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
Sky Spills Over,
Michael W. Smith
Bones,
Hillsong United
Tell Your Heart to Beat Again, Danny Gokey
My Hope Is In You, Aaron Shust
(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?
