Walking with Lazarus

 

Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb, but it is his friends who "unbind" him (Jn 11:1-53).

I am slowly, yet hesitatingly, emerging out of this dark tomb called grief. 

It's not that I don't want to, it is rather that I don't want to leave her behind -- if I am to come out of this, I want her to be with me. I will and can carry her with me -- surely God can understand this!

I also know have a better understanding today about death and resurrection than I ever had in seminary or 25 years of parish ministry. I am walking forward on shaky legs as a newly-resurrected person; emerging from a tomb like Lazarus did, and being "unbound" through the love of his friends who gathered around him that day. 

But what is this new life of resurrection going to be like? Certainly not like before, but how will it be? What lies ahead?

Such strange and perplexing feelings. Such a strange experience going from death to life...

This morning I was comforted by the words of Desmond Tutu. He reminded me:

“Dear Child of God, I write these words because we all experience sadness, we all come at times to despair, and we all lose hope that the suffering in our lives and in the world will ever end. I want to share with you my faith and my understanding that this suffering can be transformed and redeemed. There is no such thing as a totally hopeless case. Our God is an expert at dealing with chaos, with brokenness, with all the worst that we can imagine. God created order out of disorder, cosmos out of chaos, and God can do so always, can do so now—in our personal lives and in our lives as nations, globally… Indeed, God is transforming the world now—through us—because God loves us”― from God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time.

O God, be gentle; comfort me in my transformation and ultimate redemption. Amen.