“The Raising of Lazarus” – Giotto di Bondone (1304-1306)
The extraordinary events in today’s gospel, which have a particular resonance right now because they deal with illness and death, happened so that the disciples of Jesus would come to believe that Jesus is truly the light of the world, the one coming into the world to save the world.
In the gospel, Jesus brings a dead man, Lazarus, out of the tomb where his body has been laid, so that the crowd who witnesses this miracle will see and hear and come to believe that God is the one who has sent Jesus into the world.
When Jesus tells the disciples two days after getting the news of the illness of Lazarus that he intends to go to Judea, the disciples discourage him. Judea is a dangerous place now for Jesus, because his enemies are waiting for him to show up so that they can stone him.
But Jesus explains that he wants to go to Lazarus because he wants the disciples to believe that he, Jesus, is truly the light of the world. Thomas listens to this explanation and encourages the other disciples to go along, so that, as Thomas puts it, “we may die with him–”, a great show of loyalty for sure.
But in his commentary on John’s gospel, Francis Moloney points out that Thomas misses the point. This mission which Jesus is about to undertake is about life, not death. Jesus knows what lies ahead for the disciples, and he wants them to know how to walk in his light.
We disciples are living in a time of anxiety in which we seem to be staring straight into the face of death. And we can stand more securely in this deathly place when we remember that Jesus is the light of the world and that our job is to live in that light.
Here’s one way to live in the light of Jesus, based on the number one thing on a list that Brooke Anderson, a photo journalist in San Francisco, developed when she found herself anxious because she was spending too much time watching the news. She calls this list her Daily Quarantine List.
First on Brooke’s list is to ask herself each day—“What am I grateful for today?”
When we ask ourselves each day what we are grateful for and then give thanks to Jesus, we remember that God is always providing new life for us in endless and creative ways.
So instead of this time of quarantine and social distancing being about avoiding death, instead, it can be about searching out and finding the new life that God has in store for us during this uncertainty. This quarantine may be giving us the the time to be extra grateful for the life-giving things that we sometimes took for granted before the pandemic, and for our current blessings.
I am so grateful that we (the people at St Peter’s) have one another. Not being able to gather in person has made me grateful for the fact that we are still bound together as the body of Christ even as we are, for now, physically separated. I’m grateful for the fact that while we are apart the wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing new life into the ways we are getting together. As frustrating as the technology cliff is to me, I’m so grateful for the fact that we can see one another face to face through applications like Zoom. I see new life beginning in how we can use the things we’re learning when we return to worship together. We will have discovered some new ways to share our belief In Jesus as the light of the world.
And I’m so very grateful that we are part of the Church around the world. I’m grateful for the direction of our bishop, grateful for the beautiful worship services made available daily by the Washington National Cathedral, grateful that I have the time to “go” to these services every day, grateful that we could get together for Bible study on Zoom this week, grateful to the Presiding Bishop and the Pope for praying the Lord’s Prayer in response to the pandemic, grateful for the Lord’s prayer—yes, one gratitude leads to another, and the light of Jesus gets brighter and brighter.
As we let the brightness of Jesus in through our gratitude, that brightness can help burn away our anxieties.
Taking a gratitude walk each day and being intentional about walking in the light will lower our anxieties. Walking with Jesus and living in his light helps us to carry his light into the world.
Back to the gospel now, Martha hears that Jesus has gotten close to Bethany so she goes out to meet him. She and Jesus have a conversation in which she says to Jesus that if he had been there, her brother would not have died. And when Jesus says that He is the resurrection and the light, Martha says that she knows that Lazarus will rise on the last day.
Jesus is standing right in front of Martha and says 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.” But Martha misses the impact of what he is saying to her because she’s so caught up in what might have happened, and what is yet to happen.
Martha is living in the past and waiting on the future and is missing the present.
A lot of unhappy anxieties are based on looking back and regretting the past and wishing you could change it. And then there’s living so focused on what is ahead that you miss the present.
Jesus is right with us in this present moment. Jesus is our life and our resurrection, right now, especially in the middle of this crisis. And when we know Jesus as the resurrection and the life here and now, we are living a new life right now. We don’t have to wait to die for that resurrection life. The Holy Spirit fills us with resurrection life—right now even as death seems to be surrounding us.
So let’s embrace this present moment, knowing that Jesus is right here with us, filling us with resurrection love and light right now.
We can spend more time with Jesus—in prayer and in study of his word, and in trying to live as children of the light, giving Jesus the opportunity to be more fully present in our lives.
Meister Echkart, a German mystic who lived in the 12th century, wrote words that carry special power in this 21st century, when we are bombarded by words and voices 24 hours a day through endless news cycles and social media.
Echkart says, that “If anyone else is speaking in the temple of the soul, Jesus keeps still, as if he were not at home…if Jesus is to speak and be heard the soul must be alone and quiet.”
Echkart reminds us to listen for the voice of Jesus, and to give our souls permission to be alone and quiet within ourselves and to make space for Jesus.
When we make space in our temples of the soul, Jesus can bring us new life, new opportunities, new ideas and visions, and because Jesus is speaking to us in new ways during this time. I wonder what Jesus is going to call out of the stone-cold tomb of our anxieties! Something life giving and wonderful! Something like seeds springing up in our lives like wildflowers that suddenly blossom after a destructive wildfire.
After all, death will not ever have the last word.
You’ve probably heard various interpretations of why Jesus was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved and wept when the people said, “Come and see where we’ve laid Lazarus.” The people in the story thought that Jesus was weeping because he loved Lazarus so much and was grieving over his death. Or maybe Jesus is looking ahead to his own death. Maybe he’s weeping because he feels such empathy for Mary and the other mourners. Or maybe he’s weeping because he feels so powerless. Maybe all these reasons contributed to his weeping.
For me, Gail R. O’Day’s explanation about why Jesus was so deeply moved and why he wept makes the most sense. In her book, The Word Disclosed: Preaching the Gospel of John, O’ Day turns to the wisdom of John Chrysostom, an early church father, who says that Jesus is angry and distressed over the power of death in the world.
O’Day says that “the tears of the mourners remind Jesus of how much the battle with death remains to be fought, that even though he is the light of the world, even though he is the resurrection and the life, death remains a formidable enemy.” Death brings devastation. Death has a strong grip. Jesus weeps.
Death still has a strong grip today. An unknown and invisible killer is among us. The news we hear is all about death. Death has got us around the throat and is squeezing tightly.
No wonder we’re angry and distressed. But so is Jesus. Jesus weeps over the ongoing power of death.
But Jesus has power over death. And Jesus calls us, just as he called Lazarus, out of death into life.
If we answer this call to come out of the darkness into the light, Jesus will unbind us from our anxieties and set us free to see him, here with us. Here at the edge of the grave, the light of Jesus drives away the darkness, and lights the way through death into the resurrection life that God’s life giving power is providing for us even now through Jesus, the light of the world.
References:
Mother Nature Network (mnn.com) “6 questions to ask yourself daily for a healthier quarantine mindset” by Mary Jo Dilonardo, March 25, 2020.
Moloney, Francis J. Sacra Pagina Series, Volume 4 The Gospel of John. Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Editor. Collegeville, MN. The Liturgical Press, 1998.
O’ Day, Gail R. The Word Disclosed: Preaching the Gospel of John. “John 11:1-45, pgs 91-116. St Louis, MO, The Chalice Press, 2002.
Eckhart, Meister. “Merchandising Truth,”pgs 107-111, in Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter. Walden, NY. Plough Publishing House, 2003.