As we near the end of our Lenten Journey, as we face the Cross and know that the road to eternal life leads through death, we are confronted with Ezekiel’s call by God to prophesy to the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). The people of Israel and Judah have faced the exile. They have been conquered, they have been killed, and those that have lived these horrors have been taken away from their lands. Their temple has been destroyed. Their sense of security is dead. The ancient rituals and religious practices of their people are gone. Everything they know has been taken from them. And yet, God calls Ezekiel to prophesy to these dry bones and they rise up. He prophesies to the breath and the bones become alive. Breath, wind, and spirit are all the same word, ruach in Hebrew, pneuma in Greek. The Spirit of the Living God is alive and well among the people, even if all they know has died. They have gone through the valley of the shadow and yet God is still walking with them, breathing new life into them, giving them hope renewed for the Jerusalem that will be rebuilt, the temple that will be raised up. Psalm 130 echoes this story in a song of hope, waiting for the deliverance of God, to maintain hope even in exile.
John 11:1-45 contains the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus. A story foreshadowing Christ’s own death and resurrection, the story illustrates the need for faith in the midst of death, for courage in the face of despair, for hope in the challenge of what seems final. I find interesting in this passage the story of Mary and Martha. We know Mary and Martha mainly from Luke’s account of Martha being frustrated with Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet while she does all the cleaning. In John’s Gospel, it is again Martha who is frustrated. She goes out to meet Jesus when she hears he is coming, and immediately says to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” There’s a little bit of guilt that Martha is trying to deliver to Jesus. Yet she adds, “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” (vs. 22-23). Jesus asks her if she believes in the resurrection; she answers yes, she does–this was not a foreign concept to the Jews, for the Pharisees believed in a final resurrection. Jesus adds, however, that he is the resurrection and the life, and that those who believe in him will live, and Martha answers that she does believe him.
Then Martha goes and tells Mary that Jesus is looking for her and she goes quickly to him. And Mary also delivers the little bit of guilt, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (vs. 32). However, Jesus’ response to her is not to ask her what she believes about the resurrection–his response is quite human. He also begins to cry with her. This exchange is not one of teacher and disciple, but more of two friends, mourning together. If Mary is the one who waited at Jesus’ feet to hear his teaching, we can know from her she does not question the resurrection; instead, she is simply stating what she feels. And Jesus weeps.
Then Jesus is resolved to change the situation. He gets up and commands that the stone be taken away. Martha still seems to have some disbelief–”Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days” (vs.39). Martha still doesn’t seem to get it. Martha still believes in the finality of death. Martha still is concerned with things that do not matter. We know what happens–the stone is rolled away, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb, he comes out looking like a mummy and Jesus commands, “Unbind him, and let him go” (vs. 44).
As we face the Cross, what still needs to die in us? For Martha, she was still concerned about so many things–probably concerned about providing enough food for the family and friends stopping by after Lazarus’ death. Concerned about the stench of the tomb. Concerned with making people feel comfortable with what had happened. Mary, however, simply mourned her brother’s death. And while she tells him that if he had been there, her brother would not have died, she does not seem to question the resurrection. She does not seem to question Jesus’ motives, but rather is willing to share her feelings, her frustration and her sadness.
We all go through times in our life where we struggle in our relationship with God. Martha is always busy, busy, busy and so for her things need to be in order. Even if she is mad at God or frustrated with others for a moment, the world keeps on turning and her attention is back on making things go smoothly. Mary is concerned with relationship–she listens at Jesus’ feet, weeps with Jesus upon her brother’s death. How many times have we paid less attention to others and more attention to the work that needs to be done? Do we sit and listen to a friend and what he/she is really going through or is our mind wandering on what we need to do next? Do we say, “That’s nice, honey,” when responding to a child or spouse and not really listen to what they are telling us? Are we too busy to be in relationship with others and instead running from place to place, errand to errand, doing chore to chore?
The way of this world is to be busy, to be working all the time, to be productive in terms of producing something meaningful for life. The way of Christ is to be present, to be with each other, to be in relationship with one another and to share the Gospel message of God’s love for the world through Jesus. When the ancient Israelites had lost everything, it would have been easy to leave behind their practices, their history, even their faith, and just move on with life. I’m sure some of them did. Ezekiel, however, prophesied a vision of hope. Even in the face of death, relationships continue on. What dies are our old ways of doing, thinking, being–and instead we live into Christ’s vision of the kingdom or reign of heaven, where we love one another and lift up one another.
Romans 8:6-11 reminds us to set our minds on the life of the Spirit. While Paul appears to create a dichotomy between flesh and Spirit, we need to remember that we believe in a bodily resurrection–Paul later describes this in 1 Corinthians 15 as a spiritual body that is raised. We need to put to death the concerns of this world with production, consumption, hurriedness–sins of the flesh, as Paul calls them–and focus on the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We are embodied people–our bodies themselves are not sinful (and all too often in Christian circles and in society they have been made out to be) but the desire of the world to be over-productive, successful, wealthy–these are “sins of the flesh,” sins of this world–because they have no bearing in the heavenly kingdom. You can’t take your riches, your success, your productivity with you into eternity. But you can take the fruits of the Spirit with you. And we foster those fruits of the spirit best when we are in intentional relationship with one another.
It is our relationships that are most important in this world: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” Jesus commands us. It is about the love we have for one another, the intentional relationships we have, that help us to share in the new life here and now on earth. Ezekiel prophesies to dry bones to show the people of Israel that there is hope, that death does not have the final word, that God will bring us through the most trying of times. But more importantly, when death disrupts our lives as it did for Mary and Martha, we experience eternal life in our relationship with Jesus Christ and with one another. Being busy, moving on, doing chores and getting back to life may help us in the short-term, but it is not the message of God. Instead, we are to mourn, we are to weep, and we know the joy in Christ that our relationships continue forever. Love never fails, love never dies, love wins. It is our relationships that are of most importance. It is not about what we did in our lifetime as much as it is how we loved in our lifetime that matters most. The miracles of Jesus truly are astounding; but it is Christ’s love for us that matters the most.
While writing this, I had to stop for a few moments to “practice what I preach.” My son AJ needed some play time and I realized quickly that I was ignoring him. So we just stopped for some pretend sneezes and played with bubbles. Word of advice for pastors: always keep a bottle of bubbles in your study. You will foster relationships with your younger churchgoers very easily.
Call to Worship (with the song Spirit of the Living God)
Leader: When we walk through the valley of the shadow,
People (singing): Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me
Leader: When we go through times of trial in our lives,
People (singing): Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me
Leader: When our friends are mourning, when our families are weeping,
People (singing): Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me,
Leader: When the world is crying out for justice, mercy and love,
All (singing): Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Prayer of Confession:
Loving God, we confess that as busy people we are caught up in busy lives. We focus more on accomplishing tasks and less on the relationships around us. Forgive us when we have ignored our families and our friends, our churches and our communities. Forgive us when we have ignored the cries of the poor and the pleas of the imprisoned. Forgive us for ignoring You in our lives, focusing more on getting to work rather than loving others. Remind us, even in our Christian walk, that it is less important to do things and more important to be in relationship with others. In the name of Jesus, our Companion, Savior, and Friend, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon (from Psalm 130):
Our soul waits for the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love and great power to redeem. It is God who forgives us, restores us, and renews us in this journey of life. Rise up, O People of God, and know you are forgiven, you are loved, and you are given new life. Amen.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, You have shown us how we ought to live. You spent time in the company of the crowds; You journeyed up the hill to be alone to pray. You ate with sinners and welcomed children into Your arms, blessing them. Call us into relationship, O Christ, with You and with others. Give us the ability to share Your love with the world, to dwell in presence with You. Quiet our minds when we are racing away with thoughts of the world, to be consumed with Your love in its place, to know Your presence, and to be present with others. Help us, Savior, to be truly in relationship with one another, to truly see each other as brother and sister and to value our time spent together. In Your Holy name we pray, knowing You are ever-present with us now. Amen.
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