By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v38Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. v39″Take the stone away!” Jesus ordered.
Martha, the dead man’s sister, answered, “There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days!”
v40Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believed?” v41They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. v42I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me.” v43After he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” v44He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. “Untie him,” Jesus told them, “and let him go.” – (Read: John 11:1-44)
In last Sunday’s gospel lesson, we encountered the man born blind. Jesus healed him in an unconventional procedure: v6After he said this, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud with the spittle; he rubbed the mud on the man’s eyes v7and told him, “Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam.” (This name means “Sent.”) So the man went, washed his face, and came back seeing (John 9:6-7). It was a miraculous healing. This whole chapter narrates the precondition, the healing, and the aftermath experience of the unnamed blind man. The story tells us of the courage of the healed blind man who testified about his healing even before the intimidating Pharisees. John concluded the chapter by a warning about spiritual blindness: v39Jesus said, “I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind.” v40Some Pharisees who were there with him heard him say this and asked him, “Surely you don’t mean that we are blind, too?”v41Jesus answered, “If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty.”
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This Sunday is the fifth and last in the season of Lent. Next Sunday is Passion Sunday a.k.a. Palm Sunday which is the start of the most solemn time in the church calendar, the Holy Week. The gospel lesson which covers the whole eleventh chapter of John tells us of yet another miraculous act, this time the greatest miracle performed by Jesus: the raising of the dead to life. John tells us the story of the raising of Lazarus from death to life. It also shows Jesus’ compassion for his friend, the one whom he loved. This story, and the circumstances it describes, becomes a catalyst for the Passion Story in John’s Gospel.
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One of the greatest problems for most of us is our living between the urgency of life and the resolution of our emergencies. This is where faith enters in. Faith is the absolute trust and belief that God will reconcile all things in and at the right time. Our gospel lesson suggests this in Jesus’ phrase “my hour has not yet come.” This implies that the time is not yet right for Jesus and his identity to be fully revealed. This revelation will occur, but only when God’s time becomes our time. Have you ever seen the poster that has the phrase: “Lord, give me patience and give it to me now”! We all have difficulty in living between the moments of urgency and the moments of resolution. We are anxious in these times and they undo us.
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Amidst the anxieties in this life there is good news to everyone: God has a resurrection for you! He wants to bring you out into the light again. He wants to bring you out of that tomb of anxiety and oppression and give you a new start. And listen! He has the power to do it. He can bring you back to life.
This powerful story in John 11 speaks to this. Remember it with me. Mary and Martha who live in Bethany are some of Jesus’ closest friends… They send word to him that their brother, whose name is Lazarus, is desperately ill. “Please come. We need your help. Hurry. He is sinking fast.” But by the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus has died… and has been in his grave for four days. Mary and Martha come out to meet Jesus and they express their grief: “He’s gone. We’ve lost him. O Lord, if only you have been here, our brother would not have died.”
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The family and friends have gathered and in their deep sorrow, they begin to weep over the loss of their loved one, Lazarus. The heart of Jesus goes out to them… and Jesus weeps with them. He loved Lazarus, too… and he loves them… and he shares their pain. Jesus goes out to the cave-like tomb and he says to them: “Roll back the stone!” Martha, always the realist and ever ready to speak out, protests: “But Lord, we can’t do that. He has been in the grave for 4 days. By now there will be a terrible odor.” Jesus says to her: “Martha, only believe and you will see the power of God.”
So, they roll the stone away… and Jesus cries out in a loud voice: “Lazarus, come forth!” And incredibly, miraculously, amazingly, before their very eyes… Lazarus is resurrected! He comes out of the tomb. He still has on his grave clothes. His head and feet are still wrapped with mummy-like bandages. Jesus then turns to the friends and family and says to them, “Unbind him and let him go. Unwrap him and set him free.” In this graphic and dramatic story, three awesome lessons jump out at us. Three great truths emerge which can be so helpful to us today: Jesus wept with those he loved and he still does. Jesus raised people up and he still does. Jesus included others in the healing process… and he still does…
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Those who have stood at the grave of loved ones know too well the pain and the hurt Martha and Mary felt at the loss of their brother. Even Martha’s reproach to Jesus for not being present echoes the anger, bitterness, and resentment which many of us feel against God on the occasion of an untimely death. The death of those we love brings into sharp focus what is important. Deep mourning and the pain of separation force us to question the goodness of God, the nature of hereafter and the meaning of life. They make us realize how frail our grasp of this world is. ‘To people who have no faith, life is just a process from birth to dust and death comes along as the ultimate humiliation to make a mockery of their living, their hopes, plans and dreams. However, we must not allow the darkness of its shadow to cloud all our days because death of a Christian is the great moment of life. Our faith is rooted in the central truth of Christ’s resurrection.’ Desmond Knowles.
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This gospel speaks to all of us and gives us hope. It tells us that God is stronger than death and he will bring all who are his friends into eternal life. The raising of Lazarus points out that the life we are searching for is not an extension of physical life but eternal life with God. Real death is not physical death but spiritual death which is the destruction of the loving purpose God made us for. This truth is intertwined with the gospel lesson with the healing of the blind man. Real blindness is not physical blindness but spiritual blindness which make us not see and refuse what God wills for us to have life in fullest.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, who alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace that love what you command and the desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP Collect, Fifth Sunday in Lent)**
