11.6 - “Come Forth”: Hearing the Call Beyond the Noise
What If Lazarus Had Said No?
“Lazarus, come forth!” But imagine if he had replied, “No thanks—I like it in here.” What if comfort outweighed calling?
Come, let our imaginations run wild for a few minutes. Imagine a different ending to the story.
Any number of small changes could have occurred that would have altered the outcome, and you and I might not be where we are today. What if Jesus had chosen not to go to Bethany? What if they hadn’t been able to roll the stone away? And what if Lazarus was okay with dying and didn’t want to come out? Had this story ended differently, history might have followed a very different course—no apostles, no epistles, no church as we know it.
Eleven Words That Still Resonate
What also strikes me is how John, recalling this incident years later, uses 11 red-letter words that, if understood, could alter the course of our lives. "Remove the stone." That's three. "Lazarus, come forth." That’s six, "Unbind him, let him go.” In that day and age, no one would trouble themselves looking for a scientific explanation for this event, but they would spend a great deal of time contemplating these 11 red-letter words. Let's do the same.
Now, back to John’s story, Chapter 11.
39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”
43 He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
They did. He did. Life has never been the same.
Facing the Stone: Fear as Our Modern Tomb
Over the next 2000 years, some people grasped the instinctive truth of John’s story and had the courage to ask themselves, "What stone do I need to be removed?” "What is keeping me in the tomb of my current situation, unable to see any light - even a hint of what I was created to be?” “What is blocking the vision of my full human potential?”
Many of us fall short, according to researchers, despite having an immense capacity for growth, creativity, and contribution. What is the primary block? FEAR. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, and/or fear of success.
Carol Dweck calls this fear the mark of a fixed mindset—where mistakes equal inadequacy.
Amy Cuddy found that self-doubt silences our confidence and engagement.
This barrier of fear and self-doubt prevents us from even trying.
Living in Darkness and Calling It Home
Even worse, many of us don't realize there is a barrier because, like the Mexican blind cavefish, we have adapted to the darkness. We have grown so comfortable living deep in the shadows of our environment and situation that we have lost our ability to envision how things should be or could be. Additionally, we have failed to push back the noisy distractions of the day for even a few moments of silence. It's no wonder we can't hear life calling, "Come forth!”
The Sacred Power of Stillness
To my grandchildren and their children: we must continuously and actively fight for quiet, a few minutes of stillness each day. In doing so, our eyes will adjust, and our vision will begin to take shape. It is only in the self-imposed silence that we will start to hear the sweet sound of our intrinsic motivation, our unique life calling us forth.
If fear begins to pull you back, remember you have the “ability to change” through effort and learning. Reframe past failures as "lessons." Begin to focus on your efforts and praise them, regardless of the outcome. Remember that a life of growth is made up of days of trial and error.
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
Emerging Is Not Enough: The Need to Be Unbound
In this reading of John’s familiar story about Lazarus, I discovered something for the first time. Even after the stone had been rolled away and Lazarus had been called forth, he still needed to be unbound. That made a strong impression on John, and he didn't want us to miss it. In the interest of time and printed space, he could have simply said “Jesus called, Lazarus came,” and the miracle was done, which would have had the same effect on the common understanding of the story.
However, John wanted us to use this story to rewrite our unique narrative—to "switch on" the light of our imagination and spark our intrinsic motivation. He recognized that even after we emerged from our cave of self-doubt, there would still be obstacles: cultural traditions, structural inequalities, and paths laid out for us by others, to name a few. Each of us must be "unbound" from these.
Too often, John's story is portrayed as something that happened in the past, which we now believe to earn a reward in the future. We overlook many beautiful, unexpected truths. In this context, Lazarus's unbinding symbolizes the personal transformation we must undergo to become who we are meant to be. The word must become flesh.
Thoughts, ideas, and values must translate into action, behavior, and character. It’s a daily, lifelong journey.
Some Believed. Some Reported.
Watch what happens next.
45 Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Everyone experienced this unexpected truth: “Many believed,” but some did not. Some allowed their lives, families, and futures to change, while others conformed to cultural norms and reported to the Pharisees, letting the officials determine their beliefs. However, let's not be too hard on the "but some." I think humans are hardwired that way.
Historians will tell you that our ability to work in groups and maintain good standing with others helped humans ascend from the middle to the top of the food chain. We learned to hunt in packs and survive in tribes. Therefore, embodying a new truth will always be a risky business.
Semmelweis, Handwashing, and the Death of Good Ideas
Consider the story of Austrian obstetrician Ignaz Semmelweis, who, in 1847, published evidence showing that washing hands before treating patients lowered the mortality rate in his clinic. He observed that it prevented patients from developing fevers and other ailments. However, since this was before Louis Pasteur’s germ theory, he couldn't explain why hand washing was effective, and his work was rejected. Eighteen years later, after suffering from clinical depression, he was placed in an insane asylum. When he tried to escape, he was severely beaten by guards and died two weeks later. It was years later that handwashing gained traction and eventually became a standard medical practice. Semmelweis shows us how new insights can be dismissed when they don’t fit existing narratives—just like the truths we resist in our own lives.
But let's move on - or I'll never finish the 11th chapter of John.
The Inner Council Meeting - How our minds resist change—and how to slow that reflex
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So, from that day on, they planned to put him to death.Something happened! In an attempt to understand what took place, people created a narrative around it. The Pharisees “repackaged” the event as a threat to the temple and the nation. John, looking back many years later, reframed it as a prophecy of things to come. Which one was correct? They both were. Jesus was a threat to the temple system, and his death led to a gathering of the dispersed children of God. But is there another lesson we can learn from this meeting?
It reminds me of what happens in my mind when I stumble across an unexpected truth, a new idea, or a different way of doing things. Part of me views it as a threat, and the easiest thing to do is to eliminate it. The more challenging response is to withhold judgment, evaluate it objectively, and see what it can signify for the future. I must be cautious not to make hasty decisions when in the midst of fear or anger. Those two can easily trigger my confirmation and self-justification biases.
Jesus in the Wilderness, People in the Temple - Seeking presence or pursuing noise: a daily choice
54 Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness, and he remained there with the disciples.Jesus seeks solitude to gain a clear vision of his next steps. I should, too.
55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.Notice the contrast: Jesus seeks God's presence in the wilderness, while in the temple—God’s most sacred home—people seek gossip. “Will he come?” “Will he not come?”
This prompts me to ask, “What am I seeking?” Am I creating a quiet space in my life to listen for a calling into my less-bound future self? Or is my life so busy and noisy that I can't hear anything else?
So, my question to my grandchildren and their children is: What truth are you resisting today? And what quiet space are you creating to finally hear it?
Key Takeaways:
Transformation requires more than awakening; it requires unbinding. Like Lazarus, we may be called out of the tomb but remain entangled in limiting patterns.
Fear is often the stone that seals us in. Whether it’s fear of failure or success, its presence often goes unrecognized.
Stillness is a spiritual technology. Silence and solitude are essential tools for tuning into our inner calling and unique path.
New truths often face resistance—internally and externally. Just as Jesus was seen as a threat, fresh insights into our lives can be prematurely “killed” by bias or fear.
