet Ezekiel to preach a message of newness to this people who have suffered so much destruction. In response to the death of their nation, the dismantling of their identity and livelihood, and the disqualification of their historical past, all of which had transpired in the destruction by Babylon, the prophet was to preach a metaphoric resurrection. God promises that the people will rise from these grave-like dark places and be enlivened again with God’s spirit. They will live.  

Paul’s letter to the Romans also takes up this theme of death, specifically death to sin, and the possibility of restoration to life by the same One who raised Christ from the dead. This restoration will enable you to live just as Christ lives beyond the grave, Paul writes. Thus, these first two readings set the stage for the Gospel account of the raising of Lazarus, but with important differences. While Israel’s restoration to life is symbolic and Paul speaks about a spiritual kind of recovery, Lazarus’ physical death is overturned. He is not resurrected but resuscitated.  

This captivating story of the raising of Lazarus offers a subtle but compelling reflection on the cost of discipleship. The account narrates the last of the signs that Jesus performs before his own passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus hears that Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, is very ill. Though John’s Gospel tells us that Lazarus was loved by Jesus, he still waited two more days after hearing of this illness to go and be with him. In the meantime, Lazarus died. Some may think Jesus waited to show his power even to overturn death. But there may have been another reason Jesus did not hurry to his cousin’s side. Martha, Mary and their brother lived in Bethany, which is in Judea, where the authorities had wanted to put Jesus to death. The text tells us that only after waiting does Jesus leave for Judea, not alone but with his disciples.

When Jesus does arrive, Martha laments that if he had come sooner her brother may not have died. Jesus responds by assuring her that anyone who believes in him will never die. Jesus, however, in the fullness of his humanity enters deeply into the sadness of this moment and the grief of his beloved friends Martha and Mary. Contrary to cultural norms that made it appropriate that only women grieved publicly, Jesus, in the honesty of his love for Lazarus, weeps and is deeply troubled. Overwhelmed with this loss and with the sight of the crowd that has gathered, Jesus turns to the Father and begins to pray, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know you always hear me” (Jn 11:41-42). In addition, Jesus reveals in his prayer what it is that prompts this final miracle: “…that they may believe that you sent me.” This healing was not merely about the restoration of Lazarus; more importantly it was also about cultivating people’s faith in the final days of Jesus’ ministry. When he raises Lazarus from the dead, it is different from the resurrection he talked about with Martha. Unlike Jesus’ own resurrection, this restoration of Lazarus’ life will still require that, in the future, Lazarus will die. For now, Lazarus must be called out of the tomb. Others are directed by Jesus “to untie him” in order to free him, at least for now, from the bindings of death.

It is worth noting that, just before this episode in John’s Gospel, Jesus portrays himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. With the raising of Lazarus, Jesus will do just that. When word gets out that Jesus has restored a dead man to life, those Judeans (not Jews, per se) who were bent upon putting an end to Jesus will seize him and put him to death. Thus, even in the final days, Jesus remains the servant who lays down his life for another.

While we, too, may be drawn to fix upon the spectacular nature of this final miracle, which brings life back to a dead person, the story also invites us to consider the scope and cost of the discipleship to which we are called. What Jesus did for his close friends required that he set aside the likely consequences of traveling to Judea, where his safety might be threatened. Being with Martha and Mary put him in the sphere of the profound loss of a close friend, where he, too, would partake in that public pain and grief. And while coming to Judea and raising Lazarus to life would lead others to believe, ultimately it would cost Jesus his life.

Discipleship to which we are called cannot be limited by the potential negative consequences that result. Fear of failure, questions about our credibility, or whether our efforts will succeed can sometimes discourage our decision to serve. When we struggle to respond to the crisis of human suffering, instances of injustices, or opportunities to set forth truth, we need only pray that Jesus calls us from the dark and deadly place of resistance and ask that we, like Lazarus, be untied from that which binds us and set free to a life of unrestrained ministry.