Lent 5A
Most
of us, when we think about this morning’s Gospel reading, will remember it as
the story of the raising of Lazarus. After all, that is the most spectacular
part of the story. A man, dead for four days, wrapped in cloth and laid in a
tomb is called forth from the tomb by Jesus, unbound by his friends and
neighbors, and lives. That is one heck
of a story. And, for most of us, it is a story that leads us to a single
question, “Did it really happen?” It’s
only logical to ask, I think, because most – if not all – of us, wonder about
the resurrection, wonder, more specifically, about life after death. For whatever reason, even for those of us who
can get our heads around the mind-blowing idea that Jesus who was laid
to rest in a tomb after his crucifixion was raised up on the third day, still
stumble a bit when it comes to this story about Lazarus. But sometimes the questions we struggle with
the most are the ones that ultimately we must live with the longest; because
neither I nor anyone else I know of, has an answer for whether or not this
event actually took place as it is described in John’s Gospel.
What
we do know is that in the middle of
today’s story, Jesus offers a promise: “Those who believe in me, even though
they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”[1]
And he ends this promise with a question: “Do you believe this?”[2] Jesus asks this question of Martha; but I
believe it is a question for all of us today.
During
the season of Lent we have been and continue to prepare for the renewal of our
baptismal vows at the Great Vigil of Easter.
It has been and continues to be a season in which we turn away from the
powers of sin and death and turn to Jesus Christ as our only Lord and
Savior. Each Sunday we have begun our worship
with a time of confession which begins with Scott’s invitation to
“ask God to bring to
light the things now hidden in darkness, and to disclose to us the secret
purpose of our hearts. And most especially, let us remember the covenant of our
baptism and test our hearts and conscience to know how faithfully we have
fulfilled our baptismal vows.”[3]
And when
we do, in fact, renew those vows at the vigil, the first questions we will be
asked to respond to are questions of belief: “Do you believe in God the
Father?,” “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?” and “Do you believe
in God the Holy Spirit?.”[4]
They are the question that Jesus asks Martha – do you believe this? And at the time of our baptism and every time
we renew those promises, we answer, “I believe. . . I believe. . . I believe. .
.”[5] And those statements of belief require us to
take a leap of faith each and every day. To paraphrase the Choristers’ prayer –
a leap of faith that asks God to grant that what we may say “with our lips, we
may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth
in our lives.”[6]
It is a prayer that acknowledges both
the ongoing work of believing and the importance of living out of that faith in
our daily living.
The
Rev. Broderick Greer, Curate at Grace-St Luke’s Episcopal Church and School in
Memphis, published an article this week called, “How Ferguson and Michael Brown
Helped Me Understand My Baptismal Vows.”
In it he describes his understanding of baptism as the root of his desire
to go to Ferguson in August 2014 immediately after Michael Brown’s death. Greer describes the desire for justice which
he encountered in the men and women who were protesting alongside him to be the
very same justice that is called forth from our baptism – a justice that
demands our “participation in a cosmic drama that comes to bear in the here and
now, especially among people experiencing life’s many crucifixions and
resurrections.”[7] And this article reminded me of our passage
today. It reminded me of the brief
exchange that Jesus has with the disciples before they travel to Judea. The disciples say to Jesus, “you can’t be
serious about going to Judea. Don’t you remember, last time we were there, they
tried to stone you?” But Jesus insists
on going. Thomas, one of the disciples,
then says to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”[8] Thomas understands the risk; although it is
unclear at this point if he truly understands the nature of the death Jesus
will die. Thomas understands the risk;
but, perhaps also understands that the risk is what discipleship demands. Going into the places where God’s people are
experiencing life’s crucifixions. Little
does Thomas know that he is about to experience life’s resurrection as
well. But, my point and the point Greer makes
in his article is this: “Baptism is not
a ‘get out of jail free’ card. It is the ticket that gets us in trouble in the
first place.”[9]
Just
a few verses before our reading begins this morning, John’s Gospel says,
[Jesus] went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been
baptizing earlier, and he remained there.”
In order to return to Judea – to be with Mary and Martha and to raise
Lazarus from the dead - Jesus and his disciples cross the Jordan River
again. This is an important detail. Jesus is baptized in the river Jordan. And his baptism leads him into life’s
crucifixions and resurrections. In this
case, his own. Because the raising of
Lazarus – a resurrection in its own right - is, according to John’s gospel, the
reason that the High Priest and the
Council give for putting Jesus to death.
Jesus’ baptism is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card. It is the ticket
that gets him in trouble in the first place.
When
you and I are baptized – we profess our belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ,
the Son of God and God the Holy Spirit.
And in that profession of belief we ready ourselves for the trouble to
come. We ready ourselves to participate
in the cosmic drama that comes to bear in the here and now, especially among
people experiencing life’s many crucifixions and resurrections.
- We ready ourselves and
walk right into the trouble that comes when we “persevere in resisting evil” by
standing with our city officials and police officers in Evanston who uphold the
City of Evanston as a sanctuary city even when, especially when, Attorney
General Jeff Sessions just this week renewed his threat “to cut off U.S.
Justice Department grants to cities that fail to assist federal immigration
authorities.”[10]
- We ready ourselves and
we participate in the cosmic drama when we “proclaim by word and example the
Good News of God in Christ” by putting food on the table for hungry neighbors
or opening our doors to several addiction recovery groups each week.
- We ready ourselves and
walk right into the trouble that comes when we “seek and serve Christ in all
persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves” by learning how to be “upstanders”
in the community through practicing the 5 D’s of directing, distracting,
delegating, delaying and documenting – training and role-playing practice will
take place this Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church here in
Evanston
- We ready ourselves and we participate in the cosmic drama whenever we “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being”[11] whenever we stand up for those who are oppressed in our community, our nation or the world.
[1]
John 11:25b-26a.
[2]
John 11:26b.
[3]
from “Sample ‘Gathering of the Community’ for Lent,” Becoming the Story We Tell: Renewing Our Engagement with Christ Crucifiedand Risen, p. 28.
[4]
BCP, 292-3.
[5]
Ibid.
[6]
“The Choristers’ Prayer,” Spirit of Saint
Andrew’s,accessed March 30, 2017.
[7]
Broderick L. Greer, “How Ferguson and Michael Brown Helped Me Understand MyBaptismal Vows,” America: The Jesuit
Review, March 29, 2017, accessed March 30, 2017.
[8]
John 11:16.
[9]
Greer.
[10] Julia Edwards Ainsley and Andy Sullivan, “U.S. Attorney General Escalates Pressure on‘Sanctuary’ Cities,” Sojourners, March 28, 2017, accessed March 30, 2017.
[10] Julia Edwards Ainsley and Andy Sullivan, “U.S. Attorney General Escalates Pressure on‘Sanctuary’ Cities,” Sojourners, March 28, 2017, accessed March 30, 2017.
[11]
BCP, 293-4.
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