To begin a path through a crisis is to start an inward spiral. There are many stages and many ways we can leave the path too. They begin with acknowledging that we do have a problem. The first way to side step the whole path would be to deny anything was wrong. Five more stages to the crisis ensue; Owning, accepting, learning, inner listening. The turning point of the inward spiral that leads out again is the momentous step. This is the crisis point of breakdown or breakthrough. The resolve for change can arises and the will power to make the changes begins to flow, often, quite powerfully. From here is a possible path through making a plan, letting go of past, forgiveness, gratitude, joy and peace. 

These stages are wonderfully described in detail in the excellent book by Julian Sleigh “Crisis Points”. (Now sadly out of print but available online on second-hand sites).

This difficult third path out of a crisis is something that was pioneered by Lazarus. He underwent a deep crisis which was accompanied Christ and it was through the power and love of Christ that he could awaken to a new beginning. The raising of Lazarus from the dead (found in John 11 if you wish to read of it) is traditionally celebrated five weeks before Easter, as this coincides with the timings of events in the gospels which lead up to Holy Week.

Christian legends reveal the hidden aspects of the relationship between Lazarus and Jesus. They relate that Jesus and Lazarus knew each other since they were 27 and had many conversations. The legend also links him to be the ‘rich young ruler’ who asks Jesus the question ‘How can I inherit eternal life?’(Luke 18:18-30). Jesus’ answer leads Lazarus into an existential crisis, which develops in physical sickness as well as an inner experience of the forces of death and darkness. Christ accompanied the whole process and even waited two days after hearing Lazarus was approaching death, to allow the crisis to deepen. 

What Lazarus was undergoing was the experience of how to die in the midst of life. He discovered how life becomes cycles of death and new birth, of letting go of old and letting in the new. In the darkness he found the Light of the World and whilst he experienced being lost in the spiritual realms, he experienced being sought for and being found. The Being of Christ was experienced as the way out of crisis into new life; as Christ had said; “I am the good Shepherd, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the light of the World”. These “I AM” statements that Christ makes, are only to be found in the gospels written by John. This reveals the depth of his experience of Christ as he continued to follow Him and was known as  John, “the disciple whom the Lord loved”. These words which encapsulate the activity of Christ, were the pathway out of the crisis. 
 

The ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ was something that St.John of the Cross said was ‘God’s best gift’ for us and for our sense of freedom. The times of ‘unknowing’ and emptiness could free us up of attachment to our own ideas of God, our fears of God, and the hidden bargains we made. We can realize that some beliefs we held were substitutes for a real meeting with God and they 'got in the way' of God reaching our awareness. There is a mystery and a paradox, that times of ‘unknowing’ need to be endured, not enjoyed (that is also a risk) and in the end, if we complete the path, they give our lives rich and unexpected grounding. In the Dark days of Lazarus’ soul, he had to let go of everything he had learned from Judaism, he had to let go completely of his wish for 'eternal life’. He had to embrace the reality of this enlivening encounter with the Messiah and that life is full of small deaths and new beginnings.  

Through the journey of Lazarus and the accompaniment of Christ, we are given the possibility and opportunity to choose the third path. The path through the crisis is made by means of challenge and discovering gifts, of small deaths and births, of dark nights and bright days. Never are we alone on this path, for Christ is always within the crisis.