March 29, 2020: Light Revealed
Light Revealed
John 11:1-8, 14-35 (38-45)
Rev. Dr. Rhonda Blevins
March 29, 2020
1-7 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”
14-35 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “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 said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep.
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The story of Lazarus begins in darkness.
In fear. In grief.
Lazarus is dead. Four days he’s been in the tomb. His sisters, Mary and Martha, are devastated. Friends have gathered with them in their home, sitting shiva with them. But no Jesus to be found. Four days, and Jesus still hasn’t shown up. In fact, he waits two days after receiving word of Lazarus’ death to make his way to Bethany. No sense of urgency there, as if the peace that passes understanding resides in him.
When Jesus finally shows up, he asks to be taken to the tomb where Lazarus lay. Jesus loves Lazarus and his sisters. And he weeps. The only time in the Gospel of John where we read of Jesus crying. Deep sadness unto tears. Jesus wept.
Lazarus is dead. The tomb is sealed. The story of Lazarus begins in darkness.
Darkness. We all know darkness. “Hello darkness, my old friend,” wrote the young Paul Simon in the iconic song. We all know darkness.
I remember a terrifying darkness. Roughly a month after my family and I moved to Florida, hurricane Irma hit. I remember that night so vividly. We decided to ride out the storm in our new home, so we gathered up supplies, boarded up the windows, and hunkered down in our windowless “safe room.”
The worst of the hurricane came through during the nighttime hours. The winds were fierce and terrifying. We could hear objects hitting the side of our house for hours. Tree limbs? Something more? Will our roof hold? Will my family be safe? Was it a mistake to stay here? Getting zero sleep, my husband and I take turns peeking outside through a crack in the plywood that covered our windows. Complete darkness. It’s weird. It’s terrifying. We can’t call the first responders—they’re in this thing too. We’re all in this together.
And then the power grid went down. Darkness prevailed. For days.
I don’t like the darkness. But truth be told, without the darkness, we can’t appreciate the light.
Our world is experiencing great darkness these days. I don’t have to tell you that. We find ourselves . . . in fear, in grief. We’re riding out a great storm, hunkered down in our homes wondering how long it will last and how much we’ll have to suffer.
While this darkness seems appropriate for the season of Lent, I prefer Lent when the darkness is more symbolic. This real-life darkness stinks.
The tomb is sealed. And it feels like Jesus is taking his sweet time to come heal the situation.
Here’s the deal:
· Jesus never promised there would be no death—only that he is the resurrection.
· Jesus never promised there would be no darkness—only that he is the light.
Whether hurricanes, pandemics, or Lent, the gathering darkness serves to reveal the radiant light of Christ.
Wait, what is that? Do you hear that? That’s the sound of the stone being rolled away!
38-45 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus . . . cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
We may not be out of the tomb yet, but the stone will soon be rolled away!
We may not be out of the tomb yet, but we’ll soon see the light of day!
We may not be out of the tomb yet, but we know Jesus in on his way!
And just like the old gospel song says:
He may not come when you want him,
But he’ll be there right on time.
He’s an on-time God, yes He is!
But remember, even in the darkness of the tomb, we must keep hope alive, because this storm will pass, and soon enough we’ll hear the voice of the Lord saying, “people of god, come forth!” And we will rise up. We will be victorious! We will survive!