Finding Jesus At A Time Of Grief
Today is a day of grief. Today is a day of sadness. Today we are here because __________ has died and it affects us. I would not say everything is all right. Because it is not. We hurt. And we know we will hurt for a long time. When a relationship is lost we feel pain. Relationships come with a price. The price we pay is that there are times of joy but there are also times of sorrow. But relationships are worth it. We are here because a loved one has died - and it hurts.
I say to you, grieve. Grieve long and grieve deeply. Do not run from it. Do not treat your grief as if it were a stranger you can send away or deny it. Grieve what is lost. Grieve honestly. Grieve lovingly. Grieve patiently, until the cup is emptied. There is no other way back to wholeness but by facing what life brings.
Yet, I would like to speak a word of comfort. I would like to tell you a story today. It is a true story. It is found in the pages of the Bible at John chapter 11. It is a story of death – but also a story of life. It is a story of hope in the mist of despair. It is a story of miracles. The story took place a little over 2000 years ago.
There was a little village named Bethany. It was not far from Jerusalem. The customs were different from ours as was the language. But the events of that day were the same as this event today. A family member had died and there was sadness in the air. The family had gathered together to mourn the loss of a loved one.
You see times of grief and sorrow are universal. Every man, woman and child on this planet has been or will be affected by death – regardless of the nationality, economic status or age. Everyone in the world can identify with us being here today.
In the story it was a brother who had died. The family members that he left behind were two sisters. One of them was named Martha and the other one’s name was Mary. They loved there brother very much and were saddened by his passing. His name was Lazarus.
Lazarus had many friends and one of them was a man by the name of Jesus. Jesus was a popular guy. He was a kind of a roaming preacher. He taught from the Bible and performed some miracles in his travels. He had turned water into wine, caused the lame to walk, gave sight to the blind and healed those who were near death. Is it any wonder that Martha went out of the house and down the road when she heard that Jesus was in town? She went to him and made a bold statement the minute she saw him. She said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
There are times we have hope and there are times we feel let down? Martha was expressing those feelings that day. We express it in the same words that Martha did, “If only.” If only we had done something different. If only we had gotten treatment earlier. If only I had …… If only God had ….. But we can’t live in a world filled with only “if only”. We need to live in a world of reality. It is a world where bad stuff happens to good people. It is a world where good people get sick or have an accident and they die. Sometimes good comes and sometimes bad comes that is the world we live in. It is the process we call life. But it is the reality of our existence. There are times we hope and pray that God would break in – “If only God would …” yet sometimes He doesn’t change the order of things and we hurt.
But Jesus did not leave Martha without hope. He gave her this promise. Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again. Your brother will live again. Your brother will be with you again.” I am sure that the thought brought a faint smile to her tear stained face. To think of a day – somewhere in the future where there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more disease should bring a smile to all of our faces. To think of a day when every tear we have ever cried with be dried up and forgotten – should bring us some peace. To think of a day when those who are friends of God will live again should bring a little hope to our hearts – even on a day like today.
Martha stood there with tears and a sense of hope and responded quickly, “I know that Lazarus will rise again in the resurrection at the end of time.” But what Jesus said next – shook her to the bones. He said, “I am the resurrection. I am the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live. Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Do you know what Martha said next? Do you know how she answered the question, "Do you believe this?" She said, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
In a moment – in a flash – something changed in Martha’s life. She had started the day facing death – she ended the day having eternal life. She had started the day with doubts and sadness – she ended the day with joy and assurance. She put her faith in Jesus and when she did everything changed. She was full of hope. She was full of joy - even in the midst of her sadness. God had somehow touched her in a way she had never been touched before. She believed - she had faith - she had eternal life.
In our story two miracles happened that day. One was the miracle of Martha trusting Christ and believing in him. When she trusted in Jesus her life was changed forever. She received eternal life. The second miracle took place after Martha’s conversation with Jesus. You see after they stopped talking Jesus went to the graveyard where Lazarus was buried. There he found the grave. Lazarus was dead. Lazarus was buried. Yet Jesus went to the tomb where Lazarus lay and told the people who were there to remove the stone which covered the grave - and they did. Then Jesus cried out, “Lazarus, come out of there.” Do you know what happened? Lazarus came out of the grave. His dead body became alive again. Lazarus lived. Another miracle had taken place.
Jesus is in the miracle business. That’s what He does. He can raise people from the dead but he can also change lives.
Today is a day of grieving – I understand that. ________ has died and we hurt. But today can also be a hope. Today we can trust in Christ. Today we can believe his promise. He said, "Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live. Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die."
We all will come to the end of life. We all will face death at some point. Yet, Jesus’ words will never change. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. Do you believe this?” If we believe we have hope. If we believe we have eternal life. I urge you today to call on Jesus. To say to him, "Yes Lord I believe." Ask him to come into your life and when you do a miracle will take place. You will receive the promise of eternal life.
