In the heart of Lent, during the Fourth Week of preparation for Easter, the Church gives us two profound encounters with death and resurrection: the widow’s son in 1 Kings 17:17-24, and the raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45. These passages draw our eyes toward the Paschal mystery—Christ’s own death and resurrection—and invite us to ponder the transformative power of divine mercy.
“Give me your son.” (1 Kings 17:19)
The widow of Zarephath had already witnessed God’s provision through Elijah. Her flour did not run dry, nor did her oil fail. But now death visits her son, and with him, her hope. Her lament is raw: “Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son?” (v. 18). In this, she echoes every grieving heart that sees death as both a punishment and a mystery.
Elijah, moved with compassion, takes the boy, stretches himself upon him three times, and cries out to God. His prayer is heard. The boy lives.
St. Augustine, commenting on this passage, sees it as a type of Christ’s own resurrection ministry. Elijah, the prophet, intercedes as Christ intercedes for us. He “stretches himself out” as Christ stretched Himself upon the wood of the Cross. Augustine writes, “Elijah prayed, and the soul of the child returned. How much more will the soul return when Christ prays who has power over life and death!” (Sermon 98.1).
“Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43)
The raising of Lazarus, a miracle unique to John’s Gospel, is a climactic sign pointing forward to Easter. Here, the Word-made-flesh stands before the tomb of a friend and weeps (v. 35). The Greek emphasizes this as a deep, gut-wrenching sorrow. Christ, fully God and fully man, shares in our grief.
St. John Chrysostom marvels at Jesus’ tears: “He wept to teach us to weep… not over the dead, but over those who are dead in sin.” (Homilies on John 62.1) He reminds us that the real enemy is not physical death, but spiritual death—the hardening of the heart, the decay of hope.
When Jesus commands the stone to be taken away, Martha protests: “Lord, by this time there will be a stench” (v. 39). And yet, from within that stench, from that sealed tomb, life emerges. Jesus does not merely resuscitate Lazarus; He restores him to the community, ordering: “Unbind him, and let him go.”
St. Cyril of Alexandria sees this command as a sign of the liberating power of grace: “Jesus raises Lazarus, and by doing so shows that He is the resurrection and the life. The bands of death are loosed by the voice of the Word” (Commentary on John, Book 7).
Lent as Our Journey from Death to Life
These stories are not just historical miracles—they are theological mirrors held up to our own souls. During Lent, we too are being called out of death. We are the widow grieving the loss of what we thought could never be restored. We are Martha and Mary, caught between belief and despair. And we are Lazarus, four days in the tomb, waiting to hear the voice of Christ.
Feria Sexta of this Fourth Week in Lent reminds us: the end is near, and yet there is time. The Cross looms on the horizon, but so does Easter morning. The Church, in her wisdom, places these readings before us so we may examine the tombs we have accepted as final—relationships, faith, vocation, even our own sense of worth—and remember that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
Let us therefore not pass through Lent as those without hope. Let us bring to Christ the dead places in our lives, even if they “already stink.” Let us hear His voice—loving, commanding, divine: “Come out.”
Reflection Questions for the Heart:
- What part of my life feels dead or beyond restoration this Lent?
- Where am I being asked to trust in God’s power even when I do not understand His timing?
- Can I believe that the same Christ who called Lazarus from the tomb is calling me now?
Quotable Prayer:
“Lord Jesus, You wept at the tomb of Lazarus and raised the widow’s son to life. Stretch Yourself once more upon my heart. Raise me, and I shall rise. Call me, and I shall come forth. Amen.”