At the end of the Little Compline with the Canon for the Raising of Lazarus, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about how Christ is issuing a warning to Hades along the lines of a parent saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Fr. Matthew points out a few hymns that show how Hades is afraid of Christ’s voice which calls Lazarus back to life. And if Hades is afraid of Christ’s voice, how much more afraid should it be of His presence when He is crucified? Fr. Matthew brings this home by reminding us that we all have a choice to make things easy by obeying the voice of God as Lazarus did even while in the tomb.