A WILDERNESS OF DEATH & GRIEF
John 11:1-45
5th Sunday in Lent, March 26, 2023
The Rev. Dr. Ritva H. Williams
Good morning and welcome to the final episode of our Lenten story of Jesus in which we explore the wilderness of death and grief.
Jesus’ healing of the blind man in last week’s episode creates much controversy. Some folks are sure Jesus is demon-possessed and out of his mind. Others insist that demon-possessed people can’t do what Jesus does. The religious leaders confront Jesus, demanding to know if he is the Messiah. They don’t like his answer and try to arrest him. Jesus escapes across the Jordan River. Today’s episode begins as Jesus receives a message from Martha and Mary that their brother Lazarus is ill.
Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus’ illness will not lead to death, only to change his mind two days later. The disciples worry about returning to Judea, where the religious authorities are looking to kill Jesus. But Lazarus has died and Jesus must go to him. Thomas says to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
We learn three things from the short dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. (1) Jesus describes Lazarus’ death as falling asleep, meaning that it is not the ultimate and final end of his life story. (2) Thomas’ words express a deep spiritual truth: every one of us must follow Jesus through death into eternal life. (3) Confronting the reality of death will benefit the disciples and their faith.
When Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead and buried for 4 days. Martha rushes out, greeting Jesus with the words, “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.” ((11:21-22). Martha’s grief expresses itself first as lament, perhaps even complaint, then as confidence that God will enable Jesus to do something about it. Even if Jesus’ prayers are too late, she knows her brother will be raised to new life on the last day (John 11:22-24). Martha is trying to make sense of her brother’s death within her Jewish faith and traditions. Martha thinks of resurrection as a distant future promise — hope of life with God in the world to come.
Jesus meets Martha where she is in her understanding, and then takes her to the next step. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This saying affirms Jesus’ identity as the Christ — the Word become flesh — through whom all life comes into being, is recreated, and renewed. In Christ, even though we die physically, yet we live spiritually. Through water, word and Spirit Christ raises us up here and now to a qualitatively different kind of life —a life lived in relationship with our gracious, merciful and loving Lord. When Jesus asks Martha if she believes this, she answers, “Yes Lord, I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Encountering Christ in the midst of grief leads Martha to deeper faith.
Jesus’ encounter with Martha’s sister is much more emotionally charged. Mary falls at Jesus’ feet crying out the same words Martha spoke earlier, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” Mary’s lament gives way to inconsolable weeping that deeply disturbs and moves Jesus, and he too begins to weep. Here we see Christ standing in solidarity with a grief-stricken, broken-hearted Mary.
Jesus orders the stone rolled way from the tomb, prays, and then cries out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” Lazarus hears the voice of Jesus and comes out, still wrapped in strips of cloth. Jesus order the witnesses to unbind Lazarus.
I wonder what Lazarus had to say about his experience of being sick, dying, and being called back to life? Would he share with us the kind of things that are reported by people who have near-death-experiences? Would he talk about being wrapped in beautiful, warm, loving light? Would he tell us that we have nothing to be afraid of? That the universe is a friendly, safe place? That there is something much bigger, much greater, much more— holding it all together? Would Mary and Martha have reported that the Lazarus restored to them was more optimistic, more open, more welcoming, more understanding, more loving?
Our scripture reading doesn’t tell us those things because in John’s Gospel the raising of Lazarus becomes the catalyst for the Sanhedrin to issue the final warrant for Jesus’ arrest. They fear that Jesus’ popularity will cause the Romans to come and destroy the holy place and the nation. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Caiaphas the high priest declares it is better for one man to die in order to save the many (John 11:45-53).
So what do we do learn in this episode about in the wilderness of death and grief? Six things.
Reality check: no one avoids death, not even Jesus. You can’t get to resurrection and eternal life without going through death and the grave.
(2) Confronting the reality of death is not only beneficial, but necessary. Here I turn to the work of John O’ Donahue who tells us that
“we are wrong to think that death comes only at the end of life … Death meets us in and through different guises in the areas of our life where we are vulnerable, frail, hurting, or negative … [and especially] in our daily experience of fear … the meeting with your own death in the daily forms of failure, [suffering], negativity, fear, or destructiveness are actually opportunities to transfigure your ego. These are invitations to move out of [a] controlled, protected way of being toward a [way of being marked by] openness and hospitality, (Anam Cara, pp. 199-200, 201, 216).
(3) Jesus describes death as falling asleep. I think this might actually be quasi-good news. In a letter written in 1522, Martin Luther wrote that
“in Christ [death is] a fine, sweet and brief sleep, which brings us release from this vale of tears, from sin and from the fear and extremity of real death and from all the misfortunes of this life, and we shall be secure and without care, rest sweetly and gently for a brief moment, as on a sofa” (LW, 48: 360-361).
Yes, we all walk through the wilderness of death and grief, but the good news is that we are never, ever alone!
(4) Christ meet us where we are for the purpose of transforming us, as we see him do today in conversations with Martha and the in previous episodes with the blind man, the woman at the well, and Nicodemus.
(5) Christ weeps with us in the midst of our grief, when we are overwhelmed and shattered by the power of death, just as he weeps with Mary.
(6) Christ raises us to new life here and now and forever, when, like Lazarus, we respond to Christ’s voice calling us out of bondage to fear, negativity, destructiveness, and death.
Lazarus Blessing by Jan Richardson
The secret of this blessing is that it is written on the back of what binds you. To read this blessing, you must take hold of the end of what confines you, must begin to tug at the edge of what wraps you round. It may take long and long for its length to fall away, for the words of this blessing to unwind its folds about your feet. By then you will no longer need them. By then this blessing will have pressed itself into your waking flesh, will have passed into your bones, will have traveled every vein until it comes to rest inside the chambers of your heart that beats to the rhythm of benediction and the cadence of release. Amen.
