A lifetime and beyond

 Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 11:1-45

Today’s readings from Ezekiel and John are filled with emotions, especially grief. The book of Ezekiel was written during the Babylonian Exile, in the 500s BCE. The Babylonians had conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah and deported most of the people to Babylon, 1,000 miles to the east. Their land, their temple, and their monarchy have all been lost to them. They are in an existential and theological crisis. They are grieving. Psalm 137 puts it this way:

¹ By the rivers of Babylon—/ there we sat down, and there we wept
    when we remembered Zion.
² On the willows there / we hung up our harps.
³ For there our captors / asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 

⁴ How could we sing the Lord’s song/ in a foreign land?

The Jews were in Babylon for about 50 years, two or three generations worth of time. Most had forgotten their homeland by the time they were able to return home. To help them remember God in this time, the Prophet Ezekiel brought them multimedia presentations.

For example: Ezekiel took a brick and made a model of Jerusalem after the destruction with it. He then lay in the public square on his left side with the model of Jerusalem on his body for 390 days—portraying 390 years of the house of Israel’s guilt. He then lay on his right side for 40 days bearing the house of Judah’s guilt.

The text for today is a vision Ezekiel shares with the people. He sees the bones of those who died defending Jerusalem lying together in a valley, picked clean by scavenging animals, baked in the sun, totally dried out and dead. Then these bones are gathered together, muscles and tissue and skin are added. They look human once again, but they are still dead. When God breathes into them, they come to life.

God then explains the vision, offering hope for Ezekiel to share with the people. There will come a time when they are restored to their homeland.

… The story of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary is a more personal one. Jesus knows this family well, perhaps staying in their home when he is in Jerusalem. Their home was in Bethany, an easy walk to the city. The text calls Lazarus the one Jesus loves, so he must be a very close friend.

So, why did he stay away when he got the report that Lazarus was gravely ill? Could it be because he was concerned about those who planned to stone him? Could it be because he was actually waiting for Lazarus to die? Was that Plan A? Probably!

Jesus said, it was to glorify God. It’s hard for us today to see how the death of any person glorifies God. At Lazarus’ tomb, the one Jesus loves has been dead for four days, time enough for any lingering spirits to leave. He is really dead, a stinking, rotting corpse. This can be no trick, no magic is possible at this stage.

Martha and Mary both yell out their frustration. “If you had been here!” Who among us has not cried the same thing? We yell at God for letting our loved ones get sick, or die in an accident. We want God to change the circumstances of our lives to what we want or need, or to prevent disaster in the first place.

They arrive at the tomb, and Jesus begins to weep. He knows that he is about to resuscitate Lazarus, yet he cries. Why does he cry? It could be because he sympathizes with Martha and Mary and those around them. It could also be his own sense of loss at that moment.

Soon, he calls out to Lazarus, “Come out!” Lazarus is resuscitated, and he will die again some day. He will soon be a target for the Jewish leaders, who increased their desire to get rid of Jesus. Eventually, he died again to be raised again in the resurrection.

… The first 11 chapters of John’s gospel give us stories and signs about Jesus’ identity. Over the last four Sundays we have read about Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night. He was puzzled about being born again and didn’t understand that Jesus was talking about spiritual renewal.

We read about Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well in Samaria. Jesus didn’t judge her for her many relationships with men, and offered her living water, eternal life in relationship with God. Such life comes bubbling up without the need for a physical well.

Last week we read about the healing of the man who was blind. They struggled to believe that blindness is not the result of sin, and it was frustrating that so many people refused to believe that Jesus could heal him. Jesus introduced himself to the healed man as the Son of Man. There was also a suggestion that those who believe they are not blind are probably not seeing the whole picture.

Today’s story about Lazarus, Martha, and Mary is about us, how we love each other and grieve when one of us hurts. It’s about the about the power of God, evident in Jesus, to conquer death. It’s a parallel to the rest of John’s gospel, the rest of the story, a foretaste of the good things to come for those who believe, who drink in the water of life and faith. The story points to the resurrection of Jesus, after the sad, painful last week and the crucifixion.

Both stories remind us that God is never finished with us. Even when we feel that we are as dead and gone as the bones in the valley, God shows up to give us hope and a reason to keep believing. Even when our loved ones have died, or we ourselves are preparing to die, we have the hope and promise of life beyond death.

Jesus is God-with-skin-on, the incarnation of the Divine. We know from Jesus/God’s own words how much God loves us, cares for and about us. Eternal life is a relationship with God that lasts a lifetime and beyond. It’s good news worth sharing, with new folks as well as with those who need to hear it again and again, like you and me, today. Amen