John 11:1-44 – “Lazarus, come out!”
/Lectionary Readings for Sept. 19, 2021 17th Sunday After Pentecost, Year B
Proverbs 31:10-31 A Wife of Noble Character
Psalm 1 v6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a v13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
Mark 9:30-37 v35 Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”
But this week we continue our series exploring the book of John, now with Chapter 11.
Weekly Meditative Exercise
Christianity includes a long and rich tradition of embracing meditative practices as a way of keeping us connected with God, ourselves, and each other. I encourage you to spend some time each week (ideally 10-30 minutes) trying each weekly exercise. You will naturally find some more appealing and effective than others. You’ll like some but not others, and after 6-12 months you’ll better understand what’s available and what helps you.
This week’s exercise focuses on Celebration (pages 28-30)
From Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Desire: to take joyful, passionate pleasure in God and the glorious nature of God’s people, Word, and world
Definition: Acting in a way that orients you toward worship, praise and thanksgiving. Delighting in the never-changing presence of God fuels celebration.
Scripture: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
As you engage with this exercise, I encourage you to celebrate at least ONE event or moment each day this week starting today. You could celebrate the changing of the seasons. Or clean air to breathe. Or having a car, home, and bed – which is more than millions, if not billions, of people around the world have.
Peace through Leadership Quotes
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” ~ Tom Peters
“Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.” ~ Henri Nouwen
Celebrating our blessings and the joys in life can be a powerful expression of loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others. When we celebrate the amazing creation of Earth, we can be drawn to be at peace with our environment. When we celebrate the miracle each of us are, we can better love ourselves and thus be at peace with ourselves. When we celebrate the beauty of others, we can find ways and reasons to love others and thus find peace with others.
Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me. God loves me. God has plans for me.
Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading
Remember that what we call miracles, John calls “signs” which serve to focus our attention on Jesus AND serve as “evidence” that Jesus truly IS God in the flesh. The miracles are also signs – or indicators – of God’s fundamental character: God is love, God is healer, God is provision, God is more powerful than nature itself. The Gospel of John provides seven signs of Jesus’ divinity and power:
John 2:1-11 Transforming water into wine at the wedding at Cana
John 4:46-54 Healing a royal official’s deathly-sick son
John 5:1-15 Healing a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years
John 6:5-14 Feeding 5,000+ men, women, and children with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish
John 6:16-24 Jesus walking on water
John 9:1-7 Healing a man who had been blind since birth
John 11:1-45 Raising Lazarus from the grave
Bringing Lazarus back to life – a story found only in John – is the seventh and last major sign in John’s gospel. It is the culmination, the dramatic climax, of Jesus’ miracles. What could possibly top bringing someone back from being dead for FOUR days?!?
Similar to Jesus’ modus operandi in John, He performs this miracle unprompted: Lazarus never asked to be raised from the dead, nor did Mary, Martha, or anyone else ask Jesus to resurrect him. Why would they? How could they have imagined this was even possible? As several people in our weekly Bible Study group commented, this story closely parallels, and foreshadows, Jesus’ own resurrection. Jesus even says, “Roll the stone aside.”
Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we read today’s Scripture.
Read John 11:1-44 and the rest of chapter 11 this week!
“Lazarus, come out!” These may be the most powerful words in the entire Bible. In our Bible study, Pam pointed out that in the previous chapter, Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepard who leads His sheep with His voice, a voice the sheep recognize, trust, and obey.
“Lazarus, come out!” Despite being dead, Lazarus heard these words, trusted the voice of his friend, and responded obediently despite the wrappings of society’s traditions constraining him. Can you imagine Lazarus yelling back from inside the tomb, “Jesus, I would come out, but I’m bound from head to toe. Once I’m free of my Earthly burdens, then I’ll be happy to do whatever you say.”
No... Lazarus heard and responded. This story challenges all of us, myself included, to listen for, to trust, and to obey when God calls us to do something. When God calls my attention to the car stuck on the side of the road, do I stop to offer help? For a dozen different “reasons,” my answer is no, not me, not now. But I’ll pray for them...
When God calls our attention to someone holding a sign that reads, “Need Food, Please Help,” how can we find a way to offer material, social, emotional, and spiritual support? Inspired by other churches, I have some ideas on how we can say, “Yes Lord, I’ll follow your call.” More on that later.
“Lazarus, come out!” This miracle (or sign) addresses one of humanity’s greatest historical fears: death. We fear death because, at best, we can only delay the inevitable. And what is the inevitable? We’re really not sure. Considering humanity’s timeless obsession with death and the afterlife, Jesus didn’t say much about either one.
But this miracle spoke volumes: God has a power that is far greater than we can fathom. Many Jews of Jesus’ time believed that a person’s soul remained close to the body for three days after the moment of death before the soul transitioned to the afterlife. Since Lazarus had been dead for four days, he was really dead. Whether you were one of Jesus’ followers, someone on the fence, or a dis-believing faith leader threatened by Jesus’ power and popularity, this miracle could not be ignored.
But like the other signs, Jesus performed this miracle, not for His own gain, but so that people would recognize God in their midst and glorify God. Unlike other miraculous signs, this one required the involvement of the immediate faith community. Despite hearing their proactive complaint “Lord, he’s gonna stink!” Jesus called the local faithful to play a key role in completing the miracle.
“Unwrap him and let him go!” If God could bring Lazarus back from the dead, couldn’t God restore Lazarus to 100% health and happiness? Why would God hold back? Why? Because God desires to be in relationship with humanity which means including us as key participants in God’s healing, restorative, transformational work in the people and the world around us.
“Unwrap him and let him go!” Try to imagine what Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is asking his followers – then and now – to do. Get close to what stinks. Touch what is holding back this person who cannot help themselves. Let them go, release them so that they can live to the fullest. In many ways, this sounds like modern addiction recovery programs like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) or NA (Narcotics Anonymous). This is messy, often unpleasant work, but work that is necessary to help others step into a new, resurrected life.
To both of these commands – “Lazarus, come out!” and “Unwrap him and let him go!” – we are compelled to ask ourselves how they apply to us. As with so many of my messages, this is not a platitude to politely hear and ignore. No, this is God asking us, challenging us, to do the hard work of looking at our own lives with God’s loving eyes and asking, “Where is the potential for new life? And where do I need others’ help?”
Of what tombs and bondages do we need to come out?
Do we need to give up a vice – something that is causing harm to ourselves or others? What is holding you back from being all God created you to be?
Do we need to start doing something that is life-giving to ourselves or others?
These may sound like questions someone might ask as they ponder adopting a New Year’s resolution. “I’ll give up smoking and start exercising.” That’s something you can possibly accomplish on your own.
But God calls us to address far deeper issues that lead us to far greater transformation. How does this sound, “I’ll give up focusing on anger and bitterness and start focusing on giving unearned grace to myself and others.”
Today’s story tells us that God provides our faith community to help us. What a blessing! Lazarus did not need to confess to the community that he stunk; everyone knew it. And attempting to hide would have only prevented him from being all that God resurrected him to be. He had to let others help him. That can be a very humbling experience. But can you imagine the stories he shared with anyone who would listen, “I was dead, but now I’m alive. Let me tell you what God did for me!”
Each of us are flawed people; that’s a given. Even though God has called us into new lives, even though many of us have heard and followed our Good Shepherd’s voice, we still need each other’s help. This is grace and mercy in action. This process is where our lives are transformed and where the Kingdom of God is extended to welcome and included others.
Who can we invite to join us as we nervously step out of our tombs, lovingly unwrap each other, and joyfully begin living resurrected lives?
Amen? Amen!