John begins his story, "A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany." "Lazarus" means "God helps," and "Bethany," some scholars suggest, is a figurative play on the word that means "House of Affliction."1 Thus the plot of the story is prepared for us. God helps a man in a house of affliction. All of us dwell in that same house, and our affliction is that, like Lazarus, one day we will die. We will be struck down, carried out, and placed in a tomb. It will be sealed with a stone of sorrow. And the haunting tragedy of this final fate is that we can do nothing about it.

This, however, is just the beginning - the first line of the miracle story. The bottom line is the basis of our hope. God weeps because we die. Moved by compassion, God calls out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead m…