Unbind him.
Let him go free.
These words are addressed to us as well as him.
Jesus was not just letting Lazarus go free.

As he raised him from the dead.
So he promises us the same freedom.
And escape from death’s dread.
Thus  with him we will sing a Te Deum.

When he heard that Lazarus was ill.
He stayed where he was for two more days.
We too will have to wait before we know his will.
For the moment we remain blinded by the son’s rays.

But one day he will call us out of our tomb.
Just as he knew us even in the womb.

………

Unbind him he said
Let him go free he ordered
He tells us the same

…….

See John 11 : 1-45

Mary do not be afraid.
You have won God’s favour.
We have strayed and prayed.
But do we really have faith in our saviour.

Once again a long sleepless night.
The worries turning and churning.
And then came St Bernard’s prayer in the half light.
And I started remembering.

Remember Mary that no one who fled to thy protection.
Implored thy help or sought thy intercession.
Was left unaided in this petition.
But I must have faith in the annunciation.

So I stood sinful and sorrowful.
And eventually was dream full.

……

No one who fled
To thy calm protection
Was left unaided

…….

See Luke 1 : 26-38

Our life is short and dreary.
Nor is there any relief when man’s end comes.
And we feel more and more weary.
The innings will soon close without many runs.

I felt under pressure, with no let up in sight.
And under criticism, with hope waning.
Then I looked at a single star through the skylight.
So far away , through the long night, so brightly shining.

But everything needs to be kept in proportion.
If our whole world exploded.
what would life around that star know of our extinction.
We are a small part of the universe now  recorded.

So I looked at the star and said the rosary .
And everything looked a bit more rosy.

……..

Our dreary short life
Without relief at the end
Better look at stars

…….

See Wisdom 2 : 1, 12-22

I have come in the name of my father.
And you refuse to accept me.
At mass something said allowed me to see further.
I was blinded by niggling questioning , now I could better see.

The priest said something obvious .
God is beyond our comprehension.
Trying to pigeon hole him is ridiculous.
Or imagining him after the ascension.

Before I couldn’t imagine him creating billions of stars.
But we shouldn’t see him at all as in the physical world.
He is not in that sense one of ours.
Doubts could now for a time could  be furled.

So when I stopped trying to rationalise.
It was easier not to doubt or categorise.

…….

God not imagined
Is then easier to accept
As he’s beyond us

……..

See John 5 : 31- 47

I tell you most solemnly, whoever listens to my words.
And believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life.
On hearing this, my faith rose up like flying birds.
For this moment I truly believed in the afterlife.

My aim is not to do my own will .
But the will of the one who sent me.
On hearing this too everything stood still.
I realised the Trinity is not a committee.

I have spent my entire life in committees.
But all these arguments now seemed so pointless.
And so all this living in and running around cities.
So much of it is just joyless.

But real joy comes from the Trinity.
And searching for the divinity.

……..

Who listens to words
Of Jesus and believes him
Has eternal life

…….

See John 5 : 17-30

Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled.
He hoped and he believed.
We sometimes doubt we can ever rebuild.
But fulfilment can be received.

What happened to those disgraced in the Ming dynasty.
They, the yinshi , retired to a hut and wrote poetry.
They led the remainder of their lives privately.
They didn’t say notice me.

Thus failure can lead to success.
One just has to have a little faith.
That more grief may mean less.
But what is more difficult than total faith.

We just keep trying
And is failing.

……

He hoped and believed
Abraham’s hope was fulfilled
And we hope ours too

……..

See Romans 4

 
Your brother here was dead and has come to life.

He is like a tree by the waterside.
That thrusts its roots to the stream.
We have a choice as to our guide.
We can do something or we can dream.

There was a rich man who used to dress in purple.
And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus.
Perhaps we too are too hierarchical.
We always think not of others but us.

I often wonder if I will end up like the rich man.
After all he did nothing wrong just nothing.
So what is our redemptive plan.
Ignoring , despising , or helping and understanding.

Then of course , all this we are constantly noting.
And then we do nothing.

…….

Then the rich man dies
And Lazarus goes heavenward
And where do we go

…….

See Jeremiah 17 : 5-10 and Luke 16 : 19-31

 
Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink.