“Untie him and let him go free.”

The story of Lazarus, while true, also serves as an allegory for each of us.  Like Lazarus, we suffer from a sickness that, without the visit of Christ, will bring death.  We suffer from the sickness of sin.  Without the voice of Christ we lie in a tomb, sealed away from the light. With Lazarus we may try to avoid the reality of our sinful death by attempting a pseudo life.  Lazarus, like an Egyptian, was wrapped as a mummy in a vain effort to live forever.  But even in fine linen, saturated with the most fragrant of perfumes and incense, the stench of our death will finally leak through.  What are our linens and perfumes?  They are those things by which we seek to bring form and identity to ourselves.  They may actually be good things, but still they only preserve a…