(Orozco, Resurrection of Lazarus, 1943)

In class we talked about how there seems to always be a connection in our class to some Disney movie and not wanting to disappoint, here is another one. 

This painting reminds me of Hercules. In the Disney version of the movie, Hercules goes down to the underworld to rescue Meg. When he gets there he is told by Hades that Meg's spirit is in the river Styx. Hercules makes a deal that if he can get her out he can trade places. Hercules jumps in and starts to swim. All the spirits of the dead are around him watching and it's pretty dang scary, at least i thought that it was when i was little. As he comes out of the river after finding out that he is part god, he punches Hades and he falls in the river and the spirits start to attack him. 

As you look at the painting you see a man (Christ) standing up and seems to be lifting up the dead being on the left (Lazarus). But when I saw it for the first time, I saw Hercules standing above Hades, pushing him down. All around Hades are the souls of the dead that he has kept in the river Styx, attacking him and pulling him to their level. 

Hercules is victorious over death in the movie and in the painting. What's really cool is that in the actual account of Lazarus being raised from the dead, it is because Christ was victorious over death. Hercules could push Hades down because he was as well victorious over death. There is a power that is shown as one lives while all around him are dead. 

I thought about this and it was just reconfirmed to me that life is what we are seeking. Those that asked Christ to raise Lazarus wanted him to live, Hercules jumped into the river so that Meg could live, and we do al that we can so that we live now and forever.