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| Henry Osawa Tanner - The Raising of Lazarus |
Why do you think Jesus waits to go to Bethany, even though he is aware of Lazarus’ illness?
2.
Compare Christ’s statement: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” with the fact that he weeps at Lazarus’ tomb. What do these two actions say about the one Christ?
3.
St. Paul distinguishes between a life “in the flesh” and a life lived “in the spirit.” What do you think he means? Look at Romans 8:6-7, the two verses that precede the selection of the letter offered in the lectionary. How does these verses relate to the lectionary reading?
4.
What is your understanding of the Church’s faith in the resurrection of the dead (or, as the Apostles’ Creed says, the resurrection of the body)? What do you think this will be like? Is there anything difficult to accept about the resurrection of the body?
5.
What do you hope for in the next life? What would you wish it to be like? What would be truly fulfilling?
6.
Does one’s expectations of the next life change the way one lives this life? If we took our future life with Christ absolutely seriously, would we live our lives any differently now? How and why?
7.
Does what Jesus says and does in the Gospel reading for this Sunday change the way you think about Christian grieving for the dead?
