Dear Parishioners,

Right before Easter, a parishioner remarked to me that “Lazarus doesn’t get any credit”. By this, he meant that Lazarus was resurrected before Christ (John 11:1-44) and does not get mentioned as often. In fact, there are many different people who were resurrected before Christ in the New Testament such as the daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:18–26, Mark 5:21–43, Luke 8:40–56), the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-15) and many saints at Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:52). So, the bigger question is: in the midst of all these resurrections, what makes Jesus’ resurrection unique?

First, Lazarus and the others were not resurrected into eternal life. The technical term for this kind of resurrection is “resuscitation”. Through miracles, Our Lord restored them to their previous state of life without change. They still were subject to disease and death after they were brought back. Lazarus’s resurrection was more extreme than the other resurrection miracles because he was dead for a couple days. The Gospel of John describes him as still stinking when he came back. Fathers of the Church took this to symbolically mean that death itself was not conquered and still hangs over Lazarus. When Jesus was raised from the dead, something very different happened: He did not just return to earthly life but was empowered by life from above. He no longer suffered disease or death and His wounds no longer harmed Him but were part of His glory. This category of life is outside our normal earthly experience and is very hard for the Gospel writers to describe.

Second, Jesus’ resurrection is the source and power of all the other resurrection miracles Jesus performed. As Jesus says, “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.” (John 11:25-26) And as St. Paul describes, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-21) He goes on to describe Christ as the new Adam and it is through Him that any of us can hope to be resurrected. Therefore, any of the resurrection miracles that occurred is in anticipation of Christ’s resurrection. They could not have happened if Christ did not raise them.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is different from these previously described resurrections. However, it is also something that He intends to share with us. Again, St. Paul says, “We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53) If we are faithful to Christ, we can look forward to this great change at the end of time.

God bless,

Fr. Carter