I chose this meditation on
the second anniversary of the death of my own brother born on 14th February,
St. Valentine’s Day.
"Valentine has come to
be known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian
marriage (Note from author : or other lifelong commitment such as loving a
deceased relative eternally) you want some sense of God in your life—some great
need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the modern world, many
people are meeting God through his Son, Jesus Christ."*
Vs. 31 I wonder if the Jews
who had come to comfort Mary and Martha were not also professional wailers as
there is no mention of family ties at all.
Lazarus had been dead for
four days. In vs. 14, we see that Jesus
deliberately stayed where he was on learning of the illness of Lazarus, and
indicates “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there,
that you believe. Nevertheless, let us
go to him”.
Vs. 32 Notice how Jesus
fields this by staying silent, and again in vs. 37.
Vs. 33-34 We see the
emotions and compassion of Jesus. Maybe
where Jesus “groaned in the spirit” he was thinking of the possible hypocrisy
of the Jews in their wailing and his groaning could have been his own anger at
this, and also worry concerning the reaction and grief of his followers and
loved ones to his upcoming death , vs 34 “……and was troubled”.
Vs. 37 Depending on how you
look at this, you could see the doubt of Jesus’ capacities to raise the dead,
and also verbal violence OR faith and disappointment. Jesus weeps openly which clearly shows us his
human side and his affection for Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha.
Vs. 40–42 Jesus is clearly
indicating that he is accompanied by doubters and asks God to show his power “
….but because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may
believe that you sent me……”.
Vs. 43-44 Jesus appeals to
Lazarus to come out from the grave, which he does. How amazing it is that Lazarus is bound up,
whereas Jesus came out of his tomb with clothes neatly folded and already free. The contrast is striking, as is the deafening
lack of a thank you.
Are not these lively images
of our future resurrection ?
Hazel Collier
*Father Frank O'Gara of
Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin (see http://www1.cbn.com/st-valentine-real-story)
Detail of the raising of Lazarus, Mary and Martha meet Jesus. From the Hunterian Psalter, a twelfth-century illuminated manuscript, thought to have been produced in England c. 1170. Glasgow University Library,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
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