I emphasize the word extremely. John is, of course, the odd gospel out from the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The synoptic gospels all relate the teachings and stories of Jesus in relative agreement. Not so with John. For example, the gospel lessons of the past three weeks, Nicodemus, Woman the Well and the Blind Man's healing provide many odd specifics that can lead to thinking this is something beyond a simple account of what happened when these people encountered Jesus.
At the same time each of these accounts emphasize that neither the practical nor profound aspects of what is told can stand alone, or is even useful, if the other aspect is ignored. Mary, my wife, reminded me of this. She said "Keep in mind these are all events in Jesus' life.".
During the last year or so I’ve come to know and understand more and more the profound this-worldliness of Christianity. The Christian is not a homo religiosus, but simply a man, as Jesus was a man. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Yes. It is too easy to lose the events in Jesus' life while contemplating his divinity in John's language that is so extraordinarily rich in meaning. It is not an accident that last Sunday's blog entry delved into music and poetry. If it is not poetry, the speech in John's gospel is certainly elevated and churchy. The words become charged, with something unexpected often tossed in the middle of the action.
Today's Gospel, John 11:1-45, is a case in point. The story builds in suspense to a clearly climatic, profound moment Jesus where he says "Take away the stone". Martha, in a just-a-minute moment, interrupts with a practical concern "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days". Is this a bathetic moment of comedy? Or perhaps this is a terrible, beware-of-what-is-wished-for reminder of consequences. For me, this is an unvarnished, truly predictable reaction to a totally unprecedented event. Something is happening and you don't know what it is. People's responses will not be thought out or appropriately timed.
If not in relative agreement with the other gospels, this account agrees in structure with the past three weeks of gospel readings in John. People, particularly Jesus, talk past one another. Here Jesus says to Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha replies, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live; and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She says yes, but notice what she says she believes: “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” Jesus' words and actions are ambivalent as well. He confirms he has the power to raise Lazarus to life but he also stops to mourn, “Jesus began to weep.” (John 11:35). Even he, “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), acts from the profound loss death brings. Death works against life. Death works against God’s deepest will for God’s people.
So Jesus weeps.
I love Jesus throughout scripture. When I read John's account though, particularly here, I am not sure I would choose to be his traveling companion, nor am I drawn to what we have to focus on. Jesus displays an arrogance that is rarely shown in the gospels except in John. He does not respond to the sisters' message about Lazarus' illness. He talks to the disciples about the glory of God and the Son of God with no apparent concern for the pain the sisters will suffer while he stays where he is for two days.
He also is pushy. He says to the disciples "Let us go to Judea again" He speaks in riddles about light, instead of giving them reassurances or a practical reasons why they must go. Jesus also disregards their concerns about his and their safety.
Now, speaking to the writer of the account, this is what really stinks on the surface for many readers - Lazarus does not say a word in the story. One who can speak to the question of life after physical death, to a miracle of being brought back and nothing is recorded. What is there to say?
In her sermon Pastor Michelle asked who we identified with in the story both as individuals and as a congregation:
"So, I wonder: Are you in a place of grief, having lost someone or something dear?… Like Lazarus’s family and friends, has your heartache been deepened by a feeling of distance from God— by a cry from the depths of your soul, “Lord, if you’d been here, this wouldn’t have happened!?…”
Or, are you perhaps perched on the threshold of a miracle, trembling with joy and fear, because you’ve glimpsed a vision that holds the potential to change your life and the lives of everyone around you?…
Or, are you standing in stunned and silent awe on the other side of that miracle, basking in the glow of resurrection possibility? Are you ready to receive Christ’s invitation to play your part in unbinding others and setting them free?…"
I'm tempted to include the whole sermon, even though you can follow the link. Instead I will include her perspective on the Creator community at this time:
"It seems to me that in one sense you, the people of Creator Lutheran Church, are standing on the threshold of a miracle: You’re getting ready to call a new pastor, and the prospect is both exciting and scary - in much the same way that the resurrection of Lazarus must’ve been both exciting and scary for those who witnessed it!
Like the people who watched Lazarus or like Lazarus himself, stumbling out of the cave, you may be thinking,“Whoa! What on earth is happening?! And where is this going?… How will life be different for us, as we unbind the trappings of our past and find ourselves set free for an exciting, yet unsettling future?…”
In another sense it seems to me that you, the people of Creator Lutheran Church, are already standing on the other side of God’s miracle of resurrection life, ready to accept Christ’s invitation to play your part in unbinding others and setting them free.
As I look back over the past few months, I can see how the Spirit of God has been at work stirring you up to new life and a renewed sense of vision and identity. For example, signs of new life have been springing up in your creative ministry with youth and young adults…. Creator members are also working with the local Sanctuary Cohort cultivating caring relationships and gathering resources to help us unbind and set free neighbors who fear for their lives and their children’s lives….
And yet for me the real epiphany moment came during the recent town hall meeting, where we were discussing the relatively simple question of whether to list Creator as part the Convergence network of progressive congregations. Someone said, “Why don’t we just go all in and join the network? Isn’t that who we are?!” Everyone sat up a little straighter and said, “Yeah! Let’s do this!” And I shook my head, grinned, and said to myself, “Wow! What just happened here?!…”"
Pastor Michelle wasn't the only one grinning. That was an epiphany for Creator propelled by our community, rather than individuals, and now it is time to be getting on and playing our part in God's messy miracles.
No comments:
Post a Comment