Today in Lent Madness action it’s a Biblical Blowout as Lazarus squares off against Joseph of Arimathea. Actually, we’re calling this one the Tomb Raider Rumble. So deal with it.

Yesterday, Andrew the Fisherman hooked Polycarp 72% to 28% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen where he’ll face Hyacinth.

Vote now!

Lazarus

Lazarus of Bethany is familiar to us from the gospels – he appears in the Gospel of John as the brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany – a beloved friend of Jesus who falls gravely ill and then dies towards the end of Jesus’s earthly ministry. Jesus, having fled Judea because of conflict with the local leadership, receives this news, and heads back to Bethany to console his grieving family. When Mary and Martha run to meet him, they remonstrate with him – Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And it is in response to this cry of the heart that Jesus declares, I am the resurrection and the life. They who believe in me will not die.

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, amazing all in attendance (especially Martha, who correctly, if overly-practically, points out that because he had been dead four days, there would be a particular smell.) From there, tradition guides us. The Eastern Orthodox, who call Lazarus “The Four-Days Dead,” tell that he then flees from Judea, because of local plots to take his life. He heads then to Cyprus, to the town of Kition. Here he meets up with Barnabas and Paul, who make him the first bishop of Kition, and he serves well for over 30 years. They also contend that the Blessed Virgin Mary wove his special bishop robe for him herself, as a mark of respect.

Attesting to this legend, in 890 a tomb was found in the region with the inscription “Lazarus, friend of Christ.” The remains were disinterred and removed to Constantinople, the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

There is yet an alternate story, told by the French. In this tradition, following the resurrection of Christ, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were put adrift from the Judean coast in a boat without sails or oars, finally landing on the coast of southern France. They split up, going in different directions to preach the gospel. Lazarus goes to Marseilles and becomes bishop there. For this reason, the congregation at Autun claims to have his corporal remains, but the cathedral at Marseilles still claims to have his head.

Whichever tradition, Lazarus remains a testimony to the power of Christ over death, and the enduring power of the resurrection.

Collect for Lazarus
Generous God, whose Son Jesus Christ enjoyed the friendship and hospitality of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany: Open our hearts to love you, our ears to hear you, and our hands to welcome and serve you in others, through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (GCW 2015)

— Megan Castellan

Joseph of Arimathea

Joseph of Arimathea’s role in the death of Jesus is recorded in all four gospels; beyond that, we know nothing about him. Matthew’s gospel tells us that Joseph was from Arimathea, wealthy, and a disciple of Jesus. He asked Pilate for Jesus’s body, and Pilate had people give the body to Joseph. Joseph wrapped Jesus’s body in clean linen and put it in a new tomb that he had carved into a rock. He rolled a large stone in front of it and left Mary Magdalene and Mary watching the tomb.

In Mark’s gospel, we learn that Joseph of Arimathea was a council member. He wasn’t just a member; he was respected, which could explain how Joseph would have access to Pilate and why Pilate would grant his request. We also learn that Joseph was waiting for the kingdom of God, indicating his knowledge of Jesus’s teachings. Joseph went boldly to Pilate to request Jesus’s body, showing that while he was a respected member of the council, he was still taking a risk making this request. Mark tells us that when Joseph asked for Jesus’s body, Pilate had to check and see if Jesus was dead. We learn that Joseph took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and took it to the tomb. The rest of Mark’s gospel mirrors Matthew’s account. We don’t always get more information from Mark than from Matthew.

Luke leads with words about Joseph’s character by stating he was good and righteous and that although he was a council member, he disagreed with what they were doing. We learn that Arimathea is a Jewish town, and as in Mark, Luke tells us that Joseph was waiting for the kingdom of God. Luke clarifies that the tomb Joseph prepared was a new tomb where no other dead person had been laid. Luke does not name the women who followed Joseph on the day of Preparation, but they viewed and perhaps oversaw how Joseph laid Jesus’s body. Luke says that they returned to prepare spices and ointments, and observed the sabbath.

The gospel of John gets right to the heart of Joseph of Arimathea’s role as a secret disciple. John also says that after Pilate let Joseph take Jesus’s body, Nicodemus came with Joseph and brought one hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes. They prepared Jesus’s body according to the burial customs of the Jews. John says that the garden where Jesus was crucified also had a new tomb, and since it was the day of Preparation and time was of the essence, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus’s body there. Joseph of Arimathea’s brave and difficult actions are worthy of commemoration by the church each year on August 1.

Collect for Joseph of Arimathea

Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathea with reverence and godly fear prepared the body of our Lord and Savior for burial and laid it in his own tomb: Grant to us, your faithful people, grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (LFF 2022)

— Miriam Willard McKenney