07 - Raising of Lazarus

Ever wondered why Jesus waited two days before visiting Lazarus? Intriguing, right? Join Jordan Whiteko, Father Christopher Pujol, and Father Andrew Hamilton from the Diocese of Greensburg as we dive into the mystery and significance of Lazarus' resurrection, one of Jesus' most breathtaking miracles. We unpack the profound impact this event had on the Jewish leaders of the time. As we reflect on this miracle, we shed light on Jesus' command over death and his divine mission to bestow eternal life.

But we don't stop there. We venture into the realm of death and the afterlife, with a focus on purgatory, an essential belief in the Catholic faith. Ever considered how prayers for the departed serve a dual purpose? We discuss how these prayers provide comfort to the grieving and assistance to the departed soul. As we reflect on Lazarus' story, we are reminded of God's enduring call to life and freedom. So, join us as we unravel the deeper implications of these biblical narratives and their relevance to our lives today.

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Jordan Whiteko, Father Andrew Hamilton, Father Christopher Pujol, Vincent Reilly, Cliff Gorski, John Zylka, Sarah Hartner

Transcript

The Raising of Lazarus' Miraculous Impact

Speaker 1 0:00

You're listening to the Catholic Accent Podcast. In this podcast we discuss the acts and miracles that Jesus performed that stunned his disciples.

Speaker 2 0:09

And we're back.

Speaker 1 0:10

We are Sorry. You want to do that.

Speaker 2 0:12

Go ahead. Sorry, Jordan, but I'd be happy to.

Speaker 1 0:16

A little guest introduction.

Speaker 2 0:17

Well, here we are back at the Catholic Accent Podcast, and I'm Father Chris Pugel, and with me is Father Andrew Hamilton and Mr Jordan Whiteco from the Communications Office here at the Diocese of Greensburg. That was nice. Oh thanks. You know. I've been learning a lot from you over these past few weeks. What are we talking about today? Today, we are going to be talking about the wonderful story of Lazarus. That great guy from the Bible who died, came back from the dead stunned. So, jordan, how about you lead us into what's going on here?

Speaker 1 0:50

So some will argue that the raising of Lazarus is Jesus's most important miracle and the miracle that leads us to Jesus's death a short time later. Why is this miracle so shocking? I mean, other than obviously someone's being raised from the dead? You got it, yeah.

Speaker 3 1:08

It's very shocking, so why did?

Speaker 1 1:10

this upset the Jewish leaders so much.

Speaker 3 1:13

Well, it gives great credence to everything that Jesus has been saying. Right, that he's been working these great miracles, but one miracle, certainly, that you could never do, unless you were, of course, god raising somebody from the dead, and there was a whole group of Jews who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Speaker 2 1:30

Now, here, though, I think, before we dive in deep, it's important to say that the rising of Lazarus is a resuscitation of the body. It's not his resurrection. Christ has been resurrected because he has received his body back in a glorified manner, in the manner that we will receive it on the last day when our souls are reunited with our earthly bodies and we rise from the tombs and all the tombs open. This is a resuscitation. Where Lazarus has died, he's been placed in the tomb, good friend of Jesus. Jesus comes to mourn his friend's loss and to show his power and authority over all of creation. He resuscitates him by calling into the tomb Lazarus, come out.

Speaker 1 2:17

Was anyone with him when he did?

Speaker 3 2:18

this oh yeah, the Jews were gathered around to witness it, as well as Martha and Mary the sisters of Lazarus Before we even get to there, though, so one of the things leading up to the raising of Lazarus is that Jesus is not right at Bethany, where Lazarus and Mary and Martha live together, but they're a little bit far away, and he gets word and message that Lazarus is essentially sick and everything else like that. And then he does something very odd he waits, waits Two days.

Speaker 2 2:47

And so it's an interesting two days after his death? No, before he waits two days from the moment he hears that Lazarus is ill, so the news is brought to him Master, the one you love is ill.

Speaker 3 3:02

And Jesus heard this, and then he remained for two days in the place where he was, and he explains it, though, to his apostles, disciples that are with him, that it's really again, as we talk about the Gospel of John, this is going to be a sign. This is going to be a sign of Christ's glory, his ability to raise Lazarus from the dead. An interesting person that I'm always stunned by whenever we meet him in the Scriptures is St Thomas. Right, we always remember St Thomas for his doubting, but, interestingly, in this part of Scripture, in the 11th chapter of John, Thomas says something very brave. He says to the rest of the apostles, because they're worried that going closer to Bethany, closer to Jerusalem, that Jesus is going to get killed as well as all of them together. And Thomas says to the rest of them let us go to die with Jesus.

Speaker 1 3:50

Why wait two days? Why not go immediately? Why did he want the drama? If you will?

Speaker 2 3:55

Well, jesus starts to. He obviously, as God, knows what he's about to do and he wants to teach the disciples right. So, his rabbi, a teacher, he wants them to learn the message of the gospel and what he's come to do. And so that's why, when he hears this, jesus says finally, let us go to Judea. The disciples fret They've already tried to stone and kill you there, let's not. Then we hear Thomas say let's go. When he hears of Lazarus' death, jesus says something very peculiar. I'm glad that I was not there that you may believe. Now let us go to him.

Speaker 1 4:37

Okay. So he wanted them to see and know that Lazarus was dead.

Speaker 3 4:42

In a lot of ways, this is the greatest sign. They've seen everything transfiguration, everything else down the line, but now you're seeing, okay, god has control, even over death itself, and that he can even see through death to bring life, which is his mission on the earth, which is to bring us to the fullness of eternal life, dwelling eternally with God rather than remaining in death.

Speaker 2 5:06

Especially since we have to remember, prior to the fall in the garden in Genesis, there was no death. Sin brings about death, and so what Jesus is doing is restoring life and saying, yes, death will happen, and even he himself will suffer death, but that's not the end of the story.

Speaker 3 5:24

We hear that the wages of sin is death, and so it's the in that way, like the natural consequence that comes about. But that doesn't mean that's where we end, but rather Christ takes us through that to life itself. I'm always moved in this passage as well, as Christ coming to his good friend and coming to Martha and Mary and them saying to him Lord, had you been here, you could have saved my brother.

Speaker 2 5:52

Essentially, this wouldn't have happened, right. Where were you, yeah?

Speaker 3 5:55

And Jesus has to show them that this world isn't what we are meant to be forever or made for Is that why Jesus wept.

Speaker 2 6:04

Well, in his human nature he also wept because of their lack of faith, but also because he loved his friend Lazarus, and so he cried for that. But I tend to believe too that when he heard Martha and Mary kind of complaining, if you will, because really Jesus could have got there on time, he was only, it says, two miles away. He could have been there and they're saying, oh Lord, if you were here this wouldn't have happened. And so he's both weeping for the lack of faith and he's weeping for his friend.

Speaker 3 6:39

Now I think this would have stunned the apostles and disciples, won the miracle itself, but watching Jesus cry Often I use this in my funeral homilies, if I'm able to choose the gospel, because it shows the great love that God has for us. Jesus knows that he's the resurrection in the life, he knows the end of the story and yet he still enters into our suffering, so much so that he weeps with us. That's a God I can trust, that's a God that I could follow through anything, because he's there with me even in the midst of great suffering and trial. And so it's. I think it's said to be one of the shortest lines of Scripture, or the shortest. Jesus wept right, but it's something that has great and profound meaning for us, in a way that we can connect to our God. And so the apostles and the Jews and the disciples, everybody around at that time, were stunned by, but in a way that really led them to greater belief in Christ, especially then as he moves into the raising of Lazarus.

Speaker 2 7:36

And then the Jews on the sidelines. You know you can almost hear them rustling because they're watching all this happen. And, similar to the wedding at Cana, a death in this time is a community event. Everyone's coming together at a mourn. Oftentimes there was paid mourners and the Jews are whispering. And back then there were paid mourners. Oh, absolutely Wow. Not just you, jordan, wipe those tears. And but they're saying to each other see how he loved him, see how he loved him. But then they start to question who Jesus is and they say the one who opened the eyes of the blind. He could have done something. This man didn't have to die, and I love this. It says Jesus perturbed again, came to the tomb and told them open it up and the first reaction is a human reaction.

Speaker 2 8:26

Lord, we can't. There'll be a stench. It's been four days, but he insists. And so, even in our own lives of suffering and misery, we think sometimes we're not good enough to receive the voice of the Lord in our hearts. We stink, we stink. Pope Francis always says we should smell like the sheep, and sheep stinks.

Speaker 3 8:49

There's an interesting part about that four days. There was a belief in ancient Israel that the spirit of the body would hang around for a certain amount of time, usually around three days, and then, beyond that, would be separated from the body, meaning that, like whenever Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, it being four days, the spirit would have been yeah, he's not there.

Speaker 1 9:10

Like Lazarus is not there, it's even more so.

Speaker 2 9:12

Yeah, like wild to them that this is happening and then we see that great gesture of Jewish prayer where Jesus raises his eyes to heaven. And so, for anyone who's ever been at the celebration of Mass, when we hear in the Roman Canon the first Eucharistic prayer, when the priest takes the bread, he raises his eyes to heaven, to you, oh God, his almighty Father. And here we see it happening again Jesus is raising his eyes to his heavenly Father, calling down the spirit of God, his own power and divinity, to raise Lazarus. And he seeks his Father's will first, and then he says those beautiful words Lazarus come out. And that's when the dead man, tied up and bound, walks out. When I was a kid, I always thought this seemed like the you know the mommy, yeah, little much toilet paper.

Speaker 3 10:06

You know too much toilet paper wrapped around.

Speaker 1 10:08

Going back to Martha, Martha gives an important testimony to Jesus's power in the gospel when she says that she believes that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God. What testimony do we give as disciples today who we believe that Jesus is?

Speaker 3 10:25

I think, even in the midst of great tragedy, which is still saying that I don't understand this fully, I can't get the necessary grasp of all the elements. Why God would you allow these terrible things to happen? I'm thinking in my mind of the terrible fires that maybe happen in Maui, and people ask questions about natural disasters and why God would allow this and all this evil in the world. And how could there be a good God? But I think in the scriptures is where we find our good God walking beside us, who's saying there's a reason for this. I have not wielded this. I don't want evil in the world. I want to eradicate it and get rid of it and bring everyone to glory. But in that we might not see exactly how God's doing all of that, but we can trust Him because he's in the struggle with us, he's in the suffering and we can find Him there.

Speaker 2 11:10

So today, I think, for us as believers, when we celebrate funeral liturgies, we hear in the prayers and in the readings and in the ritual of the church that we leave our brother here, we leave our sister here in the peace of Christ until we rise again in glory. And so it gives us great hope when we hear this, where we see Lazarus coming out of the tomb, knowing that when we leave our beloved family and friends in the tomb, in the ground, in the grave, that that's not the end of the story. And so this passage itself not only shows God's power but gives us the hope we need to push forward and to know that this world is fleeting. We're fleeting, but the eternity to come is so much more than anything we could have now.

Speaker 3 12:00

One thing I'm always struck by is that so he's resuscitated, he comes back to life. But what happens to Lazarus? Presumably down the line, he's going to die again. It's kind of like one of those stories that we have in the modern day where somebody passes away.

Speaker 1 12:13

You know they flat line on something and they see the light, but not four days like, not two days later.

Speaker 3 12:20

Yeah, he saw a lot.

Speaker 1 12:23

He saw more than just the light.

Speaker 3 12:24

He had a lot of time to contemplate. He was there for a bit.

Speaker 2 12:27

He probably said Jesus, why would you bring me back to the surface?

Speaker 3 12:29

That's true too, and in one of the previous podcasts, though, about our Mount Rushmore people to talk to the. Mount of Transfiguration, mount Tabor. I said Lazarus because I would love to talk to him One, because he so intimately knew Jesus. We're told, as a friend, jesus weeps at his death, specifically. But then, beyond that, what did he see? What was that experience? That kind of prefigured the upcoming death of Jesus, who then is buried in a tomb and then rise to his death.

Speaker 1 12:55

That's a good point. I would choose Lazarus. Now I want to know.

Speaker 2 12:58

It also makes me think, too, like we know that prior to the death of Christ and his resurrection, that the gates of heaven were closed right. So it's almost like Jesus is bringing Lazarus back to wait to die again until after Jesus has opened the gates of paradise, Because he loves him so much he doesn't want him to have to go through that experience of being without God. And so we know Lazarus is going to die again, and if Lazarus died after our Lord, then he would be able to actually die and enter into the heavenly kingdom, which he would not have been able to do prior to the death of Christ in his resurrection. So how much do you love your friends, Jordan?

Speaker 1 13:41

It depends on how much energy he had to like.

Speaker 3 13:44

Expend on you, you expand so.

Speaker 1 13:48

I mean my friends, I mean there's probably a couple that I would want to bring back for sure, Some other ones I'd be like it's just not worth it.

Speaker 2 13:55

I can yeah, I could do without it.

Speaker 1 13:58

How about you? Or would you want? Would you even want them to come back if they're experiencing, you know?

Praying for Souls in Purgatory

Speaker 3 14:04

Eternal bliss Isn't part of this, though. Like whenever people die, we say this so often in funerals that, like funerals, we certainly pray for those that are the deceased and they need our prayers, especially if they need to come to greater perfection through purgatory than to heaven. But beyond that, like we pray in the funeral liturgy for the family and for ourselves, For the people there, yeah because we're mourning the loss of somebody and so, like you mentioned, we might want to bring back somebody more than they want to be brought back in that sense.

Speaker 3 14:30

If they're already reveling in the greatness of God, they're in a better place than we are now.

Speaker 2 14:36

And we hope that they draw us up with that and pray for us. Yeah, that's why, for millennia, we've had such a great devotion to the holy souls in purgatory and I remember as a kid one of our teachers telling us in school that the more souls in purgatory we pray for, that as they make their way into heaven they will pray for us, and maybe that's a selfish motive, but I think I'm gonna. We're all gonna need all the help we can get.

Speaker 3 14:59

We'll be turning out the lights in purgatory. Exactly, we gotta end it.

Speaker 2 15:03

But even purgatory is a beautiful grace that the Lord gives us a gift where we're allowed to cleanse ourselves of that which keeps us from Him.

Speaker 3 15:10

And the church explains herself in a way that's threefold the church militant, which is us fighting for our salvation here on earth, still in the struggle. Then the church suffering, those in purgatory that are awaiting their full purification and entrance into heaven, which need our prayers here on earth and the help of the saints. And then the church triumphant. Those saints that are already with God, that are praying for us, that are helping those in purgatory, that want all of us to be drawn to God in the end.

Speaker 2 15:35

Because they see God face to face.

Speaker 1 15:37

Do you want to close out?

Speaker 2 15:40

Well, I think that's all our time we've had today and it's been great. I don't want to drive us into the tomb, but here we are, and St Lazarus is a wonderful example for each of us to continue to call upon the Lord. We know that in the dark moments of our life that he's not only saying Lazarus, but he's saying Jordan, he's saying Andrew, he's saying Beth, he's calling us to new life and to freedom in him. So it's been great to join you all again this week on the Catholic Accent Podcast.

Speaker 1 16:08

Wow so much better Good ending.