Tag: John 11:1-45

From the musical Show Boat we have the song, “Old Man River.”  The words and music of this song combine to depict the sad plight of the black slave along the banks of the Mississippi.  The depths of despondency and grief are vocalized in the lyrics: “Ah gits weary an’ sick of tryin’, ah’m tired of livin’ an’ skeered of dyin’.”

These words strike a familiar chord in all of us. The fear of death is a major psychological problem for humankind.  As Sigmund Freud once observed, “In dealing with death, most of us are living psychologically beyond our means.”  And, at the same time, the weariness of living presents people with problems.  St. Augustine suggested that the fear of dying and the lack of zest for living are related.  After the death of a very close friend, he became despondent and wrote: “Some incomprehensible feeling arose in me: both a loathing of living and a fear of dying weighed heavily within me.”

I am reminded of something someone said, “In this age, the important question seems not to be is there life after death, but, rather, is there life after birth?”  There is an answer to both questions.  In fact, the main theme running through the Bible is God’s concern that we be given every possible chance to enjoy life to its fullest – now, and in the hereafter.  If we are to face death, we first have to learn to face life.  And life – on the river of life – is best faced in communion with God.

During this Lenten season, we have seen this concern repeatedly in our Sunday readings. In no place is this more evident than in Sunday’s gospel in which Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45).  Here we see Jesus’ humanity and divinity revealed in a magnificent way.  By the power of the God of life, Jesus calls forth the dead man from the grave.  If God can and will do this, can it be any more difficult or any less God’s desire to pour new life into us?

This message is central to the witness of the Church.  After Jesus raised Lazarus, he turned to those standing nearby and said, “Unbind him.”  The Church today continues to carry on the new-life-giving, liberating work of Jesus, loosening all sorts of bonds that cause weariness in living and fear of dying.