Alive But Not Unbound, LSTC Echols, Lent 5A, March 27, 2023

This was my second entry into LSTC's James Kenneth Echols Preaching Celebration in 2023. I was one of two co-finalists who preached the sermon in person during the final event at LSTC's historic building at 1100 E 55th St. My colleague Katie Mueller was the other co-finalist.

Did a scripture passage ever make you wonder “What happened next?”

The Bible is not like a novel, in which all the loose ends of characters’ lives are tied up at the end. We’re not sure what happens to Jesus’ good friend Lazarus after Jesus restores his life. We know all too well what happens to Jesus.

This story is the tipping point in the gospel of John. Already in Chapter 7, we learn some Pharisees want to imprison this itinerant teacher who has performed six miraculous signs and has stirred up Judea. Just before this passage, Jesus barely escaped Jerusalem during the feast of the Dedication, after a mob heard him teaching that he is one with God, and they nearly stoned him to death for blasphemy. So, Jesus and his followers regroup across the Jordan, away from Judea. Now, three years later, Jesus is back where it all began, at the Jordan. Jesus is teaching when he receives the word: Come at once: your friend Lazarus is dying.

The siblings Mary, Martha and Lazarus are Jesus’ chosen family. Their home in Bethany has been his place of refuge. One would expect that Jesus would leave immediately to get there, to have a chance to make a difference. However, it is also in Judea, just two miles outside Jerusalem, a dangerous place for Jesus to be. Probably with his disciples’ encouragement, Jesus stays and teaches for two more days, then says, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples know nothing they say will stop Jesus from this journey and what is to come. Bluntly honest, Thomas speaks what they all are thinking: “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Two days later, Jesus and his disciples arrive in Bethany. Lazarus had died the day Jesus received the sisters’ message. Yet, in their pain, both sisters speak harsh words, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

To translate Mary and Martha’s grief-filled words, they had given in to hopelessness. In the Jewish faith, people typically are buried the day they die. The soul, it is believed, leaves the body after three days. It was now Day 4 – and past the point of no return. Jesus was met, first by Martha, who professes her faith in the resurrection to come. Jesus readjusts the frame: “Not someday, Martha, today. Not somewhere, Martha, here. Right here, right now. Do you believe?”

“Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One coming into the world.” Despite her grief, Martha speaks the most profound faith statement in the Gospels.

Martha and Jesus then join up with Mary. Jesus accompanies them to the tomb, ostensibly to grieve with them. Deeply moved, Jesus weeps. Then in a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own resurrection, Jesus commands the stone be rolled away. He performs his seventh and final sign: “Lazarus, come out!” followed by, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

What happened to Lazarus next? The story doesn’t tell what happens to Lazarus after Jesus brought him back to life. We learn that some tried to kill him. If he wasn’t killed, did Lazarus forever have to live with the whispers and finger-pointing ... "There, he’s the one who was dead." Perhaps after a while, the novelty wore off and Lazarus may have wished he had never been brought back to life. Perhaps there was some survivor’s guilt that his resurrection, this final sign, led to Jesus’ crucifixion.

Throughout my previous work in human services, I met a lot of Lazaruses, but one sticks with me:

This man had experienced one tragedy after another. A severely abusive father who beat him and his brother. A serious car wreck that he barely survived. An industrial accident that messed up his ankle. Then, a cancer diagnosis.

He wanted to financially provide for his wife, but one thing or another stopped him. His injuries prevented him from doing physical labor; his PTSD was a barrier to anything stressful. One employer after another rejected him. Then his wife left him.

I heard the echoes of Lazarus in his frustration: “I’m alive, but I can’t really live. I’m still bound and no one will set me free.”

He’s not the only one – the cries of Lazarus are everywhere in our world. Tell me if you’re heard them too: Freed from a tomb at the Department of Corrections but bound by a felony record.

• Freed from the tomb of society’s mis-gendering and misunderstanding but bound by discrimination and the costs of medical and legal processes.
• Freed from the tomb of addictions but bound by a track record of job losses.
• Freed from the tomb of an abusive marriage but bound by a lack of work history and the high cost of childcare.
• Freed from the tomb of a life-threatening illness but bound by income limitations to keep Medicare and Medicaid.
• Freed from a tomb of an unsafe country but bound by the rules of asylum petitions in our country.

Every one, a Lazarus brought to life, but still bound. Trapped between what is, and what could be. Certainly not living the abundant life that God meant for all people.

It’s necessary and a privilege to feed the hungry, provide shelter to the unhoused, to visit the prisoner, to wholeheartedly support Pride, Reproductive Rights, and Black Lives Matter events. But it doesn’t remove the binding of systemic injustice. It doesn’t restore equity to all people.

It doesn't set them free.

What if we went all out, and followed Jesus’ instructions to unbind the Lazaruses of our world and set them free? What would God’s liberating freedom look like? I’m not certain – but I once caught a glimpse of it.

On God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday 2016, a young man and his mother sat amidst our congregation. Kind of a surprise, because it was a short service of sending, to bless us to do God’s work in our communities. In his homily, my pastor revealed he had come to know the young man through a request to perform some community service hours. He had every intention of completing the hours, but between his work and a health condition, the burden had become great. An unbinding had become necessary.

So, on that day, with the council’s blessing, this young man – no longer a stranger, but our neighbor – was released from his burden by the combined service hours of 18 service projects, hundreds of volunteer hours. Words from that ritual in the worship service echo even now: “That he be set free. That he stand tall in Christ.” And as he rose in that moment, he DID stand tall among us. He was unbound – set free for a different future. (Yeah, it still chokes me up.)

It takes both emergency relief AND advocacy to break down the barriers that prevent people from living lives of joy and freedom. None of us can do it all, but I believe we were ALL given a spirit of justice and a vision of the kin-dom set right, as it should be. It’s part of your vocation, not in some future call, but now, right here at LSTC. You may be the person volunteering at the food bank while I write letters to legislators, asking them to continue support for SNAP, meals for seniors and school children, and immigration reform. You may take the gospel and the Eucharist to those behind bars while another mentors youth with the goal of ending the school-to-prison pipeline. While volunteers with The Night Ministry are bringing food and supplies to unhoused individuals, a busload of people from an interfaith coalition is rallying at the capitol for more affordable housing. As our grateful response for God’s grace setting us free, we have MORE than enough to do in this world!!

In our gospel today, I wondered, what happens next for Lazarus? John really never gives us the answer – only that Jesus not only resurrected him but unbound him and set him free.

What we will do with this message in 2023 and beyond remains to be seen. We still are living the question, searching for answers. What I do know is this: We do our work of Christ when we see and hear our neighbors and accompany them in removing the structural barriers that hold them back. We CANNOT do it alone, but I am convinced, we ARE here, answering this call, to ignite the fires of justice in our churches and communities. We are the peace-bringers AND the waymakers. We are the inspired AND the inspiration. We are the visionaries AND the hands and feet. We are the Church …the Public Church … the now AND not yet. We are called not only to share pastoral and prophetic words, but also to unbind Lazarus wherever we find him.

So That You May Believe, Lent 5, April 2, 2017

Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Jesus knows that Lazarus is dead.  He tells his disciples this brutal truth.  Only then does he decide to go to nearby Bethany. He arrives on the fourth day.  The day that is beyond all hope.  All through Scripture the third day is the day that God acts.  Jesus arrives on the hopeless day, the fourth.

– Peter Woods

Theme: So That You May Believe

Reflection:  On this day in early spring 2017, hope is the last thing about which I expected to write.

My communities – colleagues, friends, family – are in various stages of anxiety, turmoil and frustration. Working in healthcare, I wonder how proposed program changes at the federal level will impact clinic jobs and client care. I struggle with the backward steps in civil rights and environmental protection. I steel myself for cuts to education, human services, public broadcasting and the arts.

It’s been a rough winter, personally, leading up to a difficult anniversary of an untimely death.

It seems like I’ve been walking in the valleys of dry bones and death for far too long. The first two verses of today’s Psalm 130 sound too familiar: “Out the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!”

Perhaps you’ve been there, too.

It’s hard to say if Jesus’ friend Lazarus had a rough season, or a sudden illness put him on his deathbed. All we know is when Jesus received word from Mary and Martha that his good friend was dying, he didn’t run to Bethany. He waited two days and then left, and by the time he got there, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Past the point of no return – Jews believe the soul leaves the body on the third day.

Certainly, Ezekiel had been through some rough times. There’s nothing worse than being a prophet to whom people aren’t listening. He probably felt like he was talking to himself and the hope he had for the people of Israel was nearly snuffed out. The psalmist cried out from the depths of his despair and Paul wrote encouragement to members of the fractious church at Rome.

Whether you feel you’re all alone, suffering or dying, or trying to be encouraging to a less-than-receptive crowd, these stories speak to our pain. They speak to people who have waited, who have held onto hope past the point that most people would consider reasonable.

Ezekiel is taken to “the valley” in this vision. Writers surmise it could have been a battlefield or a known place. Not just “a valley,” but “the valley.” If you were lifted up and taken to the source of your suffering, where would it be? A workplace from which you were fired? An establishment that used to be the joyous meeting place of a relationship? A house that is no longer home? A cemetery?

Imagine the Lord speaking to you. “Can these bones live?”

I imagine our answer would be the same as Ezekiel’s: “O Lord God, only you know that.”

God, I tried. The relationship is gone, I don’t work there anymore, she died. In human terms, we’ve passed the point of no return. God, only you know if there’s any chance at reconciliation. Only you know if I’ll feel my life has meaning again. Only you know if I’ll ever know joy.

God didn’t put his arm around Ezekiel’s’ shoulder and say, “There, there. I know you’re hurting.” God didn’t say, “Let me fix this for you.” God said, “Prophesy to the bones.” Do something. Get up and take the next step.

Jesus wept. John 11:35 comes with no embellishment. Jesus was moved to tears by his friend’s death and Martha’s and Mary’s pain. The Gospels record few scenes of Jesus crying.  He didn’t embrace Mary and Martha and go to their house to mourn with them and their guests.

He knew he could do something. He could take the next step – even if by bringing Lazarus back to life, it would seal his fate with the Jewish authorities. Healing a blind man had caused enough stir. Bringing a man back from the dead … he had no doubt Jewish leaders would deem him an intolerable threat to their control. If he brought a man back from four days in the grave, it would be his final healing act.

“Where have you laid him?”

Each of our readings this week has a tipping point: Ezekiel’s prophecy, Paul’s life vs. death comparison, Lazarus’ stone. Each of our own stories has a tipping point, too. We either can surrender to our hopelessness, or take a step toward hope.

“Take away the stone,” Jesus said, stepping away from his own life, and into hope for the world.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Not the life in some world to come. Not the future resurrection Martha understood, but a present tense resurrection and life, starting whenever we take the first step in faith, out of hopelessness into hope. Believing is not a magical cure. Believing won’t bring someone back to life. Nor will it restore a broken relationship or make a former employer rehire you.

But it does promise that a resurrection and new life is waiting if you step into it – the life that you are being called to live. Something different. Your next new thing.

Two final notes – this passage brings me back to my youth group at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, singing “I Am the Resurrection (clap) and the Life (clap, clap, clap, clap).” It also was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar because of its simple chords. Maybe you remember it. Lyrics and chords below. If you’ve never heard it, there’s a YouTube link.

And Lazarus led me to another shorter reflection that follows today’s gospel (You always are welcome to respond with your thoughts and reflections in the comments section at the bottom of the blog post.).

Faith App: What keeps you dry and dead, removed from new life in Christ? What words can you speak to yourself or someone near you that would resurrect them? Try “I love you,” “I hear you” or “I forgive you.”

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

I Am the Bread of Life, ELW 485

The Word of God Is Source and Seed, ELW 506

Out of the Depths I Cry to You, ELW 600

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy, ELW 587/588

Neither Death nor Life, ELW 622

Seed That in Earth Is Dying, ELW 330

Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery, ELW 334

God, When Human Bonds Are Broken, ELW 603

Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, ELW 886

Jesus Lives, My Sure Defense, ELW 621

Abide with Me, ELW 629

Come Alive, Lauren Daigle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuCLqoxigNA)  Here is the story behind this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih3ui9QkedQ

Oh My Soul, Casting Crowns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn5aq54yu8A)  (Here is the story behind this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BPNLi1TPXE   

Sky Spills Over, Michael W. Smith 

Bones, Hillsong United

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again, Danny Gokey

My Hope Is In You, Aaron Shust

I Am the Resurrection and the Life, Ray Repp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXVg3K9YFAw)

(A)I Am the (Em)resurrection,

(A)And the (Em)Life;

(C)He who be(D)lieves in me

Will (C)never (A)die!

I Am the (Em)resurrection,

(A)And the (Em)Life;

(C)He who be(D)lieves in me

Will (C)live a new (A)life.

1. I have (G)come to (D)bring the (A)truth.

I have (G)come to (D)bring you (A)life.

If you (G)be(D)lieve then (C)you shall (A)live!

(chorus)

2. In my word all men shall come to know

It is love which makes the spirit grow.

If you believe then you shall live!

(chorus)

3. Keep in mind the things which I have said.

Remember me in the breaking of the bread.

If you believe then you shall live!

(chorus x2)

LESSONS

Ezekiel 37:1-14 “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”

Psalm 130 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!

Romans 8:6-11 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.

John 11:1-45 “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Summary of the Lessons: Today’s lessons begin at the point of no return – where many people have given up hope. But for those living in the Spirit, whose hope is in the Lord, there is no place God’s love can’t reach. How do you answer the questions from today’s texts: Mortal, can these bones live? Do you believe this?

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 130

L:  I’ve hit rock bottom, it’s the middle of the night,

C:  My body wracked with sobbing, lost in my pain.

L:  Please listen, Lord, even when I have no words,

C:  Only my heart cries – my desperate, empty need.

L:  If you are tallying the ways I’ve failed you,

C:  I’m a lost cause, not worth the air I breathe.

L:  But you don’t remember the wrong I’ve done,

C:  Because of your kindness, Lord, I adore you.

L:  My hope is secure – Yes, Lord, I believe!

C:  I trust in your word; my soul waits on you –

L:  More than the fearful wait for dawn to break,

C:  More than the lost yearn for rescuers to come.

L:  O people of God, don’t lose hope in the Lord,

C:  Infinite in compassion, and eternal in love.

CONFESSION

L:  Lord, we understand all too well how it feels to lose hope;

C:  This world’s despair and division leave us deeply disturbed.

L:  Can these dry bones come to life? O Lord, only you know.

C:  Bring us out of our tombs, unbind us now and let us go.

L:  Lord, we’ve seen the bodies of people waiting for the grave;

C:  Lonely, empty shells, waiting for a breath of purpose and joy.

L:  Can these dry bones come to life? O Lord, only you know.

C:  Help us restore the light within them until they come alive.

L:  Lord, we know the stench of communities rattled by unrest;

C:  Waiting for a day when their children will live without fear.

L:  Can these dry bones come to life? O Lord, only you know.

C:  Teach us your forgiving ways, and help us share your peace.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … we wait and rest in the hope of your promises. But it is an empty, lifeless waiting if we aren’t Spirit-filled bearers of your love and light to a world in need. Move us deeply with compassion for the hurting, the lonely and the hopeless, so that we demonstrate your new life every day.

Here is Good News: Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. This is our promise of life everlasting, that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Your sins are forgiven, and you are unbound from everything that keeps you from this new life.

In the name of…

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C: God of Resurrection … life surrounds us with obstacles that drain our joy and deplete our hope. Be with us, we pray, reminding us that you are with us always, your Spirit giving new life to the dry bones of our defeats and despair. Help us remember that your new life is not a someday promise, but as close as your invitation to come alive this day.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the restoration of hope in this bread, the new life in this cup.  Through this meal, you breathe us back to life with your Spirit, and restore us as your resurrection people. Send us now to live this life as a gift, our actions as signs of your kingdom coming in this world. Amen. 

SENDING

L:  Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

C:  And we say, “Yes, Lord, we believe.”

L:  Today, tomorrow and to the last day,

C:  We are God’s people, always being made new.

L: Go now, alive and unbound, to love and to serve the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God!

First Reading Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The Lord gives the prophet Ezekiel a vision to take back to the people of God in exile in the sixth century B.C. You are living a nightmare of death and torture under the Babylonians, but don’t lose hope. The Lord will breathe Israel back to life.

The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.”

Second Reading Romans 8:6-11 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Paul continues to explain to the church at Rome what following Jesus and living as a Christian requires. It is more than a belief or making good choices. People living in the Spirit actually allow Christ’s Spirit to live through them.

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Gospel John 11:1-45 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Today’s reading in John’s gospel is the final turning point for Jesus. After many signs that have raised the Jewish leaders’ concern, Jesus’ action today will lead directly to the cross.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

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

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So 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?”

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Reflection 2: Alive, but not Unbound

"Unbind him, and let him go."

 

What happened to Lazarus next? Have you wondered what the ongoing story of Lazarus looked like after Jesus called him to life, and the Jewish leaders started plotting to put Jesus to death and possibly Lazarus as well? If he wasn’t killed, did Lazarus forever have to live with the whispers and finger-pointing ... "There, he’s the one who was dead." Perhaps after a while, the novelty wore off and Lazarus may have wished he never came to life again.

Today, I spoke to another Lazarus.

The man has had one tragic episode after another in his life. A severely abusive father. A serious car wreck. An industrial accident. Cancer.

He would like to financially provide for his wife, but one thing or another has stopped him. His injuries prevent him from doing physical labor. His PTSD is a barrier to anything stressful. The gaps in his work record due to medical treatments cause him to be rejected from most other jobs he could do.

I hear the echoes of Lazarus in his voice: I’m alive, but I can’t really live. It’s like I’m still bound in my grave cloths and no one will set me free.

He’s not the only one – I hear echoes of Lazarus every day:

• Freed from his tomb at the Department of Corrections, but bound by his felony record.
• Freed from her tomb of a wrong-gendered body, but bound by legal costs of record changes.
• Freed from his tomb of alcohol or drug addiction, but bound by a track record of job changes.
• Freed from her tomb of an abusive marriage, but bound by no job history and the high cost of child care.
• Freed from his tomb of a life-threatening illness, but bound by income restrictions in order to keep Medicare/Medicaid.

Alive, but still bound. Like shadows of their former selves. Sometimes wishing that they were dead. Certainly not living the abundant life that God meant for us to live.

It’s great to give food to the hungry and give some money to the guy on the street corner, but they are back at the food bank or the corner tomorrow. It doesn't set them free.

What if we really followed Jesus’ instructions to unbind the dead? What if we acted in Jesus’ name and committed to putting people who can work into living-wage jobs to give them new life? Would a more just world be the way we could show the glory of God, bringing the kingdom come into our world today?