Sermon 3-17-02
Coming Into the World - John 11:1-45
(view lectionary notes for this text)
Reading quickly through the story of Jesus raising Lazarus last week, my first thought was, 'oh, I know this story.' What surprises could there be in here, I thought? Yet, as I read the passage again and again, questions began to surface. What exactly is Jesus trying to do here, anyway? Is he testing his disciples? Is he trying to prove his identity? Why is he so moved by the grief of the people? What is Jesus' purpose here? Jesus says that Lazarus' illness is 'for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it' and that he is glad he was not present for Lazarus' death, 'so that you may believe'. What is it that Jesus wants his followers to believe? They have been with him to hear his teaching - to hear him speak about being the good shepherd and being the light of the world. They have witnessed his miracles too. They watched him heal a blind man, saw him walk on water, and witnessed his feeding of the five thousand. They have had clue after clue that Jesus was no ordinary man.
So what is it that Jesus wants them to believe? What does he feel he has not communicated to them yet? Perhaps Jesus raises Lazarus to prove his identity as the Christ. Perhaps he wanted to make clear that he was the Messiah. Yet, if Jesus planned to raise Lazarus all along, why is he so affected by the grief of Mary and her household? Jesus saw their weeping, we read, and was 'greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved', which means Jesus literally groaned with compassion from his very insides. He too wept, leading onlookers to remark, 'See how he loved him.' Jesus' emotional reaction to his friend's death seems to indicate that his grief contributes to his raising of Lazarus. After all, if Jesus knew he was simply going to raise Lazarus from the dead, that all of this was to glorify God and show his messiah-hood, why would he be so upset by the tragedy?
The text is filled with vivid imagery in contrasting pairs. Night, stumble, unbelief, stench, bind, death. Light, day, walk, belief, unbound, resurrection, life. The images shift from negative pictures to images of hope as Jesus enters the scene and begins to take action. It is Jesus' presence and action that makes change happen, that turns things upside down, breaking the hold of death over life.
Listen to Jesus' conversation with Martha: Jesus said to Martha, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." Jesus identifies himself as the resurrection and the life. Yet, he has not yet been crucified and raised. Our Easter celebration is still far off. How can Jesus be the resurrection and the life already?
Certainly, Jesus alludes to the future to some degree. But Jesus tells Martha that he is the resurrection and life now, he has power over death and life now. Jesus reorients our understanding of resurrection. Jesus brings life not just in the future, not in heavenly eternity. Jesus saves, heals, and resurrects us now. As Martha says, Jesus is the one 'coming into the world.' Jesus dwelling among us here in the world means that Jesus can change our lives, resurrect us, here, in the world. Jesus changes death into life, even for us, even now. We can be resurrected to new life even today. Jesus said that he used the raising of Lazarus as an example, so that we might believe. Jesus' followers had been with him long enough by now to know that he could heal and save, that he could change lives.
Yet, they still confront him with the cry, 'If you had only been here.' They did not believe that Jesus could have power even over death. They believed, they had faith, but they only let their faith carry them so far. How far will you let your faith in Jesus' life-giving carry you? Yes, we can believe in the occasional miracle, and sometime we believe God answers our prayers. But do we believe that God has the power to bring life out of death? Martha was once chided by Jesus for bustling about, busying herself with dinner preparations, making sure everything got done, instead of sitting with Jesus and listening to his teachings. She was too wrapped up in the details of life to experience the full life that Jesus offered. Now, here, she hits the nail on the head by proclaiming Jesus' messiahship. She has new life, from one who tried to serve God through works to one who has a living relationship with God through faith.
Can we be resurrected to a new relationship with God? Lazarus was bound up in cloths and sealed in a dark cave, taken by death. Yet, when Jesus called his name, he came out to a new life. Christ tells us that he is life, not the things that we get caught up in. What caves do we need to called out from? We are bound up, wrapped up in worries and deadlines, finances and time constraints. Can we let Jesus liberate us, and free us from our bindings? We even find that we can model Christ himself in this story. He set out to raise Lazarus with a purpose in mind, to glorify God and show his power over death. Yet, he still let himself be moved by the grief of the people, and mourned his loved one with compassion and pain to his very core. Jesus worked and moved among the people to bring out new life. Jesus' humanity, his ability to love fully, so much that he is moved to tears with grief, is the very quality that makes his divinity so convincing.
God is moved by our suffering, touched by our pain and sorrow, and because of great love for us, seeks to give us life. As God loved us first, we act out of love for our neighbors, not as disconnected do-gooders, but as people of faith full of compassion for our companions in life. As Jesus gives new life to us, we can share the promise of new life with others. Jesus shows his followers and shows us that he has power over death. I am the resurrection and the life, he says. Let us join with Martha and proclaim, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.' Amen.