“FROM GRIEVANCE TO GRIEF TO A BIG RELIEF”

JOHN 11:1-6, 17-44

11:1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,

19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus wept.

36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Death is a subject that most of us don’t like to talk about.  You can see that in some of the euphemisms that we use when someone dies; euphemisms like the person expired.  It don’t like that one.  It makes me feel like I’m a carton of cottage cheese.  Somewhere on me there’s a number that says, “Best if used by such and such a date.” There are lots of other euphemisms that we use; euphemisms like the person passed away or the person is now at rest.

Yes, death makes a lot of people uncomfortable.  Although there are a few exceptions here and there.  An elderly man discovered one day that death wasn’t an uncomfortable subject for a few of his relatives.  It happened when is beloved granddaughter climbed up on his lap and made an unusual request.  “Grandpa,” she said, “can you make a noise like a frog?”  The request caught the grandfather by surprise.  So, his granddaughter repeated the request. “Can you make a noise like a frog?” The grandfather chuckled.  “Sweetheart,” he said.  “Why on earth would you want me to make a noise like a frog?”  “Because,” the granddaughter replied. “Last night daddy said that when you croak we can all go to Disney World.”  I’m going to guess that it wasn’t long before the grandfather changed his will.

Death may be a subject that makes us uncomfortable but it is a reality that we all have to face from time to time.  Back in 1989 Robert Fulgham wrote a wonderful little essay called, “Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.”  Maybe you remember it.  In that essay he points out that, “Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we.”

Death is a part of life.  I think that maybe why Jesus didn’t run to Bethany when he learned that Lazarus was gravely ill.  Jesus didn’t run to Bethany even though Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus were among his closest friends.  They were such good friends that Jesus actually stayed at their home from time to time.  Remember how Martha got angry during one of his visits because Mary wasn’t helping her in the kitchen?  It was also at their home that Mary anointed Jesus with that jar of costly perfume.  These people weren’t casual acquaintances.  They were some of his closest friends. 

So, when Jesus learns that Lazarus is gravely ill does he drop everything and rush to his side to heal him?  No.  John says in his gospel that Jesus deliberately waits two days before he announces to his disciples that he’s going to go to Bethany.  By the way, I thought about the possibility that Jesus might have been busy healing and teaching people where he was when he got the news.  He still could have healed Lazarus though.  He could have done it by saying a long distance prayer and healing Lazarus that way.  We know that Jesus was capable of doing that because that’s exactly what he did with a Roman centurion’s servant. When the Roman centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant he says to him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”  The centurion’s faith makes a huge impression on Jesus  who then tells him to return to his home for his servant has been healed.  Now if Jesus did that for a Roman centurion’s servant he certainly could have done it for Lazarus, but he didn’t.

Jesus could have healed Lazarus, but he didn’t.  Martha and Mary also knew that Jesus could have healed their brother.  That’s why they both say the same thing to Jesus when he finally gets to Bethany. “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died.”

As much as we like to picture Jesus as being kind and compassionate there’s no getting around one simple fact.  Jesus let Lazarus die.  Now why would Jesus do that?  The answer is simple.  He did it because he wanted Mary and Martha and everyone else at the tomb to understand that death is an unavoidable part of life.  He also did it because he wanted Mary and Martha and everyone else at the tomb that day to see and know that his love is stronger than death.  Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Then Jesus leaned into the tomb and shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

It’s hard but there are times when you have to let someone or something die. It could be someone you love very much, but there are other deaths that you have to accept as you go through life.  Sometimes you have to let a friendship die or a dream die or a painful memory die. 

Of course, none of this means that you have to be happy when death comes knocking.  After all look at what Jesus did when he got to that tomb. Jesus knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead but he was still deeply moved in spirit by the pain that Lazarus went through and the pain that his sisters were going through.  That’s why John tells us that as Jesus stood there he wept.  That by the way is the shortest verse in the entire Bible.  It’s just two words and those words are Jesus wept. 

So, when you experience a death in your life you can still be sad about it.  You can still be angry about it.  You don’t have to be like the wife who went to the local newspaper after her husband died to put a notice in the obituaries.  The man behind the counter offered his condolences and then asked the wife what she wanted the obituary to say about her husband of 35 years.  The wife thought about it for a minute.  “Well,” she suggested, “just say, ‘Len died.’”  The man behind the counter was shocked.  “That’s it?” he said.  “Surely there must be something more you want to say about your husband.  If money is an issue I can tell you that the first two sentences are free.”  When the wife heard that she brightened up a bit.  “Okay,” she said.  “In that case just put, ‘Len died.  Boat for sale.’”

There’s nothing wrong with being sad or angry when you have to let someone or something in your life die.  At the same time you can’t really live your life if you’re holding on to painful memories or a dream that is never going to happen or a person who you loved very much and still love. 

In his book, Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen shares a story about an encounter that General Robert E. Lee had with woman down in Kentucky who lived in a stately home. Shortly after he arrived at her home the woman showed the General Lee the remains of a grand old tree on her property.  It was obvious the tree held great sentimental value to her. The woman cried as she described how the tree had been destroyed by Union artillery fire.  She expected Lee to sympathize with her and condemn the North for all the atrocities they had committed.  Instead Lee just looked at the tree and quietly said, “Cut it down, my dear madam, and forget it.”

Jesus let Lazarus die, expire or pass away if you prefer.  That dark and dismal tomb though wasn’t the end of the story. When Jesus got there he wept and then he shouted, “Lazarus, come out.”  Jesus brought Lazarus back to life.  When you let someone or something die you can be sure that the good Lord is going to be there to bring new life out of the ashes of your despair.  The good Lord is going to be there to bring new possibilities out of the your tears.  The good Lord is going to be there to bring healing and a stronger you out of your pain.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 9, 2008