Media Connections for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

Our texts for this Sunday are two stories of resurrection: Ezekiel 37:1-14 and John 11:1-45, which you can read here.

After reading these stories, here are some pieces of art, music, and story to inspire your reflection and thinking:

First, the wonderful illumination of this passage from one of my favorite modern works of art which I have shared with you all before, The Saint John's Bible. Look at the image of the bones across the bottom of the page. What else do you see in this picture? Why do you think the artist included these things?

This beautiful seriograph of the Raising of Lazarus by John August Swanson shows not just Lazarus, but an entire community wrapped up in this scene. What do you see in the people on the fringes of the action? Where are Mary and Martha in this scene, do you think, and what are their reactions?

The Ezekiel passage speaks of the wind of God's breath bringing new life. A children's book that really captures this idea is "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, which tells of Kamkwamba's effort to bring hope to his drought-stricken village in Malawi by figuring out

how to harness the wind to create electricity that can pump water. You can see a great sample of the book, which has beautiful language and illustrations, by clicking on the image of the book to the right.

Finally, one of the truest and most powerful songs I have ever heard about resurrection, by Andy Gullahorn and Jill Phillips; listen for the reference to the Lazarus story from John 11.