John 11:1-45

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Lazarus, come out! The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, Untie him and let him go.

Oratio (Responding)

Today’s gospel is one that reveals Jesus’ divinity, in many ways. First is the obvious miracle of raising of the dead, but. also in the way he talks to the father, and in his foreknowledge of lazarus’ death, and his premeditated waiting for Lazarus to be fully dead. Why does Jesus delay. The Jews believed that after 3 days the person was completely dead and there was no chance of the person waking up, and they believed that after the 3rd full day, that the soul had completely left the body. But it was also to glorify god and fully prove Jesus’ divinity, and that he even had power over death. There is also here a beautiful message here of Jesus’ love for us, and his hatred of death. Death was not part of God’s plan for us, but was the result of human sin, and rejection of god, and that is why he weeps and becomes angry. The word perturbed is better translated as “he became angry within himself” He was angry because of the mere existence of sin, and that death was now in the world, and that these people Marth, Mary, and Lazarus were now touched by it. God never wanted all this pain for us, but it is what we ultimately chose, and that is why Jesus is so angry and sad. This is why He Cries out “lazarus come out,” and “Untie him and let him go.” The word that jesus cries here regarding the unbinding of lazarus is “Luo” which means “be loosed from satans power,” or be loosed from sin, and death, and to be forgiven. When considered in the light of his anger and sadness about sin and death this response is a direct rebuke of that, and a truel beautiful reflection of how much Jesus loves us. Today we need to reflect on how much Jesus loves us, and why we repleatedly choose sin and death over him. He is litterally crying out to you to come out of your sin, and be loosed from the binds of satan, will you listen to his voice, or will you stay dead to sin, the choice is yours. Choose wisely.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Oh lord, help me today to choose you, and to abandon my sin and death, amen.