The Raising of Lazarus—‘That green silent place where life and death are one.’ 1

Abstract

‘The Raising of Lazarus’ is explored with the help of Rainer Marie Rilke’s poem of that title. In particular, Franz Wright’s translation enters imaginatively into Jesus’ passionate desire that people should have the faith that does not need the resuscitation of corpses in order to realise the power of God’s spirit uniting his people across the border between life and death.