Philippians Hymn                                                                                                             June 1, 2014 

           Carla and I were in Boston last weekend for our nephew’s high school graduation.  It was great.  I’d never been there before, and as I did a little research, I found that if you only have a day, you have to do the Freedom Trail.  Many of you may know by now I was a history major in college.  I read big thick boring biographies and history books for fun.  And so this was right up my alley.  We saw the USS Constitution, Old Ironsides, which 200 years ago led the Navy to its upset victory against Great Britain.  

Not only does it still float… it’s an active ship with currently enlisted sea men and women.  They take it out for a spin every year turn it around and park it back in its slip the other direction so that it weathers evenly.  The Freedom Trail took us from Old Ironsides to the monument for the Battle of Bunker Hill to Paul Revere’s house, to the Old North Church, to Faneuil Hall.  I had a great time.  But more than one of the stops on the trail are devoted to graveyards.  

And not just so that people of today can see where Samuel Adams and the parents of Benjamin Franklin are buried.  Seeing these thin stone tablets stuck in the ground without much planning, and how they’re all leaning this way and that, and seeing how the centuries have worn away the engraving… it can be easy to let the modern city that has grown around these cemeteries make you forget the original context of this area… but those graveyards keep it real.  On the stones you see most people didn’t get past 40 years old.  Lots of kids didn’t reach 10.  And, of course, on each stone was not only the name and dates of birth and death, but an epitaph.  “Devoted mother and loving wife.”  “faithful servant of God and one of public spirit.”  You know there are some great epitaphs of famous people, too.  Mel Blanc, the creator of Bugs Bunny; his gravestone says, “That’s All Folks”.  

Merv Griffin, the TV icon, his says, “I Will Not Be Right Back After This Message.”  People like Thomas Jefferson needed more space for their epitaph.  “Author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father of the University of Virginia.” An epitaph is typically written in stone, so you can’t get too wordy most of the time.  An obituary boils down a person’s life into a couple paragraphs.  But an epitaph is just one word or phrase.  What would yours be?  Freda Benton’s stone says, “Granny chick”.  William Hahn's says, “I told you I was sick.”  

Or would yours include your most important relationship: devoted wife, husband, parent.  Maybe you’d list your work like Thomas Jefferson.  Or a quote you liked to say that reveals a lot about your way of looking at life.  I know some of you have already bought your stone and thought through this.  But for most of us, this seems hard to do: describing ourself with just one word or phrase. 

            Could you do it for God?  Maybe not an epitaph, because of course, Jesus doesn't stay dead.  But could you describe all that God is about with just one word?  Creator, omnipotent, omnipresent...  Hope, Peace, Love?  St. Paul, in this letter to the Philippians tries to get at the heart of who God is, so that he may explain what our hearts and minds could be capable of.  Paul would not begin to list God’s accomplishments like Thomas Jefferson.  He would not name God’s greatest quote.  But, with one word he’d be able to lift up God’s sense of humor.  He’d be able to get at God’s occupation.  And with that one word he would explain how God relates to every daughter and Son on earth.  Describe God with one word or phrase: Paul would say “Grace”.  Grace requires a sense of humor.  Grace is what God does.  And grace is how God relates to all of us.  Though guilty of sins galore, we are saved through his love and mercy.  That’s grace.  Who was Mel Blanc: the Man of 1,000 voices.  Who was Thomas Jefferson?  He can be identified by documents he wrote.  Who is God?  1 John says God is love.  But grace takes that definition a step further.  Grace refers to the kind of love that persists through everything… even death. 

            Paul tells the Philippians, “have that same kind of love.  Do nothing from selfish conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.  Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”  We are baptized into Christ.  Into his death.  Into his resurrection.  And here, Paul says that means we are put in Christ’s very mind.  “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”  He finishes this portion of his letter by saying, “for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”  We are in Christ and God is in us.  We celebrate that every week at communion.  That we are all one together and together we are in Christ. 

            So, how might that affect our actions?  This is a letter about attitude as much as anything else.  And attitude affects action.  This is not just a letter trying to teach these people in Philippi how to think.  Paul is not trying to get them to wrap their minds around the truth that they are in Christ and God is in them.  Paul wants them to take on Christ’s attitude knowing that attitude affects us one way or the other. 

            Just think of the different mindsets people have, and how it affects their work, and their lives.  All week we’ve been hearing those blue angel jets overhead as they've been practicing for the Air Show this weekend.  Do you think jet pilots have a certain kind of attitude, typically?  Did Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer teach us nothing in Top Gun?  

To fly a plane like the Blue Angels do, you need to have a certain kind of attitude.  Confidence, a desire to be precise.  Or to be a surgeon.  We have a neighbor who is a cardiothoracic surgeon.  And there’s a certain attitude that one must have when taking the heart of a living human being and attempting to fix it, while also trying to not kill the person.   My attitude in an operating room would dwell on the don’t mess up, more than the “I’m saving this guy”.  Teachers need an attitude of kindness, clarity of direction, and a passion for educating.  Entrepreneurs have an attitude that says, “I can., I will.”  Attitude affects actions.  Wake up groggy and spill some milk and you’re unable to find your backpack.  You put your, “It’s going to be a bad day” attitude on and you are just a joy to be around.  Put on a thankful attitude and you come across to other people much differently. 

            Now, this sermon could devolve right now into a fluffy, “Keep your chin up” sermon where I say Jesus wants you to have a happy attitude.  Stay positive.  But that’s not the attitude Paul has in mind.  Is God always happy?  Is God always positive?  No.  So there must be space for other feelings.  Remember, the one word Paul would use for God is, “Grace”.  That’s the kind of attitude Christians are called to have at all times and in all places.  We are called to be gracious.  Sadness, grief, illness and even depression happen.  It’s not about cheering up.  Having an attitude of Grace persists through every broken part of life.  Prosperity, joy, perhaps even wealth and good fortune may happen for you.  For many of us that is true.  And we are easily tricked into thinking those are life’s goals.  “Have an attitude that achieves those goals.” Is what the world tells us to do.  But grace moves us to not prosper only for our own sake; but to share our joy, and our wealth, and to worship the one responsible for our good fortune.  Grace tempers our accomplishments and carries us through our failures.  A gracious attitude moves us to selflessness: regarding others as better than ourselves, looking to the interests of others.

            To carry his point home, Paul invokes a well-known hymn of his day, “Though Christ was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”  In Christ, we are capable of that kind of attitude: to not regard our forgiven status as something to be exploited, but to empty ourselves for the sake of others.  Gracious.  TBTG.  Amen. 

Fourth Station: Jesus is Denied by Peter

 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about!" As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazorean." Again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man!" A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away." At that he began to curse and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: "Before the cock crows you will deny me three times." He went out and began to weep bitterly.

Sixth Station: Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said,"Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck him repeatedly.


Station 4&6                                                                                                        March 26, 2014

There is an enormous difference between practice and performance.  Between getting it done without pressure vs. making it happen 
at crunch time.  I’ve watched a lot of basketball this past week.  I played in high school, and as I watch these guys and girls shooting free throws toward the end of a game, it’s amazing to me.  There will be an 80% free throw shooter who gets to the line at the end of a game, needing to make at least one out of two.  And he misses both.  He probably makes 20 or 30 in a row in practice.  But when he’s tired, fearful of missing… of letting his teammates down, when he hears the cat calls of the fans of the other team, and them waving behind the basket… he misses and I think, yeah, I think I would too.  Or he makes it and I’m amazed at his focus.  Or… I was in drama in high school, too.  And we’d practice our lines thousands of times.  Thousands.  To the point where all throughout a day, those lines would pop up in my consciousness.  I can still recite some of my lines from when I was Mark Twain 20 years ago.  But it’s funny how when you put 500 people in a room to watch you say those memorized lines, how different they come out.  Or don’t come out.  Or, you study for a test and you’ve got it cold.  But then comes that quiet room, you, your pencil, and that test.  Sometimes, the numbers or words or facts just flit away.  Whether you’ve prepared a proposal at work, practiced a song for hours, or made yourself emotionally ready for a difficult situation, there is always an enormous difference between practice and performance.  And that’s what the story of Peter is about. 

In chapter 16 of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus and his disciples come into the district of Caesarea Philippi and Jesus sits them down and asks them a question.  “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  
I imagine a kind of classroom feel here or maybe a staff meeting.  Anyone, anyone?  And they said things like, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  But then Jesus got to the tougher question.  “Who do you say that I am?”  And Peter speaks up like the head of the class man that he is.  “Oooh, oooh, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!”  And Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you Simon, you are Peter – that is Petros – which means rock – and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind or loose on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven.” 

Jesus gives Simon a nickname.  You’re the Rock.  And that’s what the gospel writers typically call him.  That’s what history knows him by… his nickname: Rock.  St. Rock, Minnesota – pretty town.  St. Rock’s Basilica in Rome.  For proclaiming this revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of the Living God, Simon son of Jonah gets as amazing a job offer as anyone has ever gotten.  On you I’ll build my church.  I’ll give you the keys to the kingdom and whatever you judge to be done or not done, well, that’s what the rules will be in heaven.  Whoa.  You know sometimes, I’ve talked about Mary the Mother of God as though she is the most faithful person in Scripture, so willingly open to bearing the Son of God.  Or Martha as she grieves the death of her brother Lazarus, she is still able to faithfully say to Jesus, “You are the Messiah; the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”  But neither of them are rewarded with the keys to the Kingdom.  With the ability to set the boundaries of what shall be done or not done on earth and then also in heaven.  So, Peter must be so very exceptionally faithful. 

Well, he was when being faithful was safe and easy.  In class with his fellow disciples, Peter shines.  He knows the answers.  But when the rubber hits the road, or as a teacher of mine liked to say, “you’re tied to the train tracks and the train is coming.  What do you really believe?”  And when we get to that moment for Peter, as Jesus has been handed over to the authorities and is obviously in great danger of being executed… which usually also brings about the execution of such a person’s followers… When the context of Peter’s faith changes from practice to showtime, Peter shrinks.  He doesn’t clank a free throw, here.  He shoots three airballs.  He forgets his lines.  The Rock crumbles.  Peter denies even knowing Jesus, much less following him. 

McKenna Everson offers us the artwork for the fourth station.  Personally, I love the size of the rooster.  As the small figure of Peter is crying in the foreground, the rooster’s cock-a-doodle-do dominates.  I’m sure that’s what it felt like for Peter as he heard it crow.  That overwhelming sense of failure to live up to his call.  I’m sure that rooster felt like a giant in Peter’s mind.  Thank you McKenna for this.  Besides, any time you can put blue and green feathers on a chicken, and pull it off, good work. 

           

As we continue our journey through the stations of cross, we come to the 6^th station where Jesus, having been found guilty of nothing in particular, but guilty nonetheless, Jesus is then processed – you could say.  And being processed in this case means a flogging, humiliation and a beating.  Marla Meyer makes these words and images come alive by offering this station that has a feel to it.  You can feel the cloth and the crown, which is appropriate because this part of John’s gospel is written in such a way as to connect with our physical bodies.  John wants us to know this hurt for Jesus.  It hurt his bones, his skin, his human body.  But these verses from John also show us how Jesus was tortured emotionally. At their worst soldiers have been known throughout time for mistaking their duty for privileged power, especially soldiers who occupy a rival nation.  Whether it’s been Americans in Iraq desecrating dead enemies, or the British raping the innocents of Scotland, or the Romans burning the villages of the Gauls after defeating them… soldiers can give in to hatred instead of dwelling on their opportunity to serve.  These Roman soldiers hated the Jews.  Jesus bears the brunt of their hatred as they don’t just flog and beat him.  They belittle him.  They mock him.  A crown that will make its wearer bleed.  A cloak that would like putting a prom dress on a homeless person.  It’s mean. 

What hurts worse?  Physical brutality or emotional warfare?  I’m not sure there is a right answer.  Actually, I think what John is trying to get across is that Jesus endured the full range of abuse: all kinds.  He is immune to nothing.  He chooses to experience all of it.  Without saying one word.  Without crying out ‘uncle’ or in his case, ‘Father”. 

I’ve been those soldiers before.  I’ve made fun of people for my own amusement.  I was telling the Men’s group this story this morning and I’ve told it to confrimands, too… it pertains to the 5^th commandment which is thou shall not murder.  And how Luther enlarges the meaning of this commandment to not only be about knives and guns.  But he says, “We are to fear and love God so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all of life’s needs.”  ALL of life’s needs.  In other words thou shall not murder infers that we should build others up rather than tear them down.  And it isn’t only physically that we build or tear down.  More often, we build or tear in emotional ways.  We can either encourage others or discourage them.  We have the power to murder character;   The story I share about this commandment is from when I was in middle school and high school for that matter to some extent.  We had a classmate whose identity was the one who everyone made fun of.  The way he looked, the way he talked, his lack of athletic prowess, he wasn’t very bright – according to us… I can’t imagine how awful it must have been for him to come to school every day.  Nobody ever laid a hand on him.  We broke the 5^th commandment with him by killing his character.  And by the age of 19 he chose not to live life any more.  And the thought that I contributed even a little bit toward his death brings me to confess my sin every chance I can so that perhaps others will believe how powerful their words are. 

Jesus endures the power of words… from these soldiers, from the lack of words Peter offers, from false testimony about him in front of the Sanhedrin.  Because as much as I like to dwell on me and how I am just like the soldiers… this station (like all the others) isn’t about me or us.  First and foremost it’s about Jesus.  It’s about what he went through so that we can believe that God truly lived as one of us… enduring the worst we do to each other… it’s about Jesus going through all of it SO THAT we would believe, feel his love recognize he didn’t just do it to prove how tough he is.  He did it so that we would feel loved by him.  Which changes the way we live.  It changes the way we die; and don’t stay dead.  When we recognize how loved we are, we are changed… Thanks be to God. 

The raising of Lazarus... lectio divina style

First Lutheran Church, Onalaska, is entering Lent with a couple primary goals.  One is to gather small groups around the scriptural stations of the cross.  About a dozen groups of 5-20 people gather weekly to consider one station per week.  When they meet, they pray as they read that station's text in an ancient way: lectio divina, which we are calling 'holy reading' as the Latin name sounds a little inaccessible.  To give the congregation a sense for what holy reading is like, I chose to use the first half of my sermon to walk them through a holy reading of a small part of John 11.  Another goal of Lent this year is to continue our narrative lectionary march through John.  So, rather that depart from the narrative lectionary in favor of the scriptural stations texts, we continue in John on Sundays.  We'll talk more about the stations on Wednesday nights!  So, although this is not how a typical sermon goes, here it is…


Lent 1                                             Lazarus Lectio                                           March 9, 2014

As a way of reading and praying through the text this week, I will use a portion of John 11 to practice ‘holy reading’ which is what our small groups are doing throughout Lent.  We still have lots of openings for those who would like to participate.  Small groups begin today and meet once a week. 

Part of what may keep some of you from signing up is that you don’t know what the practice of holy reading is.  So, we’re going to try it now…

I am going to read part of our text for today 3 times.  As I read it the first time, try to notice a word or phrase that rises to your attention.  Something that stands out.  One word or phrase.  After I read it, we will share silence for a moment.  Then, I’ll read it again.  After the second time I read it I will invite you to say your word or phrase aloud… not loud, but loud enough that it’s more than a mumble.  I want you to hear the word in your head come out of your mouth.  After you’ve said the word or phrase, you will then be given a moment to reflect on a couple questions which will be projected at that time.  Finally, after you’ve reflected, I’ll read it a third time.  And we’ll rest in that reading for a moment after the 3^rd reading.  So…

“We read scripture slowly and attentively, savoring each word.  As I read, listen for a word or phrase that captures your attention.”  And let it stand out that God may speak to you through it…

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."

“Remain silent for a moment paying attention to the word or phrase that stood out.”

“after this second reading you will be invited to speak your word or phrase into the silence.”

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."

*  Speak the word or phrase that has stood out for you…

a moment of silence…

*  “We reflect on Scripture trusting that God is at work through it to transform our lives.  Take a moment to begin reflecting on this word or phrase by considering these questions:

1)  What emotions, memories or images come to mind as you consider God speaking to you through this word or phrase?

2)  Do you sense an invitation from God for you?

Take 2 minutes…

*            “Scripture helps us to simply rest in God’s love.  After the text is read for a third time, we shall sit for a moment and allow our hearts to open to God.  When thoughts come to your mind, and they will, let them go and return simple openness. Not because thinking is bad but because you are practicing letting go and resting in God.  Repeat a short word or phrase, known as a “sacred word” such as: “trust”, “peace”, or “be still” to help you let go of your thoughts. You might use a word from the scripture you’ve just read or the same word each time you do Centering Prayer.”

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."

… rest… for a moment.

             It’s not that Scripture can’t talk to us otherwise, but too often, we hear it read in worship, or we read at home and we just don’t hear it.  We don’t take the time to chew on it, to swallow it.  We just gulp it down.  But God wants us to taste it.  I mean, we treat fast food and our favorite meal differently, don’t we?  Everything about a fast food restaurant is done so that you get in, get out and get the next people in as fast as possible.  And so they typically don’t encourage you to linger, to savor, to push back from the table, feel your belly and tell the chef well done.  Think of a feast you love to eat.  Where every bite matters to you.  You chew it like it’s a treasure.  You try to eat slowly because you’re already sad at the prospect of an empty plate. 

            Scripture is not meant to be treated like fast food.  Twitter: fast food.  Scripture is pollo saltimbocca from Kate’s on State which in Italian means “jumps in the mouth”…a dish so good it jumps off the plate and into your mouth.  And it’s fun to say: ‘pollo saltimbocca.’  You don’t snarf down ‘pollo saltimbocca’ like a double cheeseburger and fries.  And you don’t read Scripture like a newspaper, or like you scan facebook.  We Lutherans believe Scripture is divinely inspired… that it is the Word of God.  It provides the foundation for everything we teach, for everything we believe.  Holy Scripture is to be read in a very intentional way… not just so that we can understand it with our head, but so that we can hear God with our hearts through its words, images, feelings, and memories.  I strongly encourage all adults to sign up for a small group so that for 6 weeks you could get a taste for how good Scripture really is.  Take a bite.  I know you’ll love it. 

            Now, I know I could be done here.  My sermon time has pretty much been used up.  But of all the stories in all of Scripture, other than Jesus himself being raised from the dead, this one matters as much to me as any other.  John 11… I can’t just use it as an example to pull you in to our Holy Reading Small groups.  I have to say something about it.  Because it tells us so much about death, about faith, and most of all about Jesus. 

            As you heard (three times) Lazarus has been dead 4 days.  He’s been buried.  And if you’ve ever suffered the death of a loved one, you know how lonely and awful it can feel after the funeral is done, everybody else has returned to their lives, but your life will never be the same.  As comforting as prayers and hugs and casseroles maybe were, 4 days after the funeral, your loved one is no less dead.  Your grief isn’t ‘all better’.  It is into this place, this time for Martha and Mary that Jesus chooses to show up.  He even waits where he was a little longer so that he arrives at this most terrible time. 

           
           I think we have much to learn from this text by what Jesus does not say to Martha when she approaches him.  He doesn’t say, “Turn that frown upside down.  Everything’s gonna be OK.”  It’s not OK.  Lazarus is in fact dead.  Jesus also doesn’t try to make the best of it.  “Well, Lazarus is up in heaven already.  Playing golf.”  Or whatever Lazarus liked to do in his life.  Jesus does not try to excuse her pain, get her to feel differently than grieved, or explain how this really isn’t as bad as it seems.  Why do we do these things amidst grief?  We try to pretend that death isn’t that bad.  Our loved one just passed away – which seems to be the more polite way to say it – he just passed away and is now in a better place.  Jesus never mentions that Lazarus is in any better place to Martha.  And this would be a good opportunity for him to say it if that’s how all this really goes.  Instead of trying to find a silver lining, or make Martha feel better, Jesus weeps with her.  But he also makes a promise that only he can make. 

            Jesus says, “your brother will rise again.”  And she says, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”  And Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.  Do you believe this?” 

            Now, notice, Jesus doesn’t ask this question after the happy ending.  He makes his promise that I am the resurrection right in the midst of Martha’s sharpest grief.  And so Martha is perhaps – along with Mary the mother of God – the most amazingly faithful person in all of Scripture.  Jesus makes this promise (after coming too late to save Lazarus in the first place) that he is the resurrection and at that moment asks if she believes him.  And she says, yes. 

            That’s where we live, too.  We live in that faith place.  A Martha place, where our beloved dead are dead… like Lazarus was… they’re not kind of dead in a way because their soul somehow got separated from their bodies already and they now exist somehow some other way.  Jesus says nothing about Lazarus’ soul.  We live in that time when our beloved dead are dead, but we hear the promise of Christ: as he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, though they die, will live”.  Do we believe?  Even though we haven’t seen the outcomes of our faith… yet?

            This story from John makes the claim that death is real, even according to Jesus.  It makes him cry.  BUT it also makes the claim that death is not final.  That no one is abandoned in death.  That’s why we say ‘rest in peace’ to our beloved dead… we are saying rest in the peace of Christ.  Or as St. Paul says, neither death nor life can separate us from the love of God.  Where do you think Paul got that?  John 11 makes a pretty strong case for the claim that no one is abandoned in death. 

            After exhibiting his empathy for Martha, after sharing with us what faith looks like – believing in Jesus before actually seeing the goods… Jesus needs to do one more thing.  And that is show his power over death.  Yes, Martha is right, and it is our faith as well to believe that our beloved dead “will rise again on the last day.”  But to give them all a taste of what that last day will be like… Jesus walks over to that tomb, has them roll away that stone, and through the stench of death, wakes Lazarus as though he were simply asleep. 

   Imagine the joy that will come with our loved ones with ourselves being awakened from death as though it were simply sleep… gifted once again with life so that we may love and live in the glory of God.  Imagine.  Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Do you believe this?”