“Lazarus Come Out!”

March 29, 2020

John 11:1-45; The Death of Lazarus

 

I have often wondered what it must have been like…

For Lazarus.

What it must have been like to be so sick, laying in his bed and hoping to see Jesus, not only because he was a friend, but also because Lazarus knew that Jesus…who had become known for healing others, may also be able to save him from this illness.

But still Jesus did not come, and Lazarus faded…

His sisters, Mary and Martha, were caring for him, spending their days in his sick room, praying for his recovery, and then, perhaps, for his comfort.

They too were hoping for Jesus to come and help, but were also disappointed.

We can only wonder what it must have been like for Lazarus, as he finally lost the battle with his illness, the light of this world slowly growing more distant until hope of healing was out of reach.

And still Jesus had not come to help.

We don’t have to imagine how Martha felt when Jesus finally arrived, but was far too late to help.

We can almost hear it in her voice when she tells him “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died…”

But Jesus had his reasons for the delay, as he told his disciples a few days earlier “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory”.

Still and all, the loss of his friend did not feel good for him either.

This is why the Gospel tells us that “Jesus wept” at the loss of his friend.

In this moment, we can find ourselves weeping with him.

Then, we are also made a part of the joy experienced when Jesus called “Lazarus come out!” and the man staggered from the darkness of death and back into the light.

However, we have to wonder what it was like for Lazarus to return, to come back from the dead and its mysteries?

We wonder what those four days in the darkness were like, and what it did to him.

Many people who are in Recovery from Addiction to drugs or alcohol will say that they know what it is like to be in Hell, because that is where they addictions took them.

Finding Sobriety can be like coming back to life, returning from the dead and walking back into the light.

Yet this journey is not an easy one, because recovery does not bring us back to where we were, but takes us to a new place, and we have to learn a whole new way to live!

Perhaps Lazarus could have understood this.

After he was raised, his old life was out of reach, it no longer existed for him…

He had to find a new way to live his life.

The change must have been immediate, as how do you come back from the dead and not have even those you are closest to treat you differently?

And there was more, as the next chapter of John tells us that the same people who would soon be nailing Jesus to the cross also wanted to kill Lazarus.

They wanted to make sure he stayed this time, so that proof of Jesus’ miracle was not just walking around for all to see, so Lazarus ran away.

Jesus had given him a great gift, and he did not want it to be taken away from him so quickly.

According to one tradition, Lazarus fled to Cyprus, where he eventually met with the Apostle Paul, who appointed him Bishop in the newly formed church, responsible for sharing the good news of God’s love, as given through Christ…

A message he knew well, having received it in person from Jesus, as he was called back to life.

Yet, the trauma of his death and return must have weighed heavily on Lazarus…

Today, he would probably be diagnosed with PTSD…because, why not?

Being brought back from the day has got to be traumatic!

Tradition also tells us that after he came back, Lazarus seldom smiled or laughed. Instead, he remained taciturn, withdrawn and serious.

But he also became known for his piety, devotion to shepherding the church, and to helping all those in need. It was believed that this new life of service was inspired by what he had seen while in the land of the dead for those four days.

Trauma is something that many of us can relate to.

Most of us have known sorrow and suffering that has changed who we are, or has changed the lives of those we love…and now we are sharing another time of trial…together!

What all of us are going through will change our lives, because we can never go back to where we were before the virus hit, we are different people, just like a person in recovery from addiction…

Just like Lazarus.

While I do not believe that it is ever God’s Will for us to suffer, as Jesus pointed out, sometimes suffering can help bring out the best in us.

How we face this trauma can show the world what it means to be followers of Christ, to truly walk in his footsteps.

These times can make us stronger people, stronger in faith, and stronger in love and compassion for each other. Facing these challenges can also lead us to find reconciliation at a time when it seems as if many have been trying to pull us father apart.

We can find unity in having gone through a common trial, one that transcends all of our differences: politics, religion or race.

And we need to rely upon each other to get through this, and then to move beyond the virus and into a new life, because we can never go back…but that is okay, because when Jesus raised up Lazarus, he did not call upon him to back to his old life, but to a new one…a true gift of love.

The same new life promised to all of us in his resurrection on Easter morning, when Jesus himself stepped out of the darkness and into the light of a new day.

This promise was given to all of us on that early morning, as Christ came to change the world with the good news of God’s love for all people…a message we are all called to share together.

We share this message by caring for each other, and supporting each other, for wherever this message is shared, we inspire hope in each other.

Hope, that is sorely needed…not only today, in the midst of this crisis, but for the world that we will be moving into…together.

For this too shall pass…and we will all find recovery as we are all called back into the light to proclaim that God’s love still shines brightly!

 

A depiction of St. Lazarus

Jesus and The Blind Man

 

March 22, 2020

John 9:1-41; Jesus Heals the Blind Man

Lent has become a very real for us this year…

Not only are we following Jesus as he journeys towards the cross, we may be feeling as if we are actually making that journey ourselves…

We are experiencing things that most of us never thought we’d see…not outside of a movie or a TV show.

During this season, we have found ourselves living with uncertainty and anxiety, in danger of getting lost in the darkness that comes with the fear of the unknown.

Searching for meaning, seeking the light…when all we want is for things to go back to normal.

When we are not even be sure what ‘normal’ means any more.

For the blind man in today’s gospel, the darkness was normal, it was all he knew…to be healed was something he could hardly imagine.

Then, Jesus came along and changed everything…

He gave the blind man sight, for the first time ever, and gave him a new ‘normal’.

We may read of this miracle and think that the blind man’s life was great after Jesus restored his sight, but healing is not always easy, while the blind man was given a miracle, it came with a price: lots of questions and accusations, and a lot to get used to, as his life would never be the same again.

He had to learn a whole new way to live, as he could never go back to the life he knew.

A few years ago, while walking out to my car, I slipped and fell on the ice, and I shattered my elbow!

This left me with pins and a plate in my elbow, which led to a long and painful recovery. After a couple of weeks of healing, I started Physical Therapy. It was not fun, but with a lot of help, I was able to regain about 90% of the use of my arm.

I got better, but things did not go back to the way they were before the accident, I simply had to get used to a new normal.

Today, we too are moving towards our own new ‘normal’ and the journey between here and there will not be an easy one.

It will be difficult and painful for so many…

But with each other’s help, we will find healing; however, our lives will never be the same.

While this too shall pass, it will leave a scar.

Just as I did after my accident, and like the blind man in the Gospel, we too will need to adjust to our new lives, and we may find ourselves in mourning for what we have lost:

A job, a lifestyle, a relationship or perhaps, sadly, we may even find ourselves mourning people who have fallen victim to the virus.

Or to the fear it inspires.

And this is where faith comes in, for this is a gift that can carry us through all the changes and challenges that we will face on our way to healing.

For faith, especially when shared, enables us to face our fears, and speaks to our anxiety, as it is the good news of God’s gracious love, which surrounds and supports us always…

It is this gift that inspires to keep moving forward, giving us hope for the future, assuring us that our world can never grow so dark that the light of God’s love cannot reach us.

This is Jesus’ promise, a promise given when he told those questioning him about the miracle, and also told us, that he is the light of the world…

The true light of God’s love, given for us all…the light that we are called to share together, until it grows so strong that there is no darkness left.

The light that gives us hope on our own journey…

For it is the same light that shines forth from the empty tomb, a light that remind us that for every season of Lent, there is an Easter.

We Thirst

March 15, 2020; The 3^rd Sunday in Lent

John 4:5-42: Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.

There’s an old reggae song that goes like this:

“You never miss your water, till your well runs dry /Tell me, tell me, whatcha gonna do when your well runs dry?”

Today, we may all be feeling a bit like our wells have run dry…

Not only are many of the grocery store shelves empty, but we too may be feeling kind of empty, and more than a little afraid.

Most of us have never seen days like this, the last major pandemic to go through the area happened 102 years ago, in 1918, and while we may have heard stories from grandparents or great grandparents, no one alive today has first-hand experience to share with us.

These strange days have left many of us feeling thirsty…

In need of some comfort, some support…

Thirsty for hope, something to hold on to.

In our Gospel today, we find a thirsty Jesus asking for help from an unusual source: a Samaritan woman, who had also come to get a drink.

Now, Samaritans and Jews were not supposed to get along, they treated each other with suspicion and only talked to each other when absolutely necessary.

Sharing a drink of water, would have been unheard of…because they were from such different groups, with a tradition of animosity.

The Jews considered Samaritans unclean, and would avoid them whenever possible…

But here is Jesus, asking a Samaritan woman for a drink of water, asking her for help!

Jesus was thirsty, and that thirst was greater than any prejudice he was told that he was supposed to harbor towards this woman.

The woman was also thirsty, not just for water, but for meaning and for hope!

The hope that can be found in the water of eternal life which Jesus promised her!

Today, we may be feeling just a bit afraid…and we are thirsty for comfort and reassurance, as we are facing much uncertainty…

And we are kept on edge with each announcement, report, social media posting, and news broadcast.

We are told to practice social distancing, to stay home, wash our hands, and not to touch each other, or even our own faces!

It is understandable that we would want to withdraw, to take all we can for ourselves and our families and hide behind closed doors until this danger has passed.

We are at a crucial moment: when we can widen the divisions between us, making this every person for themselves…

Or we can seek to follow the example of Jesus, and of the woman at the well.

Today, instead of putting up walls, we can put aside those things that keep us divided, and reach out to help each other with compassion and hope.

We can offer each other support, because we are all in this together…and because this is what Jesus calls us to do.

But, how do we offer each other care and support while ‘social distancing’?

How do we quench this thirst for comfort and hope if we cannot get together share these gifts?

If we cannot join for worship and fellowship?

In 1918 when events were cancelled and church services suspended, the people still had a strong sense of community…

If a house was under quarantine, neighbors would leave food and letters on doorsteps, hold conversations though closed doors or windows, and other similar acts of kindness.

Today, we can do many of these same things, but we have something that our ancestors did not have during the last great pandemic, we have the ability to text, skype and Instagram, to IM, and to stay connected in ways they would have never dreamed of…

We can also be more considerate of others, by not taking more for ourselves than needed, by getting supplies for the older folks who may be reluctant or unable to get out to search the sparse shelves for themselves.

We can slack our great thirst for hope, for the water of life, by sharing the unconditional love of God, through showing compassion for each other.

Today, we may be feeling frustrated and afraid…uncertain about what comes next.

We may even be feeling alone and lost…

But in today’s Gospel, we are told that we are never alone, and never so lost that God’s love cannot find us…

For God’s love is with us whenever we share the water offered by Jesus to the woman and the well, and given to each of us in the Resurrection!

This water gives us hope when all seems bleak, it sustains us as we grow weary as we face the trials of life: the strife and discord that can divide us, worries about money, work, family, relationships, addiction and of course…disease.

And where this water is shared, there is reconciliation, as our brokenness begins to heal, and we remember that we are all part of the family of God…

Being part of God’s family means that we are all invited to drink from the well of hope that will never run dry.

Hope that can calm our fears and quench the deepest thirst.

Amen

The Storm This Time

It was coming for us, and there was nothing we could do to stop it.

We watched on the news and the Weather Channel as it wound its way ever closer, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. We knew it was going to be a major storm, but no one knew how bad it was going to be. Every expert had a prediction, but the only thing they could agree upon was that it was going to be a direct hit, and there was nothing we could do about it!

And, as if often the case, this uncertainty bred panic!

Many headed to the supermarkets to clear them out of bread, milk and eggs. People also stocked up on batteries, bottled water, toilet paper and paper towels. Some set up generators and others armed themselves, afraid that life after the hurricane would become dangerous!

Most of us did what we could, to limit the potential for damage, cleaning up our yards, putting away loose items, cutting down dead branches, and securing our windows and doors…and praying that we would make it through the storm okay.

When it hit, Hurricane Sandy was bad, the winds whipped through the streets, the rain came down in torrents. Trees came down, basements flooded, and we were without power for a few days, but it could have been worse! Some lost power for weeks, and people at the Jersey Shore lost homes, and others lost their lives.

After the storm, something amazing happened: we all pulled together to help each other recover from the disaster.

Sometimes this help was simple, like donating to a charity or helping a neighbor clean their yard, or cut up a fallen tree. Meals were shared, as were generators, and people came together to repair rooves, windows and walls.

After the storm, the panic was forgotten, and we did what we do best: come together in the face of a crisis, putting aside our differences, to ensure that we are all lifted up from the debris, able to move forward into whatever comes next.

 In faith that no matter what trials we face, we never have to face them alone.

We can weather the current storm in the same way, not by panicking, but by coming together to support and care for each other…to see each other through the storm, no matter how bad it may be.