Growing up Baptist until I was in my early teens made life pretty easy. I was taught, and
easily believed that everyone in life had the same questions and the Bible had all the answers. The Presbyterian
Church of my later years, college, seminary, and life itself have taught me that there are more questions than
there seem to be answers, and more than enough beliefs to go around. The one thing that has remained constant for
me is my understanding that the Bible still holds the solution to all our problems, but we have to continue to
learn how to read it with fresh eyes and a new heart everyday of our lives.
We can see the progression of need in our gospel themes from the past three weeks. We have gone from thirsting
in the hot sun, to blind groping in the dust, to actually decaying in a darkened tomb on this the fifth Sunday
in Lent. I see it as more than a "dress rehearsal with death" - but rather a treasure house of human
experience and longing with real life solutions being extended.
In the verses which preceded today's lesson (10:40-42), we are told that Jesus has returned to the actual spot
where his earthly ministry began, to Salim, where he had been baptized by John. There is always something about
returning to our roots when we are about to face the ultimate challenge.
The effect is meant to be twofold. First to remind the reader of the differences between these two important men,
and second to call to mind again the events of that day; God's voice from heaven, and John's predictions about
Jesus.
The past always paves the way for the future, and the broader impact of these two verses is that they prepare us
for the climax of Jesus' ministry. This miracle story strategically placed by John as Jesus is on his final journey
to Jerusalem prepares us for his death and resurrection every bit as much as the anointing at Bethany, and since
the story is not found in the other gospels, it is very likely that it is really a meditation on Jesus as "the
resurrection and the life", the one who has "won the victory over the power of death."
If that is the case, what unique things is John trying to tell us? We know that Jesus has brought others back to
life, namely the daughter of Jairus and the son of the woman of Nain, but there is a significant difference here.
Those resurrections occurred within hours of the individual's death. Neither person had been buried before sunset
as required by Jewish law, but Lazarus, by contrast had been in the tomb four days.
One of Hollywood's longtime favorite movies begins with a tornado in Kansas. I'm sure most of you know that in
The Wizard of Oz Dorothy's house is swept away and when it finally sets down, it has landed on the Wicked Witch
of the West who has been terrorizing the residents of Munchkin City. Clearly the witch looks dead, but before the
Munchkins can celebrate their apparent good fortune, the death must be verified beyond any shadow of doubt. The
mayor of the city says to Dorothy:
"As the mayor of Munchkin City, in the county of the land of Oz, I welcome you most regally. But we've got
to verify it legally, to see if she is morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, absolutely, positively, undeniably,
and reliably dead!"
This is exactly what God is demonstrating to Ezekiel about the people in our Old Testament lesson in the valley
of dry bones. "These bones are the whole house of Israel." (37:11) In God's eyes, the People had become
"morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, absolutely, positively, undeniably, and reliably dead!"
So dead, were they, that their bones were completely dried up.
New Testament people in the time of Jesus still believed that the spirit lingered over the body for three days
after death, which may have been prompted by the fact that there were many accounts of people who were mistakenly
buried while still very much alive.
According to the New International Bible:
The four-day period ... underscores the finality of the death. According to popular Jewish belief at the time of
Jesus, the soul hovered around the body in the grave for three days after death, hoping to reenter the body. But
after the third day, when the soul "sees that the color of its face has changed," the soul leaves the
body for good. (NIB, Vol. IX, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1985, p. 687.)
This is the point that John is making in the story of Lazarus with Jesus' intentional delay.
It is important to note here that this is not a story about life after death. It is a story about life after life.
It is a testament to the fact that a soul can re-enter a body at any time, even one that has been dead and decaying.
Even one that is beyond all hope and all caring!
Resurrection always implies a new life, whereas resuscitation is simply a restored life, back to the way things
were. Occasionally people who've been brought back to life after a serious injury or illness have genuinely spiritually-changed
lives, but I'd venture to guess that just as many simply go back to the attitudes and spiritual depth they'd had
previously. That's the point where more of the same doesn't necessarily mean "more."
But there is more to be found here as well. The picture of Jesus painted here could be seen as very negative, manipulative
and quite unappealing! Here's his friend ill and dying whom he could relieve with just a word. Instead, he intentionally
abandons this family that has been so good to him over the years, lets him die and lets his sisters mourn for 2,
3, 4 days before doing anything. Then, what he does, appears to be a big flashy show of his own power. The only
redeeming element is that one tiny verse, the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept."
Would you call such a person a "friend"? Clearly we are being reminded that God does not have to operate
according to agendas we have set or understand easily, and that God will often answer prayers in ways we might
not choose. Both Martha and Mary had no doubts about Jesus' abilities, "Lord if you had been here," but
both thought his timing was clearly off.
Timing", they say," is everything"! And while that may be an overstatement, it is important, especially
on more serious things and events than gas prices and needed house maintenance. Some timing really is "good".
There have been magical moments in our lives when we met the right person at the right time in the right place,
and we've never been the same since. A few of us have had the blessings of receiving a scholarship or an extra
"push" to further our education that only came along once. The right home suddenly becomes available,
the tip someone gave us for a stock buy is a winner, the perfect job opportunity opens for us at just the moment
we are available to claim it. "Good timing!" we say. "We must be living right!"
Well, for all those times when the going is good, there are other moments when the going is bad. Sometimes, we
think we're not "living right" despite our best efforts, and the timing of events is bad, really awful.
The Psalmist cries out when the timing is wrong, deadly wrong: "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; O
Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. (from Psalm 130)
In the face of a crisis, we assume that it's the absence of Christ's presence that allows for bad things to occur.
Moments of grief may well produce the same partnership between faith and reproach in us. Either we don't understand,
or we try to understand by grasping at unsatisfactory answers. "Well it was her time," we say, as if
God sits around leisurely selecting at random those to die. That's bad theology! If God is really like that, then
one wouldn't really like to have God as a friend either.
Bad timing is always our perception of time, it doesn't hamper the saving power of Christ, who is indeed beyond
the bounds of time, where all things are possible still!
Jesus always has something greater in mind, and when he comes again today he speaks that same word of freedom to
us. Wherever he is, he enters fully into the emotion that is present at the time, laughing with those that laugh,
weeping with those that weep because he is the fullness of God. We by contrast, tend to limit our attention to
the people and events with us at the moment. We live complicated lives, with a number of distinct roles that are
difficult to integrate. We lose the fullness of life through compartmentalization, and often those we love the
most are on the losing end.
We live in a world where it can be difficult to show our emotions, especially our tears. I am always amazed by
the folks who want to apologize at a funeral for shedding their tears for the loss of a loved one, as if that were
a sign of a lack of faith or fortitude. "I'm sorry, I'll get it together in a minute." Isn't it possible
that Jesus chose to model for us the "freedom" to cry and to let our feelings show?
The passage is not only about resurrection, it is also about the quality of life. Perhaps it can help us to live
less anxious lives, being free to laugh and cry with those who are around us.
In "Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring" by Henri Nouwen (p. 19ff ) he tells the story
of two twins talking in their mother's womb:
The sister said to the brother, "I believe there is life after birth." Her brother protested vehemently,
"No, no, this is all there is. This is a dark and cozy place, and we have nothing else to do but to cling
to the cord that feed us."
The little girl insisted, "There must be something more than this dark place. There must be something else,
a place with light where there is freedom to move." Still she could not convince her twin brother.
After some silence, the sister said hesitantly, "I have something else to say, and I'm afraid you won't believe
that, either, but I think there is a mother."
Her brother became furious. "A mother!" he shouted. "What are you talking about? I have never seen
a mother, and neither have you. Who put that idea in your head? As I told you, this place is all we have. Why do
you always want more? This is not such a bad place, after all. We have all we need, so let's be content."
The sister was quite overwhelmed by her brother's response and for a while didn't dare say anything. But she couldn't
let go of her thought, and since she had only her twin brother to speak to, she finally said "Don't you feel
these squeezes every once in a while? They're quite unpleasant and sometimes even painful." "Yes, "
he answered. "What's special about that?" "Well," the sister said, " I think that these
squeezes are there to get us ready for another place, more beautiful than this, where we will see our mother face-to-face.
Don't you think that's exciting?
The brother didn't answer. He was fed up with the foolish talk of his sister and felt that the best thing would
be simply to ignore her and hope that she would leave him alone.
Death is not the enemy....being caught up and controlled by it while we live, doubting our connection with all
of creation is in the end the greatest enemy of them all.
Walter Arthen, a writer in the area of spiritual transformation, says of air:
In breathing, we extract from the air substances necessary for our biological life, and we return "waste"
substances to the surrounding air. The air we inhale is roughly 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. The air we exhale
is roughly 78% nitrogen, 16% oxygen and 4% carbon dioxide. This marginal change is enough to sustain the oxygenation
of our blood and to return carbon dioxide into the air for plant life. Further, this exchange of substances connects
us directly to the systematic nexus of energy transformations that is life on Earth. The Earth is surrounded by
a (usually) invisible and (preferably) odorless cloud. This cloud is shared by all living things. In it, "we
live, move and have our being" although we are usually completely unaware of its existence. Breathing, we
are in constant interaction with this cloud. as are all other living creatures. This cloud is churned continually
by solar radiation, winds, ocean evaporation, and precipitation, as well as by all breathing creatures. The air
we inhale has been in Africa, in Europe, and in the polar regions. Its constituents have been in the leaves of
the rainforest trees, in the chimneys of industrial facilities, and in the lungs of elephants. We literally share
and exchange life with every creature on the planet through the mediation of this vast cloud. In breathing, we
are linked together with all creatures of the Earth. (The Eightfold Path - Part Four: Breath
And so Jesus weeps...
He weeps for a world that though it claims to understand,
remains in darkness.
He weeps for those who,
because of their blindness,
never see who he really is.
He weeps for those,
who because of their inability to believe, cling to their old lives,
their old ways of seeing things.
He asks the community to unbind, untie, and let his people be freed. We do this in the ministry of reconciliation.
We are set free through the confession of our sins, and by our mutual attempts to seek forgiveness and forgive
those who have sinned against us. The story of the resurrection of Lazarus is our story! We are called out of our
graves of sin, and God and the community of believers help roll away the obstacles and unbind us allowing us to
be free filled with the very life- breath of God.
By restoring Lazarus to earthly life, Jesus demonstrated for us that resurrection is not something you wait for
until Easter, not some forthcoming day in a still undetermined future. Resurrection is now! Anytime Jesus arrives,
the dead are set loose.
It is not just more of the same…it is MORE!
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