Jesus’ greatest miracle

The raising of Lazarus, Jesus’ greatest miracle, is the subject of Jesuit priest James Martin’s 2023 book “Come Forth.” As a child, Martin watched Franco Zeffirelli’s miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth,” and grew fascinated with the scene of a dead man exiting his tomb upon the Lord’s command. For a previous book on Jesus, Martin traveled to the Holy Land, and was so moved by the experience of descending into Lazarus’ tomb in old Bethany, now Al-Eizariya, part of Palestinian territory, that he began to lead pilgrimages there as well.

For us who do not have the good fortune to be with him, Martin’s book is a great substitute for meditation on death and rebirth. Replete with paintings, stories, poems about this seminal event, the book analyzes the biblical text, verse by verse, and draws upon history, theology, geography to make the Lazarus story—fact, not allegory—come alive.

One theory that Martin posits makes me gasp. Biblical scholars Michael Peppard and Ben Witherington III contend that Lazarus is likely the Beloved Disciple (not John, as I had always thought). The evidence is compelling, but I prefer to dwell on Martin’s spiritual messages for us here—so read the book!

Another eye-opener is the iconic verse “Jesus wept,” which I had long felt to be a sign of love for His friend Lazarus, His grief a sign of shared humanity with us. Martin agrees, but adds the evidence from New Testament scholars Brendan Byrne and Raymond Brown that Jesus may have cried out because of frustration, troubled in his spirit, angry at death and suffering itself.

Martin devotes considerable thought to the figures of Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters. I have always identified more with Martha, who in Luke’s gospel, directs Jesus to tell Mary to help her with chores rather than sit at His feet. Jesus’ reply to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things,” is for Martin, not castigation, but love. And when both sisters seemingly upbraid Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died,” Martin points out their honest disappointment—and urges us to be honest also in our relationship with God.

Several times, when bad things happen—death of loved ones, dire illness—I feel angry at the heavens. Initially, I felt this was inappropriate, for I have been blessed with much, and I know many others suffer more. But my Jesuit confessors assure me that God can handle our anger, as long as we are honest with Him. This was liberating, and bolstered my relationship with the Lord.

Martin affirms, “Together [the sisters] give us the courage to approach Jesus with honesty and integrity, relating to him as Lord, but also as friend.”

Jesus’ prayers to His Father, Martin quotes esteemed theologian Karl Rahner, consists of three elements: honesty, trust and acceptance.

Trust means that even if we do not feel God’s presence, we know that He is still there (for decades, Mother Teresa trusted that God listened to her even if she felt abandoned). Acceptance is the hardest—particularly when prayers appear to be unanswered, yet God’s will be done.

But apropos of Easter, Jesus proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Martin declares that “Jesus offers us resurrection and new life not only in the future but here and now, through faith.”

We do not have to wait for the afterlife—we have new life with God today. This, Martin attributes to God’s intimate relationship with us: “God created us, loved us into being, and sustains us throughout our lives … One hallmark of that love is the relationship into which God invites us … God incarnates himself in Jesus so that we can enter even more deeply into that precious relationship. Why would God allow death to end that relationship? It makes no sense.”

Martin urges us to leave our burdens (addiction, meanness, gossip, etc.) in the tomb. By dying to self, we find new life. For who is Lazarus? Lazarus is all of us, whom Jesus loves.

“Come Forth” by James Martin, SJ, is available in select branches of National Bookstore. INQ

Queena N. Lee-Chua is with the board of directors of Ateneo’s Family Business Center. Get her book “All in the Family Business” at Lazada or Shopee, or the e-book at Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks. Contact the author at blessbook.chua@gmail.com.