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| Image by "watchsmart" |
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A GREETING
To you, O God, I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 25:1)
A READING
He told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
(John 11:11-16)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
(John 15:13)
A PRAYER POEM
Let yourself receive the one
who is opening to you so deeply.
For if we genuinely love Him
we wake up inside Christ's body
where all our body, all over,
every most hidden part of it,
is realized in joy as Him,
and He makes us, utterly, real,
and everything that is hurt, everything
that seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,
maimed, ugly, irreparably
damaged, is in Him transformed.
- from "We awaken in Christ's body", by Symeon the New Theologian.
English version by Stephen Mitchell, found in The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry
VERSE OF THE DAY
But you, O Lord, know me;
You see me and test me—my heart is with you.
(Jeremiah 12:3)
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| Image by Iain Wanless |
Much of the full story of the raising of Lazarus, as laid out in John 11, foretells the events of Holy Week. The disciples are at odds about what to do, and fail to fully understand what Jesus has in mind, just as they will be confused and disoriented during the night of his arrest. A discussion unfolds about sleep: if Lazarus is only asleep, the disciples say, then there is nothing to fear. Jesus clarifies that Lazarus has indeed died.
A week from now, Jesus himself will be in Gethsemane, not far from Bethany, begging the disciples not to fall asleep. They will be incapable themselves of staying awake to what Jesus needs. In this scene, however, he finally manages to convey his intention. Thomas here demonstrates the very opposite of a “doubter,” and instead expresses a profound loyalty to Jesus and to Lazarus. "Let us die with him," he says, encouraging the disciples to go even if it means they get killed.
The readiness of the disciples to accompany Jesus on this day will dissipate after they arrive in Jerusalem. In just over a week from now in the story, all of the disciples except the Beloved Disciple will have fled from the Cross. (There are scholars who believe that the beloved disciple is actually Lazarus. You can read more about that here.) Within a week, the readiness to die with Jesus no matter what comes, will have vanished, though many of these same disciples will be martyred much later in their story.
In the events surrounding Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem, including the raising of Lazarus, there is increasing danger for him. This is why the disciples did not want to go to Bethany. Almost right away, authorities want to kill Lazarus. Today's music holds some of that combination of gratitude and fear that he must have felt. All of the disciples would be increasingly alert to the peril they are stepping into. They are coming to a place where being ‘awake’ to what is coming means preparing the spirit to be ready for it. Just as all of us have different ways of coping with impending challenges, so too the disciples have far-ranging human reactions. Jesus, meanwhile stays consistent. He is willing to lay down his life for his friend, and by raising Lazarus, he brings himself closer to that end.
While none of us likes to think about difficult times that may be ahead, how can we feel God’s love standing with us in it? How can we offer that embracing love to others facing similar times?
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A STORY OF ENDURANCE
The night-blooming cereus is a vine-growing cactus plant that grows in the southwestern United States and South America, and only blooms one night, for a mere few hours, per year. Because the plants bloom so rarely, the event takes place in darkness so that the creatures who spread their pollen, like bats, will find them, and so that other pollinators will have less competition. Most of the time the event takes place completely unattended by humans or other creatures, except moths. But for those plants known to exist, there are sometimes festivals built around the moment, a party to mark their emergence.
Read a non-paywall article here.
Video by Linny Morris, from the article linked just above.
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LC† Awakened by the Spirit is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!