The personality of St Lazarus itself has always been inspiring to me. He is one of my favourite saints. This episode of the Resurrection of Lazarus is one of the most deeply taken by me. And St Lazarus always seemed to me the one whom our Lord wishes us to be. He found refuge & comfort in St Lazarus hospitable house, where he & his saint sisters lived in humility, purity, everything seemed so casual & simple. And when I noticed your phrase that Christian life is simple, I projected it on St Lazarus family immediately. That was a SIMPLE Christian life. It was the place & those were the people when & with whom our Lord could have a little rest from His hard labour. St Lazarus is called (not now, but was called very ling ago, and these words were written on his tomb) – friend of Christ. So simple, and so high simultaneously! But no wonder – this is what God calls us for, and in the Gospel He calls Apostles His friends. And when we think of it, it is not impossible. As the life of St Lazarus shows us that it is achievable, possible, real. And shows us the way it can be achieved. What we should do – better say, what we should BE so that our Lord would wish to visit our house, to stay with us. When we pray or do something, and do not feel inner response that God hears us, and feel chill & emptiness in our soul instead, I think we’d better think – why is it so? Maybe the matter is that something essential is missing – preventing God from visiting us, feeling our heart with His blessing. It’s impossible to fill a glass with the pure water if it is filled with our dim dirty water we are not quick to pour out…How can we comfort our God if we do not tend to live in purity & humility, trying to follow the example of St Lazarus? As not heroic actions, not effective deeds or sacrifice can propitiate God, but love, humble heart – as our Lord Himself tells us. These are the keys to open the door of our souls so that He can enter there & find comfort.

In Christ,

Natalia