John 11:1-45
Paonia United Methodist Church
March 13, 2005
Over the last several weeks,
We have covered some really difficult texts.
That’s what lent is all about.
If you haven’t heard something that has disturbed or upset you,
Than I either have not been doing my job, or you haven’t been paying attention.
Lent is about encountering sin.
Its about focusing on those parts of us we would really
Rather not deal with.
Over the last few weeks,
For those of you who have stuck it out,
We heard about Nick at Night,
The great religious leader who should have had all the answers
But was completely clueless.
We were pushed to confess that we are clueless as well when
We rely on our own knowledge and our own abilities.
To truly see, we must be born from above.
The following week,
We followed along and had a random encounter with a woman
By the well.
When she met the Christ,
She decided to debate him rather than to simply obey.
We were asked to examine ourselves.
How often to I do the same thing?
What would life look like if I were to simply trust
and obey?
Last week we met a man born blind.
Strangely enough, as the story progressed and this man was healed,
We find that the ones in the story who claim to be able to see the truth
Are blind, and the one who was blind in given sight.
We reexamined those places in our life that denial and blindness about our own
Sinfulness separates us from God and one another.
That denial we live in is at the expense of others and our own
Relationship with God.
I also told you that you are not special.
We all are bound to certain laws and codes within the universe
As well as in our particular faith.
There are no exceptions.
I suspect that might not have sat well with some…
I am glad to see that you came back this morning.
That’s a hard lesson to hear.
It was a hard one to give.
Like I said,
If you haven’t found yourself in here somewhere,
You either haven’t been here, you haven’t been listening,
Or you are still in serious denial.
Well, this morning, if you are feeling a bit bruised, you will find that you are
In good company.
Not only will you find yourself in the company with others
Who are feeling worked over by Christ’s teaching,
But you will also get a good reminder about
What this whole discipleship thing is all about.
The Gospel lesson today comes from a group of people
Who are also not particularly happy with Jesus and his pastoral care either.
Like the last two weeks, it is kind of a long story.
So, I ask you to sit back, and listen in as if you were there
That day.
What would you be feeling?
What would you be thinking?
How would you respond?
John 11
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ,[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Okay, how many of you are still with me?
Like I said, it is a long story.
And, quite honestly, this story raises as many questions
As it does answers.
Some of these questions may be questions that you have had about God as well.
Some have answers, some do not.
Either way, the story gives us some clues about the nature of God
As well as how we are to respond.
With that in mind, why don’t we take a look at some of the questions this story raises.
Did you catch that first part where the sisters sent for Jesus?
Check this out.
“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”
Wait a second here…
Does this strike anyone as strange?
Okay, think about it this way.
Your spouse or child or sibling is dying.
You dial 911 and the medic and pastor (who happens to be the
same person) decides to hang out on a hill for a couple days
with his buddies to meditate before showing up.
What would you think at this point?
Honestly?
Would you be impressed by his pastoral support?
Would you trust that his meditation time on the hill
Was more important than your loved one?
Really?
Like I said, lots of questions here.
As their brother got worse and worse,
They were left to wonder if God had a clue what he was doing
And wondered if he was going to show up at all.
I suspect Martha spent most of her time looking out the window.
Each time she saw someone coming down the road,
She might have thought…
Here he is!
Christ has finally showed up!
And, then her heart would sink again
When she realized it really wasn’t him.
Can anyone relate?
Where is God when we hurt?
Well, unfortunately, this is not an answer that comes readily.
You should know by now that I am not going to give you
A platitude at this point.
If you are looking for platitudes, you are in the wrong place.
The simple fact is that Jesus chose not to show up until after Lazarus died.
Why?
Well, if we take the story at face value, it was to make a point.
Am I happy about the way God sometimes chooses to make a point?
No. No, I am certainly not.
Not when its my loved ones or me that is swinging in the wind.
That is not the time to make a point with me.
God, please make your point when I am comfortable and level headed
In the comfort of my living room when I can give it proper, but distant
Attention.
But please do not make a point if its going to hurt.
Well, if you want a platitude, you are in the wrong place.
Unfortunately, God does decide to make a point in ways that push
Us WAY out of our comfort zone, and quite possibly out of our
Sanity zone.
Why?
I don’t know.
Maybe that’s the only time he truly has our attention.
It’s the difference between the chicken and the pig.
The chicken contributes to a bacon and egg breakfast.
The pig is committed to it.
Its his rear end in the pan.
When you are the one in the frying pan,
I suspect that’s a real effective time for God to make a point.
Do you have to like it?
I hope not, or I am in trouble too.
I suspect not, but we are called to trust God in the midst
Of the trial… and that is a miserable place to be.
Just ask Martha.
She sat and watched her brother die while Jesus was apparently ignoring her.
How would you do with that one?
Anyone want to try it?
I suspect not.
I have to tell you…
I would be really ticked by this point.
Anyone else?
Maybe we should talk about this for a second.
Anger.
Lots of folks spend their time angry at God.
Heaven help us if the lawyers figure out how to sue him.
Talk about class action law suits!
Most folks somehow think life is supposed to be fair,
And when it isn’t, God is to blame.
And, maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, maybe that’s just life.
But the anger response serves to create as many problems as it solves.
What does anger do?
Well, it does shield us.
If I am angry at God, I am in control.
I am powerful because I am filled with
self righteous indignation.
I do not have to feel sad.
I do not have to be afraid.
I do not have to be disappointed.
And I certainly do not have to grow or learn anything.
By God I am angry!
I am going to be in control!
How does God respond?
My personal favorite of God dealing with man’s anger
Is letting Israel wander in the desert for 40 years.
Want to be angry?
Okay.
I am big enough…
And I have all the time in the world for you to get over yourself.
See this mountain?
Take another lap.
When you want to get real, we will talk.
FORTY YEARS that went on!
Is God big enough for your anger?
You bet.
The problem is that he is also exceedingly patient.
And being angry keeps you separated from him.
Now, that’s how this story could have worked out.
Jesus showed up,
Martha threw a fit,
Jesus got annoyed, said “uh-huh” repeatedly and stormed off.
Any man on the planet will admit that he doesn’t hear a word
An angry woman is saying to him.
Something just shuts off and all you are going to get is “uh-huh.”
By the way, “uh-huh” is only an acknowledgment you
are speaking and nothing more.
But that is not the way this scenario worked out.
Mary and Martha, rather than being angry, were mature women,
mature enough disciples to feel the pain of her disappointment.
They didn’t go for the power of anger, they simply
Acknowledged their disappointment.
Scripture records that they both said just about the same thing.
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping…
Now, check out how Christ responds.
“he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.”
It also tells us that Jesus wept.
Oh yeah, and then there was that little part when he brought Lazarus back to life.
We probably shouldn’t overlook that.
What you just heard was not a movie.
It was the original “Day of the Living Dead.
Dead people had a hard time staying in the grave around Jesus.
It just seemed to work that way when he was in town.
That’s not too bad of a response on God’s part when we are willing
To be sincere with him rather than fighting him.
If you haven’t caught it yet,
Even as miraculous as this story is,
And the power that Jesus has over life and death,
And all the implications of his ministry on earth…
I see Mary and Martha as the true heroes of this story.
They held true!
They were rock solid in the clutch.
Life, at its worst, was not enough to shake them.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not
have died. But I know that even now God will give you
whatever you ask.”
That’s a rock!
Rock solid, immovable, powerful, disciple faith.
Death itself was no match.
So, how about you?
When its you in the frying pan,
How do you respond?
Notice I didn’t ask you what you believe,
I asked, how do you respond?
When its your spouse, your health, your finances, your security,
Your relationships, your job, your family, your church,
Your politics, your faith…
How do you respond?
Are you a solid rock, or are you a reactor?
Mary and Martha are the example.
There situation was so bad that he wasn’t only dead,
He was decomposing.
That’s not a losing fight,
That’s the definition of lost completely.
And then Jesus shows up, and we come to understand what
Resurrection power is all about.
Its not just life in the next world…
Its about life here and now.
People of God,
You will be tested in this world.
You will be tested by people, by situations, and by God.
If you don’t like it,
You can either leave the planet now,
Or start working on a strategy how to deal with it.
If you react to every reactive situation,
You are going to be doing laps for a long, long, long time.
Those lessons you don’t get the first time,
Have no fear, you will get another opportunity to learn them again.
Mary and Martha show us something different.
Rather than being reactive, we can be the rock.
We can be solid in the midst of the worst storms.
And it is not because we are somehow spiritual giants,
But it is because we have the Spirit of Christ within us
That leads us and guides us along the way.
When you leave this place,
There will be trials and tests for you.
There is no doubt.
The only real question is how will you choose to respond?
