Take Away the Stone

For the scrutinies, today’s gospel story is about the raising of Lazarus. In this story a couple of things always touch my heart. First of all, Jesus wept. "’Where have you laid him?" They said to him, ‘Sir, come and see.’ And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him.’" (John 11:34-36) He was fully human and his heart was hurting over the death of his friend.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’" (John 11:23-26)
The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead was the climax of signs that Jesus performed in his ministry. It was these signs that lead to his death. Lazarus is presented as a token of the real life that Jesus will give to all who believe in him once he has been raised from the dead. Our belief in Jesus’ words provides us with the hope that we will one day see our beloved who have gone before us. I know I will be united with my family and also with all the children that I have care for who have died before me.

During RCIA today, the deacon’s reflection gave the story a whole new meaning to me. He talked about the faith that the men had in Jesus when he told them to “take away the stone.” If the men didn’t trust Jesus and believe that what he was asking them to do had some purpose, they would have ignored his request and thought he was crazy. I am sure they had no idea that Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead but they trusted him and were obedient to him. The deacon talked about how Jesus says these words to us too. “Take away the stone.” He asked us to reflect on the stone in our life that keeps us in our tomb; the stone that needs to be removed in order for us to live in the light of Christ. Is the stone one of bitterness for a wrong done to us? Is the stone one of guilt and shame for something we have done in the past? Is the stone one of pride that prevents us from being humble? He also reminded us that these stones are too heavy for us to move on our own. It requires us to turn to God for his help. After a few minutes of reflection we wrote on a piece of rice paper what our stone is. In each of the corners of the room was a glass bowl of water. One by one we placed our piece of paper in the water and watched our “stone” vanish. We were then given a copy of the prayer that was being read during this activity. This was very powerful. I felt a weight being lifted from me as my piece of paper, my stone, dissolved. The prayer is titled “Closer to You” and below are the words from it.

Lord, Jesus, I want to draw closer to you. Take possession of my whole being; my heart, soul, mind and strength. Let me love with your heart, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, speak with your lips, understand with your mind and serve with your will. Grant me the fullness of your Holy Spirit so I will be transformed by your love and wisdom. Ignite in me a deeper love for you and inspire my understanding and imagination. Mature my faith, strengthen my hope, increase my trust and inflame my passion to worship and serve you. Most Holy God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; make my body, soul and spirit your sanctuary so that as you are one, I may be one with you. Amen.