Thread by @JamesMartinSJ

For the last five years, I've been working on a book on the Raising of #Lazarus, today's beautiful Gospel reading from Jn 11, called "Come Forth." The book includes some images of Lazarus from art, as well as photos of current-day Bethany, Al Eizariya. The first is the oldest...

....known image of Lazarus, in the Giordani Catacombs, from the 4C.

Next is James Tissot's image, which depicts the current-day layout of the tomb with remarkable accuracy. Tissot spent months in the Holy Land in the late 19C trying to capture the landscape and peoples...

Here is an image from the "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry," a 15C prayer book, which shows Lazarus crawling out of his marble tomb. As is the tradition, someone covers his face against the "stench" reported in today's Gospel....

Here is Lazarus, done in sepulchral tones, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, a 20C American artist perhaps best known for his depiction of The Annunciation...

And a much more modern version, with Willem Dafoe (as Jesus) embracing the newly raised Lazarus in Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ..."

Finally, two images from Al Eizariya, current-day Bethany, in Palestinian territory. The first an aerial view of the Church of St. Lazarus, near the Tomb...

And the entrance to the Tomb itself. (Photos of Al Eizariya Courtesy of Catholic Travel Centre.)

For more on the Raising of Lazarus (and more images) you might enjoy reading "Come Forth," which will be published in September. harpercollins.com/products/come-…