Sermon For November 7, 2021 - Lazarus Raised

GOSPEL: John 11:32-44

The holy gospel according to John.

Glory to you, O Lord.

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.” 33When 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.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Yeah, I was there. 

I remember what happened, 

how could I forget?

No one rises from the dead. 

I’ve heard of people who stop breathing, 

and miraculously they breath again,

but not after 4 days. 

4 days Lazarus was rotting in that tomb,

just as dead 

as any dead thing 

that has ever died.

I still get nauseous just thinking about that smell.

Don’t tell anyone…

when Lazarus came out,

feet and hands tied, 

head wrapped,

he waddled like a penguin. 

It was kinda funny. 

Well, until you saw the look in his eyes,

It didn’t look so funny anymore.

No, I haven’t talked to Lazarus,

I don’t really know him well. 

I sure didn’t want to talk to him then,

between the fear and confusion in his eyes 

and the smell…

But, if I’m being honest,

I was mad. 

Not in the way Jesus was mad…

I mean, it was great - Jesus raised Lazarus. 

It was awe-inspiring

Simply unbelievable. 

I’d have never believed it if I wasn’t there.

But what about my mom?

We just laid her in the grave 

the day before Lazarus.

You can raise Lazarus,

I want my mom back. 

I mean, Jesus is incredible,

but I was too mad. 

You could say I checked out. 

I mean, he waited - 

two extra days before coming.

I’ve heard the saying 

“Don’t do today what you can do tomorrow”

but this felt wrong to me.

I thought God works in the interruptions? 

Maybe I was just bitter,

but I couldn’t get past it,

why are some healed,

and my mom isn’t? 

Did I pray wrong? 

I try to be faithful,

you seem to answer Mary and Martha,

why not me, Jesus?

But I came back. 

I admit,

not until after I heard that 

Jesus too rose from the dead. 

That sure woke me up,

pardon the pun. 

Maybe people do rise from the dead.

No, I never really got a satisfactory answer for my questions,

why does God allow suffering,

why natural disaster,

Jesus, if you hate death so much - why is there death?

I understand there is creativity in creation - 

some live to 80, others die in infancy. 

we are not just mere puppets or pets for God

It got me thinking about Lazarus being raised,

and I thought that Jesus was showing us 

heaven - a glimpse of life after death,

who is saved, who is not,

That’s part of it,

but I’m not so sure Lazarus is about what happens

after we die. (Pause)

Okay, well…

I remember Martha running up to Jesus - 

she said “Jesus, if you had been here 

my brother would not have died.” 

Jesus said “your brother will rise again.” 

Martha - “I know he will rise again 

in the resurrection on the last day.” 

This blew me away…

Jesus said “I AM the Resurrection and the life. 

Those who believe in me, even though they die, 

will live.”

I am the resurrection and the life.

Lazarus is alive - but he’s also going to die. Again.

He wont’ walk this earth forever. 

Poor guy, how’s that for suffering? 

As If death isn’t bad enough, 

Lazarus gets to die twice!  

It got me thinking, 

maybe Lazarus being raised isn’t so much

about the afterlife - 

it was about what Jesus is doing - 

here and now. 

Jesus is the life!

Jesus offers today - newness of life, 

resurrected life now.

Thinking of when Lazarus came out of the tomb, 

waddling like a penguin - 

Jesus released him from what kept him bound

so that he could truly live. 

And so Jesus releases us. 

We are not bound by grave clothes, 

we are not stuck behind a rock 

preventing us from living, 

we are not lost in some random grave yard - 

Christ sets us free from the fear of death 

so that we can actually live. 

Christ calls us out of the pit of despair we are stuck in

I was bitter:

I wanted mom back now.  

If Jesus can raise Lazarus, 

then Jesus can raise mom too, right? 

I came to realize - it doesn’t work that way. 

Death is even more certain than taxes.

I had to let that bitterness go. 

It took some time. 

I could let go because of Jesus. 

the easy part is trusting that 

any of my loved ones’ deaths 

don’t separate them from God’s love. 

They’re not gone forever.

The day will come

when we will feast with all the saints!

Like Martha said - I believe and trust that

my loved ones will be raised 

in the resurrection on that last day. 

That part is sure, 

that part is promised to us. 

and God keeps God’s promises!

All I wanted was mom alive,

that’s all I asked for.

What was really hard to for me to believe 

is that Christ can give me new life - 

resurrected life - now - today. 

That God’s goodness for me

is greater than what I alone can ask for

Yeah I was so angry,

Oh, but not like how Jesus was angry 

- that was something to witness.

People are saying that Jesus was greatly disturbed,

that Jesus wept over Lazarus,

and yeah, there were tears, no doubt,

But you could see it in Jesus’ eyes,

Jesus’ wasn’t just angry;

Jesus was boiling mad.  

It reminded me of when Jesus 

tossed the temple tables. 

Jesus taught me that 

sometimes a little good anger isn’t such a bad thing,

Coming back?

actually, it was more like Jesus brought me back. 

That image stuck with me,

seeing Jesus angry at the forces of death,

witnessing Jesus’ compassion for Mary, Martha,

for me,

I don’t know how to explain it,

but when I follow Jesus,

it’s like that bitterness and anger isn’t so heavy,

there’s peace, there’s newness,

there’s still suffering - 

I mean, Jesus keeps saying love your neighbour, 

and sometimes neighbours are the worst! 

But, when I love, 

it’s like that empty, bitter hole is filled - 

and I am made whole.

It’s like that old song - “Lord, to whom can I go? 

You have the words of eternal life.”

Everywhere I go on my own,

I’m empty, there’s never enough,

After Lazarus raised - I became Lazarus. 

I was dead inside. 

closed to everyone, 

bound by my own anger and bitterness simply 

because Jesus wouldn’t do for me 

what I wanted him to do for me.

It might as well have been me in that grave.

Instead, Jesus did something else.

Jesus freed me so I could actually live life now. 

It was only in Jesus that I came to see truth. 

In those places in my mind and heart that were empty 

- Jesus spoke words of hope and life. 

That’s why I came back to follow Jesus.

Yeah, that’s right,

It didn’t take long after this whole Lazarus resurrection thing 

for Jesus to be killed. 

The proof was in the pudding - 

Jesus lived not afraid of death - 

and even when death came and Jesus was killed - 

Jesus rose - 

not just for us to have the resurrected life 

in the world to come, 

but to show us that in Christ, 

we have the resurrected life now. 

A life freed from the barrier of death:

why be afraid of death, 

in baptism we have already died to ourselves

and it is no longer I who live but Christ in me.

I remember Jesus shouting

“Lazarus, come out.” 

He didn’t come out right away.

It took a minute. 

I wondered if he was removing his grave clothes,

but he couldn’t. 

he needed help. 

So he waddled out - like a penguin

I think Lazarus had to decide for himself,

am I going to stay in the grave forever,

bound by death and despair?

Life after dying - 

who knows where that path might lead?

I had to ask myself - 

am I going to stay bound in my own grave?

Am I going live my life bitter and angry?

or am I going to ask for help getting freed?

I guess you could say Jesus unbound me

and let me go. 

Like Lazarus,

I couldn’t unbind myself,

even though I was the one 

who kept myself bound.

My friend,

The day is coming when death will be no more,

when God will wipe every tear from our eyes.

I mean, Jesus is raised!

Christ lives! 

Death has been swallowed up 

in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Our God is making all things new!

For you, for me,

for Lazarus,

for mom,

for all the saints,

for all creation.

Thanks be to God! Amen.