Jesus and Lazarus
Lent 5A – Byron Tindall
This event in the life of Jesus as reported by St. John is one of the better-known episodes of his life to Christians today. John must have thought it was very important as he devoted 45 verses to it. For example, in the next chapter of John, Jesus once again visits Mary, Martha and Lazarus. On this occasion, Mary anoints Jesus with a pound of costly perfume. John allots eight verses at the beginning of Chapter 12 to this episode.
It has long puzzled me as to why St. John is the only evangelist to record the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Luke does mention the relationship between Jesus and the siblings.
In Luke 10:38-41, we read, “Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’”
Granted, there is no mention of Lazarus, the brother, in this citation from Luke, but I firmly believe it is the same Mary and Martha.
There is not a single mention of this family group by Matthew or Mark.
Back to the Gospel According to St. John.
By this time, Jesus had already alienated the Jewish elite.
In John 10:22-31, we read, “At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’ The Jews took up stones again to stone him.”
Is it any wonder as to why the disciples were not gung-ho about returning to Judea much less Jerusalem?
As an aside, all the options for the Gospel lessons in the Burial Office are taken from the Gospel of John. One of the selections is a portion of the Gospel lesson for today.
Why Jesus waited four days to go to Bethany is puzzling to some. It was believed in that day that the soul hovered around the body for three days in case the individual was not actually dead. By the fourth day, if the person were dead, decomposition of the body would already have begun, thus Martha’s comment about the smell that would emanate from the tomb if the stone were removed.
We’re all familiar with the outcome of the event that is the Gospel lesson for today. I don’t want to spend time talking about that, but rather I want to backtrack for a moment to Ash Wednesday.
In the invitation at the beginning of the liturgy, the Celebrant or Minister appointed addresses the congregation saying, among other things, “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word….”
The thing that really jumped out and grabbed me comes from near the end of the Gospel lesson taken from St. John for today.
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.’”
During this, the last part of Lent, what can we discover about ourselves that needs to be unbound so we can be let go?
Is it the pursuit of fame, fortune, power, acceptance? Is there a compulsion or obsession or addiction that has you wrapped up in its hold? Does pride, hatred, or prejudice prevent you from becoming what God intends you to be?
It most certainly isn’t a pleasant task to get out of our comfort zone and try to find the traits that have us bound up so that we can identify and then confront them, and with God’s help, overcome them.
Right about now, some of you may be thinking something along the lines of, “What about God’s unconditional love we keep hearing about from the pulpit?”
Yes, the concept of God’s unconditional love says that God loves each and every one of us totally and completely unconditionally even with all our warts and all the dirty laundry we all bring to the table. And that love extends not only to us humans, but also to the minutest part of God’s creation. But that love comes with responsibilities.
Once we accept that concept of God’s love for all of creation, we must be watchful for the things we do or don’t do that hinder the advancement of God’s kingdom.
As I’ve said before, our relationship to God is two dimensional. The vertical part is our direct contact or dealing with God through our worship, prayer, contemplation, etc. The horizontal portion is how we relate to or deal with the rest of God’s creation. If either the vertical or horizontal is fractured, our relationship with God is incomplete and needs to be repaired.
Taking a page from Godly Play, I wonder… I wonder what would happen if all the residents of Pickens County decided to abandon the individual pursuits of their goals and aspirations and decided to eradicate hunger in the county? I wonder what would happen if that movement spread across the world. Would there be no more people starving to death?
I wonder how it would be if the leaders of the world decided it was high time to respect the dignity of every human being. I wonder what it would be like if there were no more wars to decimate the youth of the world.
I wonder if the politicians and their followers will ever decide to sit down and talk with each other rather than throwing mud and accusing each other of trying to eliminate the other? Would we be a kinder nation?
Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”