Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, April 2, 2017
Jesus says Lazarus has fallen asleep. Those with Jesus know that Lazarus is sick. His sisters sent word to Jesus that he was ill. Jesus receives more news about Lazarus. He is sleeping. Lazarus has fallen asleep. We were so close to having this reading on April 1st! It does seem that Jesus is either trying to fool his disciples, or he is not being truthful. But God does not lie. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, does not lie or deceive. He already said that Lazarus was going to be ok. “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s Glory.” In other words, death will not get the victory here. God will. Lazarus sickness will lead to greater worship and praise of God.
Sleep is wonderful when I am sick. My immune system is hard at work. But I am completely out. It is so nice to be oblivious to the discomfort for hours. It is like being transported through time. When I wake up I am so much closer to being better. That time goes by in a flash. There is a buzz of renewed energy. Maybe that is what the disciples were thinking. “He’s going to be okay, Jesus. We do not need to go into enemy territory. We don’t need to risk our lives if Lazarus is sleeping off his sickness.
“Lazarus is dead,” Jesus plainly says. And, again, Jesus says that God has purpose. It is to increase faith—“…so that you will believe.” When they arrive at Lazarus home, he has already been dead and buried. Martha says that Jesus could have prevented his death. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They had seen Jesus heal many diseases before. He could have restored Lazarus to good health. Martha realized her greatest fear—that her brother would die. And now she is beginning to grieve. She has regret. She has faith. She has sadness. And Jesus weeps with her and Lazarus’ family and friends. Jesus shares our suffering. God feels our loss. Scripture says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). Death is also the enemy of God. Our lives are precious to him. We are his treasure. And in our deaths, God takes his precious treasure to his eternal home.
We are in Lent—still two weeks away from Easter Sunday. Jesus is also very close to his own death and resurrection in our Gospel reading. God wants us to contemplate and think about the nature of death in the lives of believers. Remember, Lazarus’ illness does not lead to death but the glory of God. His death was allowed so that our faith would be increased. This is already foreshadowing the death of Jesus in the weeks to come—for the glory of God to increase our faith. Death is to be feared. Death is to be grieved. We fear death. Jesus names death as the enemy. We grieve death. Jesus enters the agony of loss just as we do in the death of a loved one. But all along, his purpose is to manifest the Kingdom. This takes trust to follow Jesus. Like Thomas expresses in our text, life can sometime feel like a suicide mission. Entering the world and journeying forward can be very scary in the face of real and formidable threats.
Death is separation from the people we love. It really is a painful loss. And like the disciples, it seems too soon and pointless to continue our way. There is no evidence that Jesus rebukes or disapproves of Thomas when he says, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Thomas’ brutal sarcasm is his way of mourning his loss. He expresses despair and anger in the face of death. Jesus gives us room to grieve as we all need to grieve—even if it includes telling God our doubts and visceral pain. It is ok to cry out.
But Jesus’ word of hope was there at the beginning. Lazarus is asleep. I am going to wake him. Far from being just a metaphor or figure of speech, Jesus is teaching us about death. In Christ, death is not darkness and the end. It is more like sleep. We lie down. We temporarily say goodbye. Our eyes close to the world. But we go to sleep in the full confidence that we will wake up. And when we open our eyes again, we will have rested. Our strength will be renewed. We have a new day. God has given us a daily rehearsal in sleep. We sleep about a third of our lifetime. That means I have been unconscious, with intermittent periods of wakefulness, for 15 years of my life. I truly wish it could be more.
Each time we lay our bodies down to rest, it is Christian discipline. We pray before we sleep and when we wake up. Luther’s evening and morning prayers carry on the ancient tradition of quoting Jesus’ words on the cross just before his death: “Into your hands I commend my Spirit—myself, my body and soul, and all things.” For Jesus, death was a three day nap in the body and to be immediately present with God. And so, in Christ, it is for us. We lay our bodies to rest for a few days, decades, centuries, or thousands of years in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. When the last trumpet sounds the alarm. Get up!
In the meantime, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We close our eyes to this world only to immediately wake up face to face with Jesus—just as Lazarus woke up to see his Lord standing there victorious over death. So time will have passed—for time itself will pass in eternity. We will have that wonderful reunion with all of those we have lost in the Lord. Mary and Martha have already been reunited with their dear brother Lazarus. And so will we wake up to a wonderful family reunion and feast for the victory of our God over death.
No comments:
Post a Comment