March 9 Sermon on John, chapter 11

 Jesus Raises Lazarus and Us to New Life

 

On that day in Bethany, as He stood with Mary and Martha at their brothers grave,

Jesus was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply troubled… and Jesus began to weep.  John 11:33, 35

Why did he shed those tears? Why was he so upset?

I think there were many levels to his grief.  As those watching commented, Jesus wept because his friend had died and he loved him.  Beneath that, he wept because, as Mary and Martha tactlessly reminded him, if only he had been present, Lazarus needn’t have died.  And he was not present.  Thus, God was not present either, at least not in the way, nor to the degree that Mary and Martha wanted.

But Jesus will demonstrate God’s power by raising Lazarus.  So why would he be greatly disturbed in spirit?

Could it be his grief goes so deep because it is for the whole world that Jesus is weeping – for the tragedy of the human condition, which is to live in a world where again and again God is not present in the way and to the degree that we want?

Jesus sheds his tears at the seeming absence of God in the world where good and bad go down to defeat and death.  He sheds his tears at the seeming silence of God at those moments when a word for him would make a difference.

As the psalm writer cries out to God:

Out of the depths have I called you, O LORD;

 LORD hear my voice I wait for the LORD;

my soul waits for him…Psalm 130:1, 4

The psalm writer calls out and listens to the silence of God.  Maybe you’ve been there - waiting for the Lord – and waiting and waiting.

Perhaps it just seems like silence on God’s part - our perception of His absence.  Is Jesus weeping at the deafness of men and women which prevent them from hearing God’s still, small voice? – weeps at our blindness which prevents us from discerning His presence with us – his love for us.

We confess that although He was Son of God, Jesus, born of Mary, is also truly human.  So he experienced what we feel – even that dark moment of God’s silence and absence.  In the midst of His suffering on the cross, Jesus cried out My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:34

He felt God’s absence – His silence.

Of course you know the rest of that story.  God had not forsaken Him – the silence was brief – and God would vindicate him.  You know, but he didn’t, and at that moment felt totally abandoned.  

Jesus wept, we all weep at the tragedies of the human condition, because even when a person is good – even when he’s as good as Jesus – God may seem silent and distant for reasons that we can not fathom.

When Martha challenged Jesus about His absence,

Why weren’t you here when we needed you?

John 11:21

Jesus never gave an explanation.   Maybe you’ve noticed: God doesn’t think he has to explain his purposes to us.

Rather than an explanation, Jesus offers an invitation to Martha: “Do you believe?” Martha replies: Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.  John 11:27

At times that is the answer to “why”.  Like Martha, simply continue to have faith and wait on the Lord, trusting in his love and mercy.  

My soul waits for the LORD,

 in his word is my hope.

Wait for the LORD,

for with the LORD there is mercy Psalm 130:4, 6

And realize, that at times Christ weeps with you, because he understands the human condition – the frustration because God’s will is not yet done on earth, as it is in heaven.

On that day in Bethany, all was sadness and grief.  It was over for Lazarus.  Then Jesus commanded Lazarus, come forth. John 11:43 And the dead man walked out of tomb alive.

It contradicted everything they had believed.  Yes, they believed in the resurrection, but by that they meant the resurrection at the last day – way off in the future – not now.

Martha had confessed Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. When Jesus called forth Lazarus her faith was confirmed and expanded.  Jesus is the Son of God and therefore anything can happen – the impossible can be possible – With Jesus, expect the unexpected – for God is able.

It’s easy to get bogged down in life.  There’s the day-to-day routine of making a living, paying the bills, cleaning the house,  trying to keep up with demands other place upon us.  It is necessary and important that we handle the common place, but it can demand so much of our attention and energy that it limits our view of life.  It seems that’s all there is – just more of the same. Nothing much ever changes.

In the midst of the banality of life, Jesus calls us to a higher level of life – to leave behind our limited views – to think outside the box of the day-to-day.  He invites us to see afresh the larger meaning of life, and to find our purpose again - to let go of the old and burst forth with new life.

The key is God’s Spirit – an awesome, life-giving power that can bring hope to the hopeless and enliven us.  Earlier in the service we prayed together, Almighty God Your Son came into the world to free us all from sin and death…

That’s true.  We can’t free ourselves from what ever drags us down.  But Christ can – and does.  The call to Return to the Lord is a call to open ourselves to His guidance and power.  In Lent, we deny ourselves and follow Jesus so that we might draw closer to the source of strength.

The challenge is to open ourselves to the power of God’s Spirit.  So in that prayer we also asked: Breath upon us the power of your Spirit, that we may be raised to new life in Christ and serve you in righteousness.

The discipline of Lent – prayer, bible study, fasting – are all ways in which we open ourselves to the Spirit.  So while preachers in Lent may tell you what you should do, the real point is what God has done – and what God can do in your life.  The call to return to the Lord is a call to again rely on the Lord – to turn to Him in prayer - seek His guidance and power in your life.  It is an invitation to open your mind and heart to the work of His Spirit.  So we pray, Breath upon us the power of your Spirit, that we may be raised to new life in Christ

Today’s lessons are not excerpts from a prophetic self-help book, one that instructs us to reform into a better person.  Rather, they challenge us to expand our vision of what is possible and to open ourselves to the life-giving power of His Spirit, believing that God is able.  Expand your vision of what God can do.

That’s why God gives a child to senior citizens named Abraham and Sarah, so that we will know that nothing is too wonderful for the Lord.

That’s why God gives a son to a virgin named Mary, so that we will know that nothing is impossible for God.

That’s why Jesus called forth Lazarus from the dead, so that we will know that God is able.

That’s why God fills us with His Spirit, so that we would know that God is with us and active.

 When we are lost, God is able to find us.

When we are crushed by guilt, God is able to lift the burden.

When we are without vision, God is able to inspire us.

When we are overwhelmed, God is able to calm us.

When we are attacked, God is able to deliver us.

When we’re feeling disconnected and discouraged, God is able to reconnect us and revive us.

God can take death itself, and transform it into life.  God is able

At that precise moment when we are weighed down or discouraged, overwhelmed or crushed, the challenge is turn to God and ask us to fill us with His Spirit.

The promise is that God will put His Spirit within us and we will live – and know that God is able.

Christ brought new life to Lazarus, and He awakens us from the mediocrity to which we have become accustomed.  – He says to us, “Come forth” and find new life in Christ.