Lazarus – Part I

Take this as you will, but straight up, I don’t care what your faith in God is, or isn’t, as long as you, and your faith, are of the humane variety. Personally speaking, I find deep virtue in the life of Jesus Christ. I believe in the calm, peaceful, compassionate being of Jesus, depicted in His life story, as being the model of strength in character, of which we should all strive to be.

Growing up in Judeo-Christian America, the story of Jesus, as well as other biblical stories, were a constant throughout the year. Most notable of course, during Jesus’ birth month, and the month which included His Crucifixion and His subsequent Resurrection.

All of the biblical stories, which are moralistic in nature, are genius in delivering messages of virtue and hope. I respect that. Society needs a moral compass, obviously. Whether we consider ourselves ‘religious’ or not, those of us living a moral life all tend to follow the same set of golden rules such as, “thou shalt not be an asshole”,  etc.

However, there is a slight caveat that goes with swallowing any fish of religious indoctrination whole so to speak. When attempting to digest the specifics of reality of any religion, one must apply caution and ask oneself….

Do we know the whole story?  

Take for example, the biblical tale of Lazarus, in the Gospel of John. For those reading this whom are not familiar with this biblical tale;

The raising of Lazarus, or the resurrection of Lazarus, is a miracle of Jesus recounted only in the Gospel of John (John 11:1-44) (the bible) in which, Jesus brings Lazarus of Bethany back to life four days after his burial  – Wikipedia

It was a miracle of miracles so to speak. Like the grand finale at a fireworks celebration, because Jesus had already wooed the crowd by:

• turning water into wine,
• restoring sight to the blind …- & –
• walking on water.

The miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection was like no other miracle ever seen. It was such a tremendous miracle The Rolling Stones, waiting backstage to perform after Jesus, collectively threw their hands in the air and said, Screw it! We can’t compete with that! … before leaving the building out the back door, while proclaiming that it would be a cold day in Hell before they ever performed in Jerusalem again. 

Practicing Christians are of course well-versed in the understanding of this story in resurrecting the recently deceased. Now my understanding of any one religion is limited, I admit. Per my own self-identification, I’m more spiritual than religious. That is not without consideration of a Creator, but it is humble in truth that no human on this planet has direct knowledge surrounding the truth of God, and any divine master plan. If anyone says they do have direct knowledge about God, or from God, I suggest one thing, run!

 With that said, being a borderline believer that anything is possible, my reaction to the story of Lazarus is not rejection. However, aside from any jealousy I may feel that others got to witness Jesus doing his thing where I didn’t, I take the story of Lazarus with a grain of salt, as I was not there to witness the mystical deed.

It’s the same when someone brags about any amazing feat. I ask myself; did it really happen the way it’s being told, and retold? Or has it been embellished somewhat, and now has become the stuff of urban legend?

Given that something out there in the vast expanses of our Universe has the power to create nuclear fusion, i.e. the Sun – I don’t doubt for one minute that the story of Lazarus is potentially as real as it has been described.

However, over the years in having given a lot of thought to the story of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus, somewhere along the line my intellect kicked in. When this happens, a tiny antagonist version of myself pops up on my shoulder and promptly whispers into my ear that something isn’t adding up.  

I don’t always accept the input of my tiny little antagonist friend, who often enjoys playing the role of the devil’s advocate, but after much deliberation on this particular story, I stared back at my little antagonist friend with wide-eyed recognition and replied… “You know what little fella, you are quite right! Something is amiss in this parable of Lazarus!” Because, as often as this tale of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus from the dead has been told and retold, in recognition of Jesus’ truth as a Lord and Savior in the Christian faith, no one has ever stopped to consider Lazarus’ side to this story.

I will…. 

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