The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-04-07

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the
Dead. St. Johu IL: 17-44
By (Rev. M. J. McLean)
The narrative telling of the rails
ing of Lazarus is given greater
detail than any other miracle per-
formed by Jesus. Lazarus was a
brother to Mary and Martha. Their
home was Bethany and Jesus had
often visited there. He was away
about fifteen miles when Lazarus
died. When he suggested that they
go into Judea his diciples warned
him that his enemies there had tried
to stone him. In the mean time
other friends of the family had
gathered to comfort Mary and
Martha. When Jesus arrived
Lazarus had been in the grave four
days.
In the first part of the story fol-
lowing the arrival of Jesus we can
see that bond of sympathy which
make us in like trials feel close
kinship to those persons of Bethany.
Deep sorrow had taken hold of the
sisters of Lazarus and they felt the
pain of it and were in great dis
tress. They were confident in the
assurance that had Jesus been there
their brother had not died. Martha
being the more active of the two
sisters and knowing of his approach,
went to meet him, and expressed
her regret that he had not been
there to prevent her brothers death.
In the conversation between Martha
} and Jesus she expressed her belief
in Jesus as having power with God
and in the resurrection of the dead,
Jesus said to her, ~ am the resur-
rection and the life; he that beliveth
in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live. Whoever liveth and
believth in me shall never die. Be-
lievest thou this? She said unto him,
Yea. Lord: l believe that thou art
the Christ, the Son of God, which
should come into the world"
When Martha found comfort in
the presence and words of Christ,
she called Mary to him, and when
she had come to where he was, she
fell down to his feet and said IF
thou hadst been here my brothe;
had not died." Her deep sorrow
brought tears to Jesus also. There il
no better index to great soul than
its capacity to see and its willing
ness to help other souls in need. 1t
is q sitting pain to suffer mental
and heartful anguish and to feel
that al is darkness, that there IS
none to see, when it is just once in
ones lifetime it may be your exper-
fence to bring life and light in a
dark hour. Something awakens the
thoughtfulness and sympathy of
all men like the death of one of
their friends. Death is the wages of
sin. If the reality of death has pow
er to awaken sympathy and inspire
courage to minister unto those into
whose lives it has brought pain, WY
is there, found so little sorrow for
the sin of the living which causes
death, and such cowardly efforts to
bring back the sinner, retrieve the
failures, redeem the pains of the
sinners loved ones? It is Christianity
to have sympathy and to comfort
those sorrowing over death of their
friends and relatives. It is not
Christianity to neglect this personal
interest in your fellows until they
are gone. It he has lived a goddess
life and his future state is insecure;
if Christian has not done something
to help fit that life for a better
Destiny; It is the more sensible to
rejoice that such IN one is gone for
no man lives to himself more than
he dies to himself. Jesus was not
that kind Of a man. He was not the
Savior of the dead but of the living.
To many of his diciples are inclined
to take in their hands when it is
convenient or praiseworthy. Too
few placet themselves in his hands,
even when duty commands it, and
never think of enthusiasm COM
mending it.
We are inclined to feel like
Jesus about the death of Lazarus and
rejoice that he did not die that we
might see the works and the glory
of God. There is nothing in the
raising Of Lazarus from the dead
unworthy Of God. He had been dead
long enough for modification to be-
gin. His ears were dumb, his limbs
were stiff, his mouth was closed, his
eyes were set. His body was like any
other dead body. Where his soul