Grave Clothes

 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

— John 11:43-44

Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King,

This is the Gospel! Bringing you to people who are presently dead, seeing you call them to life and out of their tomb, and then empowering the community around them to remove the grave clothes they are wearing and setting them free. Lord, before I go help others with their grave clothes, I have to wonder, "Are there any grave clothes still wrapped around me?" Am I wearing the remains of an old dead life that is no more? Am I free to come out, be unwrapped, and walk unencumbered in new life? If there are any remnants that still cling to me, would you—and those around me—unwrap me and set me free so I can do that for others?

Lord, so many people around me are still dead in their graves. They look like they are alive, but the stench of death is around them. Their grave clothes keep them bound. And they are immobilized in their own tombs. Lord! Call them forth to new life! Speak their names in a loud voice! Bring them out of their cave of death and darkness into resurrection and eternal life! May we be a community of people who are uniquely positioned to go to them, remove their grave clothes, and let them go.

Gracious Lord, may I be fully free today to free fully those You call forth to resurrection life!

— In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

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