Thoughts from St. Andrew's Episcopal Church • Birmingham, AL

Friday, April 12, 2019

Old Testament: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-13
Psalm 95, 22 * 141, 143:1-11(12)
Epistle: Romans 11:13-24
Gospel: John 11:11-27 or 12:1-10
The Raising of Lazarus: John 11 1-27
Recently I came across a tombstone with the following inscription written on it: “If love could have saved you, you would have lived for ever.” This sentiment touched me profoundly, for I knew that the young man whose grave this was had had a sad and troubled history that ultimately led him to take his own life. In today’s reading from John’s gospel, and his alone, we read the account of the death of Lazareth of Bethany. Knowing that their brother was dying, his sisters, Mary and Martha, early followers of Jesus, sent for Jesus, in the belief that he could save their brother. After all, they had witnessed many of the miracles that Jesus had already performed. So, consequently, they felt certain that Jesus could save their brother. But, alas, by the time that Jesus arrived at the house of Mary and Martha, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. Like any grieving family members, Mary and Martha express their profound sense of loss and disappointment, especially believing that if only Jesus had been there, their brother would not have died. What follows is a profound revelation, in which Jesus reveals his two natures: the human and the divine. He reveals his human nature by showing his profound loss at the death of his friend Lazareth. His reaction to Lazareth’s death comes in the shortest verse in the New Testament: “Jesus wept.” But Jesus also manifests his divine nature by raising Lazareth from the grave. By this miracle, Jesus turns the notion of life and death on its head. Here Jesus is also foreshadowing his own death and resurrection. When we think of all of the pain and suffering that Jesus went through at the time of his own crucifixion and death, and the fear and trepidation his disciples felt, once the master had gone to the grave, we can understand how Mary and Martha must have felt at the death of their brother. But, as in the case of Lazarus, Jesus does not remain in the tomb. Instead, Jesus fulfills his and the Father’s salvitic plan by trampling down death and overcoming the grave. And, Jesus assures us, as he did with Mary and Martha, that those who believe in him, even if they die, they shall live forever. So, unlike us mortal creatures, no amount of our love can save us or those whom we love. But those who believe in Christ, though they were dead, yet shall they live and have eternal life. Thanks be to God.

Richard Thames