Awakening (Lazarus)

Awakening to blindness 
Awakening to the stench of mildew and decay 
Awakening to the hardness of the cold stone beneath my lifeless weight 
Awakening to the icy chill sending shivers through every nerve in my body 
Awakening… 

Awakening to the voice of Jesus… 

Wrists tied. Feet Bound. Face Covered. 
Darkness 
Only Darkness 
Constricted in a cocoon of grave clothes 
The dampness of the cave seeps through my linen wrappings 

When was I bound, and how? 
How long has my body laid rotting in darkness? 
How long has my mind been lost in eternal sleep? 
How long has my soul wandered in the beyond? 
How long since I noticed my very breath… or since I have breathed at all? 
I do not remember. 
How can I know? I am dead. 
or… 
I was dead 

Until his voice called my name… 
“Come Forth” 

And so I went… 

I know not how I heard his voice. 
I know not how I saw the soft warm reddish glow of sunlight through closed eyes beneath a linen veil. 
I know not how my tied-up feet could shuffle forward. 
I know not how the stone gave way, or how I became aware of the open door. 
I know not how I became aware at all. 

Only darkness 
Only disorientation 
Only stumbling toward the voice… 
Toward the light 

Like falling awake from a nightmare, 
Like clawing my way out of the darkest pit 
Up from the deepest recesses of Sheol. 

Where shall I go from your Spirit, O Lord?
Even if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
“Surely the darkness covers me, and the light about me be night,”
Even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
1

Awakening… 

Like taking my first breath, my first steps all over again 
Like emerging not from a grave, but from a womb 

Lost, afraid, alone 
Until… 

“Unbind him” 

The eyes of perfect love pierced my soul 
The breath of creation breathed new life into my body 

My bonds were loosed 
My hands, free 
My feet, free 
My eyes, free 
My heart, free 

Awakening 

Birth and rebirth 
Born and born again 
Asleep, asleep no more 
Bound, now free 
Dead, and yet I live 

Jesus calls you… 

Awake 
Come forth 
Be unbound 
You are free 


 
  • What word or phrase shimmers for you or resonates in your soul? 

  • Where do you find yourself in the story of Lazarus? (John 11:38-44) 

  • What bindings does Jesus want to loose in your life? 

  • What is God’s invitation for you as you follow Holy spirit beyond the grave and into this new awakened life? 


 

1 Psalm 139:7a, 11-12.


 

Craig J. Sefa
Contact Craig through his website, “Echo,” at https://craigsefa.org or by email at sefacj@gmail.com.


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If you would like to have a conversation partner on how you sense God inviting you into 2022, I would be honored to talk. Email me and we can set up a time.

❤️Ashley 

Ashley Pickerel Thomas, School of the Spirit Missioner
(704) 408-4248 | ashleygpthomas@icloud.com

Creating space for God to strengthen souls and nurture growth toward vibrant wholeness in Christ for the sake of others.

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Why the Contemplative Path: In Conversation with Don Carroll