That whole scene at the tomb of Lazarus is to me the perfect example of the inevitable struggle between Sorrow and Joy that is the hallmark of this human life. Jesus has just called out “Lazarus come forth!” And the one who was dead comes back to life, hopping out of that cave… Yes, hopping; because we know – as the passage states – that the burial custom was to wrap the dead in linen strips, like a mummy. I wonder who was the first one in that crowd to repress a chuckle at the sight.

The story of Lazarus – Mary and Martha’s brother – has to be one of the best known and best loved stories in the Bible. It is one of my favorites… but not for the obvious reasons. Yes, the climax of the story is the resurrection of Lazarus: a miracle that is the signature miracle of the Messiah: It proves that He had the power to undo death and, therefore, the power to undo the ultimate cause of death: sin. But… you know… Lazarus eventually died again.

We left off in John 10:21 last time. Today we start from verse 22. However, note that between verse 21 and verse 22 a lot of stuff happens. You can tell that from the other gospels. We can tell so, here, because – all of a sudden – we are in the last few months of Jesus’ ministry. Verse 22 says: Now the feast of the dedication was celebrating at Jerusalem, and it was winter. This is the winter before Jesus’ last Passover on Earth.

My story, Ahavah’s Golem, appeared this last February 2024 in ResAliens Zine Issue #11. Residential Aliens Magazine – expertly edited by Lyndon Perry – features “spiritually infused speculative fiction”. The story is now available on my web site. (If you are interested in reading all the stories in that issue, you will also find the link to the Amazon page.)

The end of chapter 9 of John’s gospel is not the end of that story. (The story of the man born blind.) It continues through John 10 verse 21. The chapter break is unfortunate because John 10:1 follows immediately that conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees about blindness. Almost scoffing, they said to Jesus, “So, we are blind too?” And Jesus’ reply was: “If you were, you wouldn’t be guilty. But since you say that you can see, your guilt remains.”

In the 9^th chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus heals a man who had been born blind. I love that story; especially because of the transformation of that young man who started that morning as a helpless beggar. At the beginning of the story, he is the passive subject of what sounds like an academic dilemma: “Who sinned? Whose fault was it that he was born blind?” But as the story progresses, he goes from passive subject to protagonist; from having no idea who Jesus is to deducing that He is a prophet sent by God, and boldly proclaiming so.