Daily Reading for April 13
Lazarus, Come out!
It is the voice of the Lord, the proclamation of the king—an authoritative command.
Come out!
Leave corruption behind and receive the flesh of incorruption.
Lazarus, Come out!
Let them know that the time has come when those in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of man. Once they have heard they will come alive.
Come out!
The stumbling block is taken away.
Come to me—I am calling you.
Come out!
As a friend, I am calling you; as Lord I am commanding you. . . .
Come out
Covered with the burial cloth so that they won’t think you were only pretending to be dead. Let them see your hands and feet bound and your face covered. Let them see if they still do not believe the miracle.
Come out!
Let the stench of your body prove the resurrection. Let the burial linen be undone so that they can recognize the one who was put in the tomb.
Come out!
Come alive and enliven! Come out of the tomb. Teach them how all creation will be enlivened in a moment when the trumpet’s voice proclaims the resurrection of the dead.
Come out!
Let breath appear in your nostrils, let blood pulse through your veins, let the voice sound in your larynx, let words fill your ears, let vision enlighten your eyes, let the sense of smell fill your senses, walk as nature intended as your earthly tent is enlivened by your soul.
Come out!
Leave behind the burial cloth and glorify the miracle. Leave the revolting stench of death and proclaim the strength of my power.
I’m calling you out!
Come out.
I, who said, “Let there be light, let there be firmament.”
From Homily 8 on Lazarus by Andrew of Crete, quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVb, John 11-21, edited by Joel C. Elowsky (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2007).