When I study the weekly Christian Science Bible Lessons I try to pay special attention to the familiar passages from the Scriptures and Science and Health that I’m tempted to read over quickly. I take a moment to ask for an open thought and receptivity to a new way of seeing those words.
One day, when taking a careful look at the Biblical account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (see John, chap. 11), I saw something I hadn’t seen before. It says that Jesus went to Bethany, the town of Mary and Martha, after hearing that their brother, Lazarus, was very ill. Jesus did not go to him immediately after hearing the news, but when he did arrive, Lazarus had been in his grave for four days. Many of the family’s friends had come to console Mary and Martha, and the atmosphere must have been heavy with mourning. What caught my attention when I read the account this time was what Jesus said to those around him, “Where have ye laid him?”
Jesus meant this in a literal sense, of course, but I wondered, Where had they placed Lazarus in their thoughts? Where had they, in fact, laid him? It occurred to me that when we see someone struggling—perhaps with lack or illness, or with a relationship problem—we should ask ourselves that same question. Where are we putting them in thought? Do we see them as sick, in trouble, lacking good, or stuck in an unhappy relationship? Or do we remove them from that false picture of suffering and instead turn to God in prayer, to see what He sees in His creation, as Jesus always did? Jesus recognized God as the only cause and creator, as Father-Mother. He placed everyone who came to him for help in God’s care. By laying them trustingly in His hands, Jesus was able to raise Lazarus and others to a clearer understanding of their unbroken relationship to God. We can all follow that example.
