Everything takes place on the Mount of Olives, about three kilometers (2 miles) from Jerusalem). The small family in Bethany often offered Jesus the refuge of their home, where he could bask in the sweet balm of their friendship at the end of his long, tiring trip. Jesus was deeply attached to Lazarus, Martha and Mary, who considered him their Master, their special Friend, the Truth for which they had yearned, and the Meaning of life itself. As for Jesus, Lazarus and his sisters were his beloved disciples, his intimate “family” born of the Word they treasured in their hearts. Jesus felt at home among them, knowing that he was warmly welcomed, loved and listened to, even though his stop-over was always brief because his ultimate goal was Jerusalem.
But even the most idyllic situations in life are not immune to the experience of darkness, suffering and death. So too, this special friendship was put to the test by the illness and death of Lazarus (in Hebrew, Bethany–Bet-anya–means “house of affliction/suffering”), even though the grief of Martha and Mary was afterward transformed into joy.
It is precisely in this situation of suffering that Jesus revealed his identity to the full: “I am the resurrection” (in Greek, anastasis, which comes from the verb anistemi: to “raise on high,” “lift up,” “resurrect,” “come out of,” “leave behind”). In times of suffering and testing, every person is called to make an exodus: to leave self behind so as to move toward Jesus, the only One who can comfort a grief-stricken heart. Martha abandoned her securities and generously went out to meet her Lord. Mary left the neighbors who were trying in vain to console her and hastened to her Master when she heard he was asking for her. And Lazarus, reanimated by the cry that penetrated the darkness that enveloped him, emerged from the tomb of hopelessness.
Why did Jesus reveal himself as the Resurrection before this momentous event took place? Why did this final revelation cost him his life? Jesus confers on the word “resurrection” the seal of his love so that, along with Martha, Mary and Lazarus, we too will believe that, in loving us, he calls us forth from the tomb of non-sense, of emptiness, of desperation. Loved by Jesus and loving as he loves, we arise to eternal life here and now. Every person moves from death to life by listening to and living the divine Word that transforms daily events into a “Bethany” of eternal friendship–an environment in which each one of us can hear the voice of the Master assuring us: “I love you. You will not die!”.
