I am posting devotions that I have created for my Parish in Yankton, South Dakota because, as so many places of worship around the world have done, we have had to close our doors for the foreseeable future. These devotions utilize elements of our parishes prayer book, portions of the lectionary assigned for the Sunday the devotion is written for. I am offering them here, to those readers of this blog around the world. God's blessings on all of you.
THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT*
John 11:1-45
A HOMILETIC STUDY AND REFLECTION ON THE LESSON
By Norm Wright
+In the Name of our loving, life-giving God+
Study
The Gospel of John, like much of scripture in the Holy Bible, presents us with stories that address multiple concerns of the time in which they were written. Consequently, they contain layers of application and meaning. While the Holy Bible appears to give us a linear history; starting with the Book of Genesis and ending with the Book of Revelation, the actual history of when the various books of the Bible were being written tells us that it does not present a historical narrative as we understand such narratives today.
As mentioned in last week’s study, the Gospel of John is presented as an in-house Gospel written for Jewish Christians who were being thrown out of their synagogues, leaving them feeling deprived of their identity and heritage as God’s Chosen People.
Given this situation, the writers of this Gospel literally rewrite the creation story in John 1; identifying the creative power of God as the Word by which the whole of creation came into being. In John 1’s narrative, the proclamation is made “to all who received (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” [John 1:12-13] This proclamation literarily cuts the proverbial cord between Judaism and Christianity; serving as a declaration of independence, allowing Jewish Christians and everyone else to identify themselves solely as Christian and nothing else.
The overall purpose of the Gospel of John is to establish as a self-evident TRUTH that Jesus of Nazareth is The Word Made Flesh and The Resurrected Christ of God. As such, it is not purpose of this Gospel to provide a historical account of Jesus’s life and ministry. Along with the backstory of this Gospel, the author develops a new field of theology known as Christology - the study of Christ. As a work of Christology, this Gospel can be viewed as an initiation manual for catechists; helping them to work their way through what is defined in our Eucharistic liturgy as “the Mystery of Faith.”
Apart from the book of Revelation, also attributed to same author, this Gospel presents us with coded messaging that utilizes numerology, astrology, and other arcane literary devices associated with the mystery religions of that era, much in the same way that people who send text messages today utilize emojis as coded language. This particular lesson serves as a transition point in which the author of this Gospel presents Jesus revealing, “I am the Resurrection and the Life” which introduces one to a deeper study of its meaning as found in Jesus’ supper discourse that begins in John 13 and extends through John 17.
This transitional lesson employs familiar characters first identified in the Gospel of Luke; Mary, Martha (See Luke 10:38-42), and Lazarus whose name pops up in one of Jesus’ parables, “The Rich Man and Lazarus.” (See Luke 16:19-31) It may be that Mary and Martha had a brother named Lazarus, but it is in the realm of probability that the author of John melds Jesus’ parable of the poor man named Lazarus, who dies and whose spirit ascends to the bosom of Abraham, with the story of Mary and Martha found in Luke to create this resurrection story.
The surface story in this lesson presents conundrums. Some of these conundrums are explained away; such as, why Jesus waited two days to go to Lazarus when he knew Lazarus was sick and on his deathbed. Another conundrum is that Lazarus, in being allowed to die, is brought back to life only to face dying again in a more tragic way as suggested in John 12:10. This conundrum places Jesus in a somewhat cruel and capricious light.
As shocking as this suggestion may appear, caprice was used in mythic stories of that era to demonstrate the inscrutable nature and powers of the divine. Caprice is used for the same purpose in Scripture to describe the inscrutable nature of God as notably depicted in the story of Job. A theological conundrum that is presented in stories where someone is brought back to life is that they conflict with Hebrews 9:27 where it says, “It is appointed for man, once to die.”
Events that pose conundrums in Scripture readily identifies those events as being parabolic; that is, using a surface story to address or describe something other than the surface story itself. Today’s lesson, as a parabolic story about Jesus, allows one to explore its richness and various applications without having to make sense of it as a historical event and trying to wrap one’s mind around all the conundrums the surface story offers.
Just as the blind man in last Sunday’s lesson served as an iconic representation of the Christian Jews’ plight at being denied access to the synagogue, Lazarus dying and being raised to life serves as an iconic representation of their sense of loss. Lazarus’ dying is also a representation of the experience a new catechist will go through as he or she transitions to new life through baptism.
Jesus makes some conflicting claims in this story; such as, “This illness does not lead to death… so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” and then clearly stating a few sentences later, “Lazarus is dead.” It is difficult what to make of these two incongruent statements. Given the back story to John, the first statement may be a message saying that what the people in these Jewish communities are feeling (their depression and sadness) is not going to lead to their demise as communities of faith. It may also be a way of comforting recent converts to Christianity who had experienced the loss of family and friends in their accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior by implying their loss will lead to God in Christ Jesus being glorified. The comment “Lazarus is dead,” indicates, in both interpretive applications, that their former way of life has passed.
The disciples in this story warn Jesus it is too dangerous to return to Judea; that returning was putting himself and, by extension, was putting them at risk. Jesus assures them that as long as he is with them there is daylight (a reference to Jesus being the Light of the Word.) [Note: The fear of the disciples and the concern of Mary and Martha bring to mind what one of my professors pointed out during a course on Christology; that in the Gospel of John, Jesus (metaphorically speaking) is depicted walking at least a foot above ground as Jesus is portrayed throughout this Gospel (unlike the Synoptic Gospels) as knowing when something will happen, why it will happen, and how it will happen; thus the normal concerns of others is only a concern for Jesus because he is concerned with their being concerned.] As such, Jesus constantly reassures his follower that while he is with them there is nothing to fear because daylight exists wherever he goes.
In an odd moment, Thomas (of doubting fame) says ,“Let us go that we may die with him.” On the surface it is not exactly clear if Thomas is referring to Jesus (a foreshadowing of Jesus’s death) or Lazarus. Regardless of who is being referenced, what this comment presents is an invitation to death; as in, death to one’s self. In this sense Lazarus represents those who are “chosen” to die with Christ (become Christian) that they may be raised with Christ, just as Jesus chose to let Lazarus die in order to raise him to new life.
Mary and Martha serve as emblematic characters of faith in both the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John clearly is banking off of Luke’s depiction of them in the way they approach Jesus and in how Jesus responds to both. Martha comes to Jesus and confronts him for having delayed his coming at their most desperate time of need. Note that she does so reverently, acknowledging who Jesus is and accepting his decision in doing so after a small conversation about the resurrection in which Jesus proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life… .”
Then it is Mary’s turn to approach Jesus. She also questions Jesus’ delay, but we see in their meeting the affinity between Mary and Jesus that was established in Luke. When Mary approaches Jesus, she kneels at his feet (the posture of prayer) and is weeping along with “the Jews” (a reference that wouldn’t have been lost on the early Christian Jews) who are also weeping over their sense of loss.
Martha presents a pragmatic faith. She is the faithful doer; a hands-on follower of Jesus. Give this faithful doer a cause and she will not stop until it is accomplished with grit and determination. Mary, on the other hand, presents an intuitive faith that readily absorbs what Jesus teaches, which led Jesus, in Luke’s Gospel, to proclaim Mary as having “the better part.” Notice how Jesus does not have to explain anything to her. Mary exemplifies a heart-felt faith that accepts the will of God in all things, as expressed by her tears. In turn, Jesus demonstrates a sympathetic response by weeping with her and all who weep.
It at this point that Jesus approaches the tomb (answers their questioning prayers) and demands that the stone is removed from its entrance of Lazarus’ tomb. It is at this point the ever-pragmatic Martha points out that there will be a smell because Lazarus has been dead for four days. The author of John is leaving no room for doubt that Lazarus is completely dead.
Jesus offers a prayer of thanksgiving to God in which Jesus states that he personally didn’t need to pray (because in giving God glory, he is also glorifying himself) but rather that his praying is a display of showmanship done for the benefit of those around him. [Note: One of the oddest characteristics in the Gospel of John is that when people are asking a question, Jesus frequently responds by answering the question they should have asked, instead of the question being asked.] Here Jesus is demonstrating a prayer of thanksgiving that those who are witnessing this event should be offering and suggesting they soon will be offering. This presentation of Jesus glorifying himself was likely used to instruct a catechist to give glory and thanks to God in all things, just as Jesus did.
Lazarus, emerging from the tomb wrapped in strips of cloth, signifies that being called by Jesus does not immediately result in completion to new life; that there is a process of stripping off one’s old self. Just as receiving physical sight by the blind man in last Sunday’s Gospel lesson did not give him the ability to immediately recognize Jesus as the one who healed him and needed to be informed, Lazarus must be released by those who follow the commandments of Jesus. This is a reference for the leaders of the local church to assist a catechist by releasing the catechist from her or his old self into new life with Christ. Some early baptismal practices literally involved stripping off the old clothing a catechist wore (to the point of the catechist’s birthday suit) immediately before baptism and putting on new clothing (a white robe) once the newly baptized emerged. As a lesson for those catechists being brought into the church, this story represents a dying to their past so that they can be resurrected and experience rebirth in Christ “by water and the Spirit” through baptism. [See John 3]
REFLECTION
This lesson provides one of the most richly crafted and cryptic stories in the New Testament. The message that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life within the context of today’s lesson and in the context of our present world tells us that there is no amount of time, no amount of distance, and not even death itself serves as a barrier denying access to and from God in Christ Jesus. [See Romans 8:37-39]
In this time of dealing with a pandemic we, like those early Judaic and Christian communities, are experiencing the loss of the geographical centers of our spiritual life and worship, as the doors to our houses of worship need to be locked for a time.
Like Mary and Martha we may ask, “Where was Jesus when this virus started making people deathly ill? Like those early Judeo-Christian communities, who witnessed the destruction of their way of life we may ask, “Why is God allowing something like this to happen?”
This pandemic is quickly proving to be a way-of-life changer for all of us. In times of crisis, life is revealed as paradoxical, in which all things and their opposites are shown to exist and come into play simultaneously. The answer to the ontological question, why things such as this pandemic happen is the paradoxical response given to why anything exists, “That’s life.”
This is not to say that God in Christ does not get involved in this paradoxical world of ours. In truth, paradox is a sign of Christ’s presence. The cross and the tomb are symbols of paradox; showing us that just as in life there is death, so life comes from death. Things are bound to change and in every change there is an element of death that may result in feelings of loss or feelings of release. This element of death permits us to see new life brought about by change.
When God created the earth we live on and formed human life from its clay, God said it was very good. In times such as these, it is beneficial to keep in mind that God has never given up on our fundamental goodness and neither should we. It is also important that we, who have faith and trust in God’s goodness, exhibit this faith by caring for one another and for all in need.
It is also beneficial to keep in mind that this pandemic is not God’s way of punishing wrongdoing, as some who call themselves Christian are likely to do, and placing blame on their perception of who is Godless and, by extension, blaming God who is the creator of all that is.
Please, for the sake of Christ, don’t go there and don’t let others take your there.
God in Christ Jesus made it perfectly clear that is not how God operates, as Jesus said in Matthew 5, “For (our heavenly Father) makes the sun to shine on the evil and good and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.”
As this imposed social fast continues, it is important to share our frustrations and feelings with Jesus; not to blame God but to seek God, and like Martha and Mary to accept the answers that we are given, even when they don’t appear to satisfy the questions being asked.
Faith in God’s goodness through good times and in bad; through times of plenty and in times of want has proven throughout the history of the church and in the lives of people everywhere to be a source of strength and resilience that allows us to endure the changes we face and the ability to work through the conundrums life presents.
With God’s help, we can step back and see the bigger picture in which all things, by God’s grace, work for the good of all.
Christ Jesus, The Resurrection and the Life, is with us now and always!
So let us draw near to the Lord of Life.
Let us look to the cross of the One who showed us that from death comes life.
Let us look to the One who came and who comes that we may have life and have it abundantly.
Let us draw near to the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
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