To Live and Die With Jesus

John 12:9-19

There is an interesting point made in our reading from John gospel today concerning Lazarus. We have not traveled far in the story since Jesus brought his friend back to life, calling him out of the tomb. Now we read, "When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus" (John 12:9-11). These few verses serve to remind us that to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to embrace life, but it is also to risk death. Jesus had raised Lazarus, now because of that very relationship there were others who wished to kill the brother of Mary and Martha.

Jesus, who offers eternal life, makes clear that following him also means taking up the cross, denying oneself, looking beyond the present and toward the time to come. Lazarus embodies this dichotomy and in John’s passage in particular he stands as a physical reminder of what Jesus is saying. Life in this world is transitory; death remains a constant feature. And while a relationship with the Son of God is eternal and everlasting it comes at a cost, the willingness to let go of our own desires and to trust the plan that God is bringing to fruition.

Lazarus had become a target because of his relationship with Jesus. Where do we stand? Are we happy to be healed and comforted by the Lord while shunning the weightier expectations of the gospel? Or are we willing to walk with Jesus despite the cost? At this point in John, Lazarus seems to have made a decision. I wonder if we would do the same?

Prayer: Lord, help us to follow you throughout our lives and to live according to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Meaning of Cloth

John 11:30-44

The story of the raising of Lazarus reaches its crescendo in the final verses of today’s reading. “When [Jesus] 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’” (John 11:43-44). Here is what I find most interesting in these verses: Jesus has just healed his friend Lazarus from death—so to speak—by raising him and releasing him from his tomb. But Lazarus is still “bound with strips of cloth” and his face is still “wrapped in a cloth.” So Jesus tells those who were there to “Unbind him, and let him go.” Why is it necessary for John to mention the cloth that binds Lazarus? Is it really important to the story?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that, even though he’s been raised, Lazarus must return to living his earthly life. Yes, Jesus has freed him from the tomb, but Lazarus must now go back to the day-to-day circumstances that challenge all of us, and to do so he’s going to need his hands and his feet and his head to be unwrapped. Even after Jesus has raised him Lazarus will still face death and the resurrection that will follow because Lazarus is still human. There is another place in John’s gospel where cloth is used at the time of death. After Jesus’ resurrection John tells us that Peter “went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself” (20:6-7). This is a subtle signal to us. The resurrected Jesus did not need to be unbound or let go in the manner that a healed Lazarus did. The cloth, set aside as it was, tells us that something entirely different has happened here. Jesus is now beyond death and is no longer constrained by human life as we know it. Indeed, he is our hope and our confidence for all that awaits us.

So there is meaning to be found in the presence of cloth in John’s gospel. Those who believe can look forward to a new sense of freedom in the resurrection, a new life unbound, one no longer hindered by all that faces us in this life.

Prayer: O God, we offer our thanks and praise to you this day for all that you promise to us in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Undeniable?

Habakkuk 2:1-4, 9-20
Luke 16:19-31
“(Abraham) said to (the rich man), ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’” (Luke 16:31). These words, spoken by Jesus, make clear the connection between his ministry and the words of prophets like Habakkuk. On the one hand the Hebrew Bible—what we commonly refer to as the Old Testament—was the only scripture that Jesus and the early church had. It guided their lives and helped their understanding of God. But listen again to what Jesus says: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” Isn’t Jesus really talking about himself here? Is he not pointing ahead to the resurrection and the fact that afterwards many will remain dubious of the gospel? If this is what Jesus is saying—and I’ve got to believe it is—then the connection between him and the prophets is airtight.

Nothing that Jesus does or says should come as a surprise to anyone who takes the prophetic writings seriously. Jesus may represent God’s will in unexpected ways, but he remains truly faithful to God’s word though out. “(T)he earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,” writes Habakkuk (2:14). In his ministry Jesus did just that, filling the world with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. Even the image of the waters is appropriate as Jesus established the sacrament of baptism as a mark of belonging to God. “Look at the proud!” Habakkuk says. “Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith” (v. 4). Over and over again Jesus makes this same statement. How else could the wealthy man be brought low even as a poor beggar like Lazarus resides with Abraham in eternity (Luke 16:19-31)? How else could the tax collector be justified before God instead of the Pharisee (18:9-14)? How else could Mary, the mother of Jesus, rejoice in God lifting up the poor and hungry (1:46-55)?

If we aren’t willing to hear the words of the prophets and take them to heart, if we aren’t willing to live according to their view of a just and righteous society, if we aren’t willing to give up our greed and instead turn to those in need with generous hearts, then what difference will the resurrection really make in our lives? The proud may assume it is within their own power to determine their fate, says Habakkuk, but only those who begin by trusting faithfully in God called righteous.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live as your people, hearing your word and responding in faithful obedience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

"Unbind Him and Let Him Go"

Acts 15:12-21
John 11:30-44
In the readings for today from Acts and from John we find Jesus and James making similar statements though in much different situations. In Acts, James concludes the discussion in Jerusalem about how to include gentile Christians—those who have not converted from Judaism—into the church. He cites some very specific prohibitions, based in large part on their universality. Furthermore, he says, for centuries these words have been read aloud on the Sabbath in every city, meaning that it is not unreasonable that even gentiles would have heard them and recognized their value (Acts 15:21). In doing this, James frees gentiles Christians from other proscriptions of the law, like circumcision. Unbound now, in a way, these believers are free to live as full participants in the life of the community.

When Lazarus responds to Jesus call to come out of the tomb he is still dressed as a corpse for burial, that is, with hands and feet bound and his face covered with a sheet. “Unbind him and let him go,” Jesus says to the bystanders (John 11:44). And in doing so Jesus frees Lazarus from the snare of death—for a while—and sets him free to live as God intends him to live.

How do these words apply to you and me? First of all, like the gentile believers and Lazarus, too, we have been freed from the bonds that have clung tightly to us, so tightly that we can hardly move nor see where we are going. And secondly, in light of our salvation we are now free to live as new beings—like the new Christians that the gentiles became, and with the newness of life that Lazarus had before him. In the film “V For Vendetta” much is made of the fact that once one has stepped close to death there is no longer a need to fear it. I would suggest that for Lazarus, at least, once one has stepped so closely to new life there is no need to fear life or death any longer. In Jesus Christ we, like Lazarus and the gentile converts before us, have been unbound and set free.

Prayer: Lord, many things weigh us down and cause us to stumble. Help us to let go of all that binds us, and help us to become the people you have created us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.