The “Raising of Lazarus” illumination from John 11 will be featured in Visio Divina sessions on Wednesday, March 25, at 12:45 p.m. (30 minutes) and 7:00 p.m. (60 minutes) in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. This Lenten prayer opportunity is sponsored by Campus Ministry and the Garaventa Center.
In this illumination the viewer is in the tomb with Lazarus, among the death’s-head moths and golden angels, and the lace of Lazarus’ shroud (created from prints of actual lace). We look out as if through a tunnel of light (perhaps representing descriptions of near-death experiences), where Jesus awaits. Lazarus is upright, appearing to begin to rise and exit. Dominating the illumination are the words, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
In The Art of The Saint John’s Bible, vol. 1, p. 96, Susan Sink says
It is this miracle that will start Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and the crucifixion, the real triumph of light over darkness, life over death. But here we stand with Lazarus poised on the edge of death and life and contemplate our own faith.