BELIEVE

Disappointed in Ourselves

I don’t know about you, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused me to feel frustrated with myself. It has to do with homeschooling my kids. I have a renewed respect for teachers. It can be so difficult to teach basic concepts. Yet it’s so easy to take for granted how much we depend on others.

 Martha and Mary felt disappointed in themselves when their brother Lazarus died. Lazarus was ill. They wished that they could have done something to prevent his death. We know that they felt disappointed and frustrated in themselves because of what they said to Jesus when he came: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

You can hear the disappointment dripping from the exact same words they utter individually to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Both Martha and Mary approach Jesus feeling crushed, by their failure to protect their brother from death.

Illness Does Not Lead to Death, but to the Glory of God

Jesus does not judge Martha, Mary, or Lazarus for what happened. Instead he accompanies them, and joins with them. Martha was the older sister, responsible, and practical. She was a thinker and a doer. She walks out to meet Jesus when he arrives. They immediately discuss what happened, what it meant, and what they were going to do about it. Jesus answers her questions and they make a plan. So Martha gets her younger sister Mary.

Mary is a feeler. She falls down at Jesus’ feet and weeps. She utters her words between tears. Her feelings are powerful and contagious such that those gathered around her weep too. Jesus joins Mary in her profound sadness. He weeps and asks, “Where have you laid him?”

Jesus came to the tomb. Lazarus was dead for four days, and had been placed in a tomb. He asked that the stone cover be removed. Some warned him against it, noting the stench of a person dead for four days. Jesus did not shy away from death. He didn’t ignore it. He didn’t gloss over it. Jesus came to the tomb.

Jesus thought with Martha, felt with Mary, and went to the tomb with Lazarus. He joins with the suffering mind, heart, and soul. This is what the cross is all about. God joins with you in your suffering. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of god may be glorified by it,” John 11:4.

I am the Resurrection and the Life

That would be good enough. It is sufficient to be assured that God is with you in illness, suffering and death. But that isn’t the end. To really drive the point home, Jesus standing in the tomb surrounded by the stink of death cries out, “Lazarus come forth!” Lazarus’ soul is restored, Mary’s heart is healed, and Martha’s mind is transformed. God gives you more than enough, and better than you deserve. God gives resurrection.

Hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth, God was already creativing and giving resurrection life. The prophet Ezekiel saw a vision of this in the valley of the dry bones. The hand of the Lord led Ezekiel to see the Spirit of God bring together bones, put them back together, lay on them sinews and flesh, and give them life. God freely gives eternal life. The Spirit of God is and will be poured out on all flesh.

Believe

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, believe in me.” “I am,” is the name of God. Jesus asks you to believe and put your trust in God. Believe that God freely gives eternal life and forgiveness. That is the joy of Easter. Believing in God, however, is about a whole lot more than Easter lilies, chocolate bunnies, and full churches with pastel colors. 

Believing in God means believing that:

• Sickness doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory of God
• Feeling lonely doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory God
• Losing your job doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory of God
• Economic recession doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory of God
• An empty church building doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory God
• Scientific research doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory God
• Enemies threatening you doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory of God
• Children misbehaving doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory of God
• A global pandemic doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory of God
• Death doesn’t end in death, but leads to the glory of God

Believe. Believe. Believe. Amen.