death

March 2, 2019February 28, 2019

Deep Sorrow – John 11: 28-32

After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. ”The Teacher is here,” she said, ”and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ”Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

We have heard Martha’s statement of faith, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” Now we are hearing Mary’s statement of faith. Mary firmly believes that if Jesus had seen her brother dying he could have stopped it from happening. Jesus would have been able to heal her brother and make everything okay again. Her words are, to my ears, a plaintive cry of lament.

February 20, 2019February 19, 2019

Dying – John 11: 1- 4

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ”Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, ”This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

This is the story of the man, Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. John begins by giving us a proper introduction to Lazarus; where he lives, who his relations are, and that he is well known to Jesus. Then John tells us that Lazarus is sick.

You and I know what it is like to have a cold or stomach flu. People in Jesus’ day probably suffered from similar ailments. This sickness was different. Lazarus was ill enough that his sisters thought his life was in danger. Why else would they have taken the trouble to send a messenger to Jesus? In short, Lazarus was dying.

January 4, 2019January 3, 2019

Three evil looking eggs look down on a broken shell. — For a while, it looked as if the bad eggs might win…

In my experience, excellence in anything is usually perceived as a threat by those who are mediocre. Perhaps you have experienced this yourself? Have you ever put out extra effort or done something exceptionally well only to have someone make a snarky comment intended to pop your bubble? If you have suffered mockery or insult for doing something well, you are in good company. Jesus did everything well and yet not everyone loved him or appreciated him.

December 17, 2018December 16, 2018

Peace

Zechariah’s prophecy about Jesus and his son, John, comes to a close with this amazing stanza:

…By which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.

Luke 1: 78b-79

The imagery here is powerful. The “rising sun” coming to us from heaven is visual imagery for the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

The light from this sun shines on those here on earth living in darkness. The darkness is caused by the shadow of death. Anyone who has lost a loved one to death knows what that feels like.