Reading for Lent 5C: John 11:1-44
March 17, 2002
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
If you open up the daily newspaper, you can read endless stories about pain and suffering. There seems to be conflict in almost every corner of the world. There are multiple problems concerning health, economics, social justice, and concerns for the environment. Just when we think a new generation of people have reached a higher level of consciousness and that things will get better, war and destruction break out and we realize that we are back to square one. History repeats itself, human beings continue to be alienated from each other, and sin raises its ugly head. Confronted with this reality, we often ask ourselves: "What are we to do?"
Is there a power that operates in this world that can transform life as we know it now? Can new possibilities arise out of the ashes of destruction and despair? Can fear, alienation, and woundedness be healed into love, health, and wholeness? Today's readings from the Holy Scriptures say "Absolutely YES. With God all things are possible!" But in order for the human race to be transformed, we must first re-orient ourselves towards God and turn away from our unconscious responses of fear, anger, and blame.
Today I would like to focus on the reading from the gospel of John. In particular, I want to focus on Jesus' last words to the crowd after the raising of Lazarus: "Unbind him and let him go." What are the things in our lives that bind us, limit us, and prevent us from truly living and giving? Are we (like Lazarus) in a tomb and if so, what is the nature of our tomb? In what sense does God come to the dead areas of our experience and call us to come out? And who are the people who have tried to unbind us and let us go free? This is the subject of today's sermon.
The gospel of John can be difficult to understand. If you read this gospel carefully, you will notice it is very different from the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The purpose of the gospel of John is clearly stated in Chapter 20: "[This gospel is] written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name." In other words, Jesus provides access to and an understanding of God in ways that never before were possible. Jesus pointed the way to God and said if you want to know the pathway to the ultimate truth, and fullness of life, then come follow me. But, we are not meant to be mere spectators of Jesus. Instead, we are to become like Christ. And in that metamorphosis, allow our lives to be transformed such that we become the people that God created us to be. Once transformed, we can truly enjoy the life that God has given us.
During the season of Lent, the gospel of John is often assigned. So far during this Lent, we have heard the story of Nicodemus whom Jesus said must be born again. We then heard the story of the woman at the well and how Jesus compared himself to living water that never runs dry. Last week we heard the story of the man born blind and how through his relationship with Jesus, he was able to see again. And now today, we read the story of the Raising of Lazarus, his release from the tomb, and his subsequent unbinding and being set free.
Now, you can read these stories on many levels because that is how the gospel of John is written. You can read these stories from an historical perspective, believing that with God all things are possible. You can read these stories metaphorically, exploring the depths of the symbols of new life, new sight, living water, and new consciousness. You can read these stories literally, as do many engineers and scientists. But in their literal reading of Scripture, they can't get beyond the printed words and thus often discount the miracle stories altogether. This is a shame because if they would only allow themselves to rise above the literal words and enter into a deeper reality of the spiritual world, they would be able to perceive and be empowered by the universal principles of healing and possibilities that operate in creation. Let's take a closer look at today's story.
Jesus is hanging out with his disciples across the Jordan River. He is staying clear of Jerusalem because the last time he was there, the religious authorities tried to stone him. He learns of Lazarus' death and decides to return to Bethany which is about two miles outside of Jerusalem. In making this decision, Jesus knows that he is putting his life in danger. By the time he gets to Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days. Now to our knowledge, there was only one place were Jesus was totally relaxed and at home. It was in Bethany, at the house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Lazarus is now dead and Jesus has to deal with the grief of his friends as well as his own grief.
Before he gets into Bethany, Martha runs out to meet him. Instead of saying, "I am so glad you are here. I have been in so much grief that my heart is breaking. You must be hurting too," she points the finger and says: "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." Now after this encounter, Martha's sister Mary comes running up to him and repeats the same fearful accusation: "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." Often times when we are hurt or frightened or frustrated, we strike out at others with anger or blame. We often verbally abuse those whom we love the most. This is not a rational response. Rather it is an unconscious response; a response that comes from a fragile emotional life that is wounded and is in need of healing. Blame is easy because we all know what it is like to fail. And if we feel blameworthy ourselves, we like to enlist company, to point out other's failings.
Anyway, Jesus is not pulled into the blame game. Instead, he goes to the tomb of Lazarus and begins to mourn the loss of his friend. Now supposedly Martha and Mary believe Jesus has the power to breathe new life into death. However, when he asks that the stone be rolled away from Lazarus' tomb, Martha protests and says: "No way, it stinks in there!" I think Martha reflects a tendency in all of us. We have trouble overcoming our conventional belief system. We resist new possibilities even if those new possibilities can be life enhancing. We are often our worst enemies in keeping ourselves locked up in a tomb, refusing to embrace life in all its goodness and beauty. We refuse to work on those areas in our lives that keep us imprisoned. And then when someone comes along who can unbind us and set us free, we often ignore them or resist their help because we don't want to deal with the pain or uncertainty of change. We don't want to risk failure just in case it doesn't work.
Finally Jesus prays to God, Lazarus is raised from the dead, and Jesus says: "Unbind him and let him go." What are the things in our own lives that bind us, limit us, and prevent us from truly living and giving? While in some parts of the world it is hunger, poverty, or an oppressive political regime, for middle class Americans it tends to be a fragile emotional life. As I have been saying in my Lenten Program (see www.saintjudes.org), our needs for affection, security, power, and self-esteem are great. When these needs are not met, we experience a frustrated emotion. These frustrated emotions have been recorded in the unconscious since birth and begin to take on a life of their own. So instead of responding to difficult situations from a rational place, our emotions take over and we unconsciously react with anger, blame, fear, and resistance. Thus, we are unable to live in the present moment, making healthy, holy, and rational decisions based on God's will. Instead, this fragile emotional life controls us, hurts others, and results in an alienated society. That is why the world is so screwed up. What are we to do?
With God all things are possible. This is what is emphasized in today's readings. In God, there is a power of grace and healing that can do infinitely more than we can ever ask or imagine. It is a power that is stronger than our own ego strength; a power that can heal our fragile emotional life, transform who we are, and make all creation new. Jesus showed us this power. It is known by many names: the bread of life, the resurrection, the living water, the spirit of rebirth, eternal life. It is this power of God that can unbind and set us free so that we can truly live and give. But it requires a decision on our part. We can be like Martha and resist this unbelievable power of God and remain "stinking" in our tombs. Or, we can embrace the good news in Christ which can unbind us and set us free. It is this choice that the gospel of St. John offers us today.
| Updated 3/17/02 |
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