While reflecting on the episode of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and the conversation preceding the same, a certain analogy kept coming back to my mind.
A man in a rural area wanted to purchase a fine cow. So he went to the weekly local animal fair, where they sell and buy cattle. While walking around to see if he could find a fine animal, his eyes finally saw one. However just then he noticed the rope that was used to tie the cow. It was made of a different material, something he had not really seen before. It certainly looked strong and colourful. His whole attention was now fixated on the rope. He started bargaining for the rope and eventually wanted to purchase the rope alone. What he did not realize was, if only he had stuck to his initial reason for being in the fair, and purchased the cow which he actually saw, he would have also got the rope along with it.
The notion of resurrection was something unseen before Jesus. Those who believed in it thought of it as an event of the future. Mary, Martha and all those around them, mourning the loss of Lazarus, acknowledged Jesus' presence but never thought of Him as life-giver. Jesus' delay in arriving and his statements are a reminder to focus one's attention on Him, rather than an event. Reading the passage from this perspective is quite interesting (or is it the version that I am reading?).
Moral of the story: Focus on the person of Jesus, rather than the event of resurrection. He will take care of the event.
A man in a rural area wanted to purchase a fine cow. So he went to the weekly local animal fair, where they sell and buy cattle. While walking around to see if he could find a fine animal, his eyes finally saw one. However just then he noticed the rope that was used to tie the cow. It was made of a different material, something he had not really seen before. It certainly looked strong and colourful. His whole attention was now fixated on the rope. He started bargaining for the rope and eventually wanted to purchase the rope alone. What he did not realize was, if only he had stuck to his initial reason for being in the fair, and purchased the cow which he actually saw, he would have also got the rope along with it.
The notion of resurrection was something unseen before Jesus. Those who believed in it thought of it as an event of the future. Mary, Martha and all those around them, mourning the loss of Lazarus, acknowledged Jesus' presence but never thought of Him as life-giver. Jesus' delay in arriving and his statements are a reminder to focus one's attention on Him, rather than an event. Reading the passage from this perspective is quite interesting (or is it the version that I am reading?).
Moral of the story: Focus on the person of Jesus, rather than the event of resurrection. He will take care of the event.
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