We hear the story of the raising of Lazarus and are encouraged, says Fr Bogdan Bucur, to see it as a sign: the Lord has come to raise all of us from the grave. This is the saving plan of God from all eternity, that we would come to know Him and live. In spite of our hardness of heart, forgetfulness, and frequent unbelief, our Lord, Jesus Christ weeps with us, mourning the broken state of creation, and goes on to endure His Passion, crucifixion, and death–all so that we may rise with Him unto eternal life.