Lazarus Lessons
When I get intimidated about this house, I call to mind Lazarus. At many levels.
Lazarus was Jesus’ friend, called back to life after being buried in the tomb. It’s also the name we have given to the Simple Cycle truck. We call it that because it has had “deaths” in our hands.
It’s an ‘84 Ford stake truck, red, three gears on the floor.
The first time Dan Helms of Simple Cycle loaned it to us, we didn’t realize it was diesel. In went the unleaded gas. A tow and a repair was involved. But the old spark plugs glowed and Lazarus sprang back to life.
(If you have not checked out Simple Cycle, it is the most righteous bike shop in Philly, employing and empowering young people in the Hunting Park neighborhood. They will fix your bike for a song, and you can feel great about spending money there. Heck, pay extra!)
The second time I borrowed Lazarus, I loaded it with yard logs and trash to take to the Philadelphia recycle center for plant matter on Ford Road. Maybe a little too quick with putting on that back gate, cause next time I looked, there was nothing loaded back there. I backtracked to find a a nice huge mound of debris in the middle on Conshohocken Road. Underneath is all lay the back gate.
Fine. Diverted traffic. Reloaded. Carefully placed the gate on. No harm done.
Third time, I learned that Lazarus had two gas tanks, because I had inadvertently filled the wrong one. Then ran it off the other. Guess what happened?
Corollary: diesel engines can’t run out of gas and get air in the lines without creating a LOT of trouble. Again, Lazarus ground to a halt. This time, Dan and Michaelanne and Nolan came out to work hard on reviving the engine. I walked out and found Dan just up there sitting under the hood working with it. Five jumps, prayers, and some mechanical shenanigans later, and the old truck was back to life.
Now you may be asking why Dan has loaned me that truck three times. I wouldn’t have done that to a person with my track record.
And this is the true secret of the story of Lazarus. Did Jesus call Lazarus back to life from his own power? Certainly. But I have also heard a very provocative alternate reading of that story. It is a story filled to the brim with community. Lazarus’s friends surrounded Mary and Martha. They were mourning, sitting with them, and they accompanied Jesus to the tomb. Lazarus, Mary, Martha were deeply loved by their community. This interpretation suggested that Lazarus was also called back to life by the web of relationships he was part of. The mourning of the community, and their love of him, was part of the call back to life.
I have had some dark days with this project—call it Vine and Fig Tree or Krauskoph’s Folly. I often wake at 5.30 and worry about it. It is easy to feel overwhelmed. I had an overwhelmed morning just yesterday.
That is when I think of Lazarus. I think of Dan, Michaelanne, all the large community of people who step in to help me. How generous and amazing everyone is. When I have a bad day, they pick me up. They pray with me. They bring me blueberries. They come solve a problem, or share their best painting advice and paint with me. They hang cabinets. They encourage me. They are all there, calling me back to my true life and the self I want to be.
In many ways, this house is a spiritual lesson in balance that has confronted me in other high-stress jobs. How do I not lose myself in the project? How do I keep friends and keep the faith, and keep balance? I am sure I have not found the right balance, but I am also sure that a community is always around me, calling me to my best life.
- Dee Dee Risher
