Pastor Timo’s sermon,
March 09, 2008
5th Sun in
Lent Gospel: John
11:1-45 Translated by Katja Kupari
Todays gospel is so broad in content that there is material for
several sermons. The focus is on Jesus' miracle; raising Lazarus
from the dead, which also serves as a sign for the upcoming
Easter message, the resurrection of Jesus and of those who
believe in Him.
There’s something else interesting in the gospel, we meet
siblings who are close to Jesus; Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
Martha is the sister who was known as an active and capable
woman, Mary as the attentive disciple who had anointed Jesus’
feet with expensive perfume. Now the siblings, who had such
different personalities were touched by a common concern, the
serious illness of their brother Lazarus. They sent a word to
Jesus for Him to come and heal Lazarus.
What is special about the gospel is that Jesus doesn’t seem to
be in any hurry to return to the family of His friends. On the
surface it almost looks like Jesus delayed His departure
although this was an emergency, a good friend was dying. But
this is where we encounter one of the wisdoms of Gods kingdom;
God has created time, but not urgency. All things do happen
according to Gods schedule after all.
After being notified about Lazarus’ situation, Jesus and His
disciples wait for two more days before beginning their journey
and He does not arrive until Lazarus has been buried for 4 days.
Making the trip to Lazarus and returning to Judea means
overcoming old fears for the disciples, they have experienced
persecution, even death threats, because Jesus’ work was not
well received in the region. Finally the disciples are ready to
begin the journey, in Thomas’ words; "Let us also go, that we
may die with him." John 11:16
After arriving in Bethany, the home town of Lazarus, Jesus is
met by a group of Lazarus’ friends mourning his death. First He
is met by Martha, a woman of deeds, who decisively says,
sounding disappointed: ”if you had been here, my brother would
not have died” John 11:21. Consequently, if Jesus had arrived
in time, Lazarus would have survived. But Martha continues:
”But I know that even now God will give
you whatever you ask." John 11:22.
Maybe we didn’t expect such faith from Martha, she was, after
all, the sibling who had less time to sit and listen to Jesus'
teachings, unlike her sister Mary. But Martha believes now, that
everything is still possible for Jesus, she believes that on the
last day Lazarus will resurrect, she believes that Jesus is
resurrection and life, even when you die.
After meeting with Martha, Jesus is met by Mary. Her first
reaction, too, is like her sisters; "Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died." John 11:32. It looks like
losing Lazarus was especially hard on Mary. When he sees the
reaction of Mary and her mourning friends, evangelist John tells
next how Jesus is deeply moved by their grief and as they arrive
at Lazarus' grave Jesus is crying along with the other mourners.
This is where we see how Jesus, the son of God, real God and
real human, shows His human feelings, how moved He is and His
empathy. Many people notice how dear Lazarus was to Jesus by His
reaction, but many utter their disappointment;” Could not he who
opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
John 11:37
Meeting death is presented in the gospel as a human and
collective event with feelings of disappointment, shock and
grief. At the same time something very special, divine, is
starting to happen in the middle of a deeply human moment. Jesus
has already told His disciples the reason for delaying the trip
to Bethany ”and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that
you may believe.” John 11:14
The reason for everything has been for Lazarus' death to bear
witness of Jesus' divine power of resurrection. Procrastination
was not to drive people to despair but to strengthen their
faith. "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's
glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." John 11:4.
In due course we move to the culmination of the gospel. On his
fourth day in grave Lazarus hears Jesus' call "Lazarus, come
out!" A miracle, that does not take place very often even in the
Bible, happens; someone who is dead is resurrected.
The story of Lazarus is a prelude to what is to come, Easter.
Jesus Himself as the one who atones for the sins of men is
resurrected and defeats the power of death. Resurrection, rising
from the death in this time is a rare miracle and proof, but it
alludes to what is to come; to the resurrection of all the holy,
of those who believe in Jesus. It is this belief that our
Christian faith ultimately is based on, like we say in our
creed.
The message of resurrection gives, then, hope for what is to
come, it wants to encourage all of us to trust that even death
cannot separate us from God and His love. Hope of resurrection
is the anchor of life that allows Christians to abide even when
facing death.
Today’s gospel gives not only eternal hope for the future, but
also encouragement for secular, temporary life. Jesus’ example
of meeting those who mourn conveys empathy that we too can share
with those who mourn. ”Rejoice with
those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15),
Apostle Paul writes.
And although rising from the dead in this time is a special
proof of Gods power and authority, the gospel reminds us that
nothing is impossible for God. He directs and controls our time.
There are times when we may feel like Martha and Mary that God
is procrastinating, that He is not helping in time. We think;
”Lord, if You had been here, if you had been with me, this bad
or difficult thing would not have happened to me". But God
controls time and at times He takes us to a situation where we
see that there is humanely nothing left to do. Looks like things
are going wrong and getting worse, we get disappointed like
Lazarus’ friends and siblings did after waiting for Jesus for
several days. ”If you had been here, if you had answered my
prayers”. But these are the moments that should strengthen our
faith, not discourage it. Though we may give up and become
bitter in times like that, God can still bring us back. Even so,
Gods solution may be much closer than we think, the answer to
Lazarus’ siblings was four days away, the answer to the
disciples mourning Jesus on Golgotha was only three days away,
and even if the answer that we're desperately waiting for was
months or years away, even then we are on Gods schedule. Just
like the American pastor Joel Osteen has put it so well; ”it
isn’t over until God says it’s over”. Therefore; wait and have
faith! Jesus answers, He walks by us and is with us in all
situations.
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