Musings for Lent 5

April 10, 2011

Lent 5

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION

Today’s gospel is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. With Martha and Mary we stand at the graves of our beloved dead and hear Jesus say, “I am the resurrection and the life.” His words give hope to all who dwell in the shadows of death. But they are also words spoken next to the baptismal font, where we die to death and rise to life in Christ. In the power and presence of the risen Christ, Christians prepare to renew their baptismal promises and welcome new brothers and sisters at Easter.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Almighty God, our redeemer, in our weakness we have failed to be your messengers of forgiveness and hope in the world. Renew us by your Holy Spirit, that we may follow your commands and proclaim your reign of love; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

GOSPEL John 11:1-45

The raising of Lazarus is presented as the last and greatest sign in John’s gospel. It reveals Jesus as the giver of life. But as John 11:45-53 makes clear, this sign leads to the plan to execute Jesus.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. ³So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ ⁴But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ ⁵Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, ⁶after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ ⁸The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ ⁹Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. ¹⁰But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ ¹¹After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ ¹²The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ ¹³Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ ¹⁶Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ 17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. ²¹Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ ²³Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ ²⁴Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ ²⁵Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ ²⁷She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’ ²⁸When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ ²⁹And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³²When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ ³⁵Jesus began to weep. ³⁶So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ ³⁷But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ ³⁸Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.’ ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ ⁴³When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ 45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

REFLECTION

During a conversation over coffee with a colleague (Bob, not his real name) last week, I heard the story of how he had received a phone call seeking money to support a Sudanese family that had arrived in town unexpectedly early. The caller indicated that he had received my colleague’s name from another colleague, who he knew quite well. Following the conversation and gathering of further information, Bob decided he would give the man $250 toward the family’s needs. Another colleague, also at coffee, told the same story. Both found out shortly thereafter that they had been scammed. Did that ever happen to you? You tried to do something good and in retrospect it turned against you? I probably couldn’t count the times I’ve done that but I remember a few.

In this week’s Gospel Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the tomb for four days. He did it against the advice of folks surrounding him, in the face of ridiculous medical odds and as a final sign in John’s Gospel. It would be this sign, this new life given to a friend that would set in motion the process that would lead to Jesus’ crucifixion.

All of the signs in John’s Gospel, all of the miracles, point beyond themselves and toward the greatest and final sign of all, the crucifixion of Jesus, the word made flesh. It is on the cross that John clearly indicates the glory of God will be most clearly revealed. It is toward that end that Jesus inextricably moves throughout his ministry and raising Lazarus only hastens the process. But…that’s not the end!

Crucifixion ends his life, the power of the Father restores it and we will never be the same again. “I am the resurrection and the life” he tells Mary during this story and she believes it but…she truly has no idea what she is saying as she will witness that reality in the risen Christ. Rome meant to end the life of Jesus, God had other plans, bigger ideas, grander opportunities ahead.

Hear these words as promise and hope and know that even in the midst of death God can create life. They are full of power and hope!

LET US PRAY

-For all who mourn the death of a loved one, that they might be filled with the hope of the resurrection.

-That our journey to the cross might be accomplished with open eyes and hearts and ears

-That wars may cease and peace may reign

-For those who seek healing of body, mind and soul

-For the people of Japan as seek to recover from natural disasters

QUOTE

I do now want merely to possess a faith, I want a faith that possesses me. Charles Kingsley