Lenten Devotional Week 5 : Freedom from Death

Week 5: Freedom From Death

In this final week, we explore how Jesus meets us in the very heart of our humanity — in our flesh, our friendships, our grief, and even our death. In John’s Gospel, the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us, and nowhere is that clearer than in Jesus weeping with Mary and Martha and calling Lazarus out of the tomb. This story invites us to consider the places where death still clings to us, the “grave clothes” that bind us, and the community God gives us to help unbind one another so we can walk in freedom, dignity, and love.

How to use this Devotional

• As a personal devotion: Read slowly, journal a few thoughts, or sit with one question that stands out.
• As a family or household conversation: Use the prompts to spark deeper connection and honest sharing.
• Use as much or as little as you wish: One question may be enough for the whole week.

Watch the Week 5 sermon if you missed it.

Read the Gospel John 11:1-45 (NRSV alongside The Message translation)

 

 

Opening Prayer

God of life and love,
you meet me in my flesh,
you weep with me in my grief,
and you call me into newness I can scarcely imagine.
Open my heart to your voice,
loosen what binds me,
and help me walk in the freedom of your love.
Amen.

 

Reflection

 

1) The Role of Community. Jesus raises Lazarus, but it is Lazarus’s community that must unbind him. 

• Who has helped unbind me — helped me see more clearly, live more freely, or trust more deeply in God? 
• What did they teach me? 
• And is there someone in my life right now who needs that same encouragement or guidance from me?

 

2)  Jesus Weeps.  Jesus doesn’t rise above human suffering — he enters into it, feels it, and weeps alongside his friends.

• What does it mean to me that God meets me in my flesh and experiences pain and loss with me?
• Where have I sensed Jesus grieving with me or for me?
• And what does this story tell me about God’s power over death — not just at the end of life, but in the daily places where I feel loss, fear, or limitation?

 

 3) Hearing the Call to New Life.  Origen says there are “Lazaruses even now” — people Jesus calls out of “death” into life. Christianity is about more than being forgiven; when Jesus raises me and calls me his friend, that’s only the beginning of my life in him.

• Where do I sense Jesus calling me out of something old, stuck, or lifeless?  
• What might “coming out of the tomb” look like for me right now? What new freedom or aliveness do I long for?

 

 4) The Beloved Community — God’s Vision for Us. Prophets, saints, civil rights leaders, and martyrs help show us the way toward the Kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven.” 

• Who are the saints — living or dead — who help me imagine God’s dream for the world?
• What part of that dream am I being invited to embody?
• How might God’s power over death free me to imagine more boldly and act more courageously?

Closing Reflection

As this five‑week journey comes to an end, what am I taking with me as I prepare to enter into Holy Week and the journey to Easter?

• What did I learn or re‑learn about how Jesus frees me to live more fully and more faithfully?
• What opened my eyes a little wider or strengthened my faith in some way?
• I take a moment of quiet to name that gift before God.

 

Closing Prayer

God of life and love,
thank you for all the ways you’ve been at work in my life.
For the gift of your grace and love, and all the ways you free me to become the person you created me to be.
As I prepare to walk with you toward the cross and the triumph of your victory over death,
open my heart, loosen what binds me,
and continue to free me to be an instrument of your.

 Amen.

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