Jesus often stayed with him and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, when he was passing through Bethany. ![]() It is also important to point out who Lazarus was to Our Lord. They point to him, as the resurrection of Lazarus points to Our Lord. The saints are not – as some misinformed critics believe – in competition with Our Lord. Son of God, wonderful in the saints, save us who sing to you: Alleluia.Ĭould the Catholic doctrine of the role of the saints be any clearer? It is the Son of God who alone saves and it is the saints who give him glory. The Divine Liturgy affirms it in this weekday hymn, often sung on a saint’s feast day: “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4) The raising of Lazarus also shows a key Catholic doctrine, that God is glorified in his saints. (Lazarus Saturday, triodion by Emperor Leo) Lazarus became the saving first-fruits of the world’s regene ration.Īll things are possible for Thee, O Lord and King of all. Our Lord shows his followers that he has power over death, so that they will believe in his power over his own death. The resurrection of Lazarus is wrapped up in the resurrection of Jesus. Though Lazarus has his own regular brand feast day in October on the Eastern calendar, this is the big one. In the Eastern Rite, this mind blowing event is always commemorated on the day before Palm Sunday, which this year was April 13. It is the day Our Lord summoned his friend back to this life, despite four days and several spools of moldering mummy wrap. Lazarus Saturday celebrates the opposite. Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words and Lazarus promptly emerged from the tomb at the command of the one who humiliated death.Most feast days of the saints celebrate the day the saint died, went to heaven, and stayed put. In its 2021 decree on combining veneration of Mary and Lazarus with Martha, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments said, “In the household of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them. In the West, Passion Sunday was called Dominica de Lazaro, and Augustine tells us that in Africa the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus was read at the office of Palm Sunday. Around the year 390, the pilgrim lady Etheria talks of the procession that took place on the Saturday before Palm Sunday at the tomb where Lazarus had been raised from the dead. It is certain there was early devotion to the saint. There he died peacefully after serving as bishop for 30 years. ![]() Another story is that despite being put into a leaking boat by the Jews at Jaffa, he, his sisters, and others landed safely in Cyprus. He is supposed to have left a written account of what he saw in the next world before he was called back to life. Legends abound about the life of Lazarus after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Immediately after we are told that the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus “because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.” Lazarus was the one of whom the Jews said, “See how much he loved him.” In their sight Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. The Lord recognizes that Martha is “worried about many things,” also noting that Mary, who has spent the preparation time at Jesus’ feet listening to his words “has chosen the better part.” John 12:1-8 describes Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet at Bethany, an act which he praised highly. ![]() On one occasion, she prepares the meal for Jesus and possibly his fellow guests and forthrightly states the obvious: All hands should pitch in to help with the dinner. No doubt Martha was an active sort of person. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world’” (John 11:25-27). Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. “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. Martha’s great glory is her simple and strong statement of faith in Jesus after her brother’s death. The sisters felt free to call on Jesus at their brother’s death, even though a return to Judea at that time seemed to spell almost certain death. He came to their home simply as a welcomed guest, rather than as one celebrating the conversion of a sinner like Zacchaeus or one unceremoniously received by a suspicious Pharisee. Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus were evidently close friends of Jesus. Image: Jesus, Lazarus, Martha and Mary | St.
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