Well,
Hello friends.
Mark Glodman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
With you here today.
Welcome to another Lenten Reflection.
This week,
Meditating on Jesus' words,
I am the resurrection and the life.
And as we move into this next day,
I invite you to settle into this moment,
To take a deep breath in and out,
To let your body,
Your mind,
Your whole soul and heart rest in God.
And as we begin,
With your eyes closed,
Imagine a dark,
Quiet tomb.
The air is heavy,
The silence is deep,
The walls press in around you.
There's no movement,
There's not a sound,
Only stillness and silence.
This is the place where Lazarus lay,
Wrapped in burial cloth,
Sealed away.
His body has been lifeless for days.
His family have and continue to mourn his loss.
His friends had lost hope.
And then Jesus arrives.
He stood at the tomb.
He wept for his friend.
He prayed.
And then in a voice full of authority,
Full of life itself,
He calls out,
Lazarus,
Come out.
And Lazarus steps forward,
Out of the darkness,
Into the light,
Out of death and into life.
Have you ever had moments in your life that felt like you were trapped in a tomb?
A tomb of fear or grief or doubt,
A place where the light of hope seems like it will never be able to seep in and is just far,
Far away.
Maybe it's the weight of sorrow or the burden of guilt or the fear of an unknown future.
Maybe it's a place,
A tomb of darkness in which you felt forgotten,
Unseen,
Even lifeless.
But listen.
Listen,
My friend.
Jesus is calling you out,
Just as he called to Lazarus.
Come out.
Step forward.
Leave what binds you,
Those things that bind you.
Let them unravel and fall away.
Shake off the weight of fear.
Unwrap the layers of doubt.
Breathe in the fresh air of new life,
The resurrection.
Not just for Lazarus.
It is for you.
It is now.
What tomb are you in today?
Is there something that is holding you back,
That is keeping you from stepping out of that place of darkness,
Letting go of the things that bind you and stepping into the light?
Let's just sit for a moment.
Imagine with me for just a moment what it would have been like for Lazarus when he emerged out of that cold,
Dark tomb.
The light shining down,
The warmth of the sun on his skin,
The gasp of the crowd even,
That first deep breath with fresh air filling his lungs for the first time in days.
And that first step forward,
Shaky,
Been off his feet for days and perhaps by that stage the muscles have already started to fade away a bit.
But a very real step,
Because it moves him forward to where he's been called.
This,
My friend,
Is what resurrection feels like.
Maybe the first step of resurrection in your life is a small one.
Just one breath,
One prayer,
One step,
One act of trust.
But whatever that small step is,
Always remember it is a step towards life,
Towards new life,
Towards resurrection life.
Jesus calls you.
His voice carries life itself.
He doesn't leave you in the tomb.
He speaks and the grave can no longer hold you.
Let's pray together.
Jesus,
Open our ears to hear the call that you call to us,
The call to move us into new life.
Unbind the fear that holds us back.
Give us the courage to step out of the tomb into your warmth and into your light.
Jesus,
May the breath of the Holy Spirit,
That Ruach,
That Numa,
That breath of life,
Fill our lungs and remind us that this resurrection life comes from you.
We thank you for this gift as we step into it today.
Amen.
Now let's do that,
Friends.
Let's breathe that deeply in and out.
And may that breath be the breath that moves you forward into this resurrection life that Jesus has for you.
And may that life be filled with all grace,
Peace and love.
Amen.
Until tomorrow,
God bless you.
