Unbind Him and Let Him Go
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
John 11:43-44
And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, ‘Untie him and let him go.’
Grace Prayed For
Lord, show us what burial cloths we are still wearing after our own moments of resurrection, and send us people willing to help us be unbound.
Reflection
Jesus raises Lazarus, but he does not unwrap him. He could have. Instead, he turns to the community and gives them a task: Untie him. Let him go.
This is one of the most overlooked details in this famous story, and one of the most theologically rich. The miracle of new life is God’s to give. The work of removing burial clothes — the habits, fears, shame, and patterns that remain wrapped around the newly alive — that is the work of community.
It is not hard to identify the burial cloths in our own lives. Many of us have experienced real moments of grace, genuine transformation, authentic encounter with the living God. And then we have continued to walk around trailing old bandages: the self-contempt that says we’re not really worth loving, the anxiety that acts as if God has not actually rescued us, the grudges that keep us bound to stories that have already ended, the identities formed around our wounds rather than our belovedness.
The resurrection is real. And yet we need one another to help us walk free of the grave clothes.
This is one of the primary functions of a small group or spiritual community. Not to produce the miracle — that is God’s work — but to recognize when something new has been born in a person, and to do the patient, tender work of helping them remove what no longer belongs to them. To say: that shame doesn’t fit you anymore. That story isn’t true. That grave cloth can go.
Who in your community is newly alive but still wrapped up? And who has been helping you remove your own burial bands?
Untie him. Let him go. This is the work of love.
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post