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The Message for Nov 4, 2018All Saints SundayJohn 11:32-44Rob Miller, Pastor

Today we celebrate All Saints Sunday. According to Wikipedia… A saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional

degree of holiness or likeness or closeness to God. Its original Christian meaning refers to any believer who is “in Christ” and in whom “Christ dwells,” whether in heaven or on earth.

In other words – a saint is a devoted disciple of Jesus in life and in death.

We often say that saints are those who have died and now rest in God’s eternal care. That is certainly true. And yet -- according to this definition there are also saints alive and living among us too. And I am not talking about football…

When we think of someone being a saint - we often think that they are perfect. Not so… According to St. Paul in his letter to the Romans – he writes…

 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24)

We are all sinners - but by the grace of God - we are a special kind of sinner. We are forgiven sinners. That means we are both a saint and a sinner at the same time…

When you look in the mirror do see the potential for that person to be a saint or to be a sinner?

The good news is… God sees a saint in the making - regardless of what we see in the mirror… We are… each one of us… a work in progress. We are the reflection of God’s goodness at work in the world. Let me say that again – We are the reflection of God’s goodness at work in the world.

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When I look around this room I see saints in the making… Until the day we die - God is calling us and shaping us into holiness, likeness, and closeness with God thru Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

BTW – Someday we will all die. Nobody is getting out of this world alive. We all have been given a death sentence… So live - not like you’re dying as Tim McGraw sings -- but live like you’re living… Live life to the fullest every day… we never know when it might be our last.

In other words… Don’t put off till tomorrow - what you should have done yesterday - do it today! Life is too short - not to do it.

That’s the reminder we find in our gospel reading for this morning. It comes from John 11:32-44… It’s the story of Lazarus…

John 11:32-44

Here are Bishop Mike’s thought on this text. He is the bishop of the TX-La Gulf Coast Synod… He writes…

Lazarus’ resurrection was penultimate. It is not the final word. In fact, all healing of any kind is penultimate. Here’s what I mean. Lazarus was raised from the dead, sure, but then he died again, right? I mean, unless he’s still roaming around somewhere, or unless he was taken up into heaven in a cloud, he had to die again. I’m not sure I like the idea of dying twice.

I’m not sure I like the idea of dying twice either. Do you?

For some people death is a welcome relief. Their life or health has been compromised in some way. He or she has fought the good fight, completed the race, have kept the faith and is ready for God’s eternal peace.

For others death comes too soon. Like a candle snuff out before it has had a chance to really shine -- bringing darkness into the lives of those left behind. They too now rest in God’s eternal peace.

I can’t help but think how the gospel writer points out certain things about life in this story of Lazarus...

For example: I’m guessing that Lazarus was not all that overjoyed at being raised. Perhaps he said, “Oh, no. Good heavens. Not again.”

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Here is a painting called the Raising of Lazarus from 1310 by Duccio (Do-cho) (Picture)

I’m fascinated by this painting. I like that Jesus has a halo. I like the postures of Mary and Martha and their focus on Jesus. Everyone else appears to be focused on Lazarus except for the one guy standing behind Martha. I especially like guy in the gold shawl, red tights, and black socks holding his nose at the stench.

Notice too that Lazarus looks to be in shock, and a bit peaked. Like death warmed over… Who wouldn’t? It’s not every day you wake up in a grave, wrapped like a mummy.

It is almost comical for Jesus to say, “Lazarus! Come out!” and Lazarus actually being able to do so in that get up. He would have to hop out of the grave… or fall flat on his face.

Here is another piece of artwork from the 6th

century (picture). It’s a mosaic from Ravenna (Rah-Ven-nah), Italy. This is believed to be the oldest artwork we have depicting Lazarus’ resurrection.

It looks like he is ready to get out of the tomb. I would like to see him try to hop down those four or five steps without falling on his face. Notice the look on his face. He does not appear to be very happy – but somewhat confused.

Here is painting from Belgium 1510 by Juan de Flandes (Flan-deez) (picture). Lazarus looks like he is in shock at being back in the world. His hair is all disheveled. I love the waving hand. He is either saying, “Hi,” or “Oh, wow, that was the weirdest experience of my life.”

Notice Mary (or Martha) helping him up. She is seemingly glad to have him back but cautous at the same time. Notice too - the religious guys in the archway watching from a distance… They were always trying to catch Jesus in the act of doing something he shouldn’t be doing. Not sure why Jesus is dressed in black though… It does make you wonder…

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(black screen)

So… if Lazarus is going to die again anyway, why bother bringing him back to life? My guess is to show the power that Jesus has over death. Only God has that kind of power – so Jesus must be God.

There is another story of Jesus bringing someone back to life. In Mark 5 we read about the synagogue leader, Jairus and his daughter. Jesus brings her back to life too. She was only twelve…

Both of these stories suggest that Jesus has a surprise waiting for us. Both of these stories reflect the promise of life we have with Jesus and the hope we hold deep in our hearts. Namely, that there is more to this life than meets the eye. God has plans for us that go far beyond our wildest imaginations.

I don’t think that Lazarus was unhappy as the artists portray him. In fact, Lazarus may have been so indebted to Jesus that he became the beloved disciple.

John 11:3 reads, So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ This suggests that Lazarus is the disciple whom Jesus loved. The one who is not named in John’s gospel but is referred to time and time again.

And if that’s the case - if Lazarus loved Jesus so much - then perhaps he wrote the fourth gospel. The author never identifies himself, except as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” and according to John 11:3, that’s Lazarus.

So… if we think about it… If someone raised you to from the dead, wouldn’t that form a special kind of bond between the two of you? Probably.

Regardless – the story of Lazarus is a really good story for All Saints Sunday. In this story Jesus cried for a loved one. We cry too. In this story Jesus has hope. We have hope too.

I like All Saints Sunday because we are reminded that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  

Bishop Mike puts it this way – All Saints Sunday is like a little bit of Easter in the middle of Fall. We can rejoice, for though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed daily. And one day, perhaps like Lazarus, we can rejoice for what is yet to come.

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One last picture to consider… This one is my favorite. (picture)

Everyone is happy and laughing in this picture. Bringing someone back to life will do that, no doubt.

One guy – probably Peter – is grabbing his head as if to say “This blows my mind.” The two disciples probably James and John are unwrapping Lazarus and can’t stop looking and listening to Jesus.

All the women are overjoyed. Not sure which ones are Mary and Martha. Perhaps the two in the front – the two who are so excited they have to sit down.

Lazarus is shielding his eyes from the light. We can’t tell if he is happy or sad to be alive again. Most of the people are looking at Jesus except the guy (disciple) on the left who is looking at you – looking to see the expression on your face.

Jesus can raise the dead – does that make you happy or sad?

Jesus can raise the dead – and that includes you too…

So go – go and live the life you were created to live as a devoted disciple of Jesus. Amen