When we think back over the recent Sundays we realise that thirst, blindness and death are all metaphors for what our
spiritual life can be like:
– we are thirsty, and unable to quench that thirst;
– we are blind, and unable to see;
– we are dead, and unable to find life.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus weeps at the death of Lazarus. In the same way God weeps over our sinfulness, (yours and
mine) and over the sin of the whole world. In the gospel story today, God comes looking for his friend who has died. In the same way he comes to rescue us who are often lost in sin and death.
We, the human race, have wandered away from God in disobedience which leads to spiritual death. Jesus’ word calls us from the disobedience of sin to obedience, from
separation to relationship with God, from death to life. No matter our situation, Jesus wants to call us to new life:
– maybe you are struggling with an addiction,
– maybe you have done things of which you are deeply ashamed,
– maybe you have fallen out of relationship with the people you love the most, or with God,
– maybe you feel you are a failure,
– maybe you have a deep fear of dying and encountering God…