Hope at the cemetery
John 11:17-27,38-45 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." … 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.
A man named Reule Howe tells about growing up with his parents in the country. When he was 15 years old, their house caught on fire. They escaped with only the clothes on their backs. There were no neighbors close by to help, so he and his father walked to a distant town to get supplies. As they returned they saw something that stayed with Reule all the years after. Beside the charred remains of what had been their house, his mother had laid out lunch on a log. She had placed a tin can filled with wild flowers on the log. It was a symbol of hope in the midst of tragedy.
This is the Christian faith, isn’t it? Mrs. Howe didn’t try to cover up the disaster with flowers, but in the midst of that gloomy scene she had placed a symbol of hope.
Martha had a hope that did not cover up the fact that her brother had died, but she had hope that in her grief, Jesus would act.
Hope does not cover up what has occurred, but it gives a promise of something better to come. The house was gone, but there was hope of rebuilding and getting supplies to carry on.
That was Martha. She had the hope that something would happen when Jesus arrived. Her brother was gone, but Jesus was coming. Hope was on the road to the Bethany cemetery.
Martha ran out to meet Jesus on the road and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Martha had hope. She didn’t know exactly what Jesus had planned, but when the Son of God shows up, you have to hope that something miraculous and marvelous is going to happen.
Jesus gives her a glimpse of what was going to happen when he said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus turns Martha’s hope into action. Jesus gives Martha a glimpse into the grave.
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
Martha is rightly thinking about the resurrection at the end of time. Jesus is talking about the resurrection and life right now in Him and through Him, for all those who believe in Him.
We need to remember these words of hope while we are in the ICU, the hospice home, the funeral home and at the cemetery. For that is where we meet our greatest enemy face-to-face.
There are many in our society who will try to tell us that death is our friend. It is the end of suffering. The end of pain. The peaceful conclusion to a long life. The solution to our problems. But standing in the cemetery you know that this is all a lie. Though we all die, death is not natural. Adam and Eve were not created to die, but to live. Death, then, is an unwelcome intruder in the life of God’s creation. It is the violent rending of the soul from the body.
Dying exists in God’s once immortal human race as a punishment for human evil and rebellion. It is not nice or natural. What was once spoken as a curse on Adam and Eve; what has been spoken over countless cemetery committals; will also be stated as a matter of fact upon your death. “For dust you are and dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). Death is the clearest expression of God’s hatred over our sins.
Many times when someone dies we try to blame God. But it is death who is the enemy. Death takes our loved ones away from us and leaves us a hole. And whether it happens suddenly or slowly, to a grandmother, spouse, brother or child, it really doesn’t matter, does it? The pain is great. The brokenness is absolute. The hurting is unbearable.
What God has joined together, death has torn asunder.
Have you felt that pain? Have you been called to stand on the thin line that separates the living from the dead? Have you lain awake at night listening to machines pumping air in and out of your lungs? Have you watched sickness corrode and atrophy the body of your loved one? Have you held his hand or her head as life slowly ebbed away? Have you lingered behind at the cemetery long after the others have left, gazing in disbelief at the casket that contains the body that contains the soul of the one you can’t believe is gone?
You’ve felt alone. Alone with your doubts. Alone with your fears. Driven to despair. Unsure what to do next.
And we’re not much help to the grieving, are we? How often don’t we say things like, “I’m sorry.” “If you need anything, I’m here for you.” “Here’s a casserole.” Often times when we see someone grieving, we either leave them alone or force them to move along too quickly.
We may not be much help to the grieving, but Jesus certainly is. You see, if God is anywhere, He is in the face of death. Pop psychology can help with depression. Pep talks can deal with pessimism. Prosperity can handle the hunger. But only God can deal with our ultimate dilemma – death.
Only God stands tall and bright in the dark valley of death. God was there when death intruded upon His perfect creation. Immediately after the Fall into sin, as funerals and cemeteries would soon be filling the world with prolonged sadness, God brought immediate hope with the promise of the Savior and Serpent-crusher (Genesis 3:15). In the Bethany cemetery, Jesus brought hope with Him as He stood near the tomb of His dear friend, Lazarus, and spoke. And Jesus gave hope upon the hill of death as He told the repentant thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Jesus has Martha take Him to the cemetery where her brother is entombed. Jewish tradition was to grieve for seven days. Jesus arrives on the fourth day, in the middle of the mourning period. He wants the stone rolled away and the grave opened. Martha objects that the decaying flesh would smell too bad. Jesus replies, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” When Jesus finished His prayer, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” He who called planets into existence and breathed life into man, now calls Lazarus back from the dead and gives him once more the breath of life.
Lazarus had no choice. He came out.
What happened at that Bethany cemetery is a prelude to what would happen in a few weeks in a Jerusalem cemetery. Jesus’ borrowed tomb was opened by the angel to show that Jesus was already gone. Jesus walked out of His own grave – alive. This is a prelude to what will happen to us on the Last Day when our graves are opened and we are called from our tombs. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Don’t miss what was happening in that Bethany cemetery. Don’t gloss over it thinking, “Oh, it’s another resurrection. Ho-hum.” This is amazing. This is astounding. This is a miracle. Life from death. Hope follows despair. The cemetery turned into a party.
Imagine this setting at the tomb. Jesus has intruded into the enemy’s turf. He is standing in Satan’s territory – the valley of death. He weeps, for death has grabbed hold of His dear friend. His stomach turns as He smells the sulfuric residue of the ex-angel. He winces as He hears the oppressed wails of the mourners. Satan has been here. He has once again violated one of God’s creations.
With His foot planted on the serpent’s head, Jesus speaks loudly enough that His words echo off the hills around this dark valley. “I am the resurrection and the life.”
This is a critical event in history. A chink has been found in death’s armor. The keys to the halls of hell have been claimed. The tomb has been opened and will have to claim another. The buzzards scatter and the maggots scurry as Life confronts death – and wins!
The stage has been set for the confrontation at Calvary. Bethany is only a few miles from Jerusalem. The raising of Lazarus is only a few weeks before the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday – both for them and for us.
“Do you believe this?”
Jesus asks Martha the greatest question in Scripture, a question that is meant for you and me as much as for Martha.
“Do you believe this?”
This is the bottom line. The dimension that separates philosophers, gurus, shamans, and prophets from Christians. This is the question that will drive you either to absolute obedience or total rejection of a crucified and resurrected Christ. Do you believe that the Creator of life died so His creation may have life with Him? Do you believe that Jesus opened His grave so He may open yours? Do you believe that for the Christian, death is but a sleep and you will awaken in your own room in the mansions of heaven? Do you believe that you are but a stranger here and heaven is your home? Do you believe that on the Last Day cemeteries will turn into parties? Do you believe there is hope even at the cemetery?
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
I do. Last month I attended the Catholic vigil, funeral and committal of my grandfather, John Parchim. My grandfather fought in World War II at the Battle of the Bulge. He worked as an automobile manufacturer in Kenosha, plus a whole host of other jobs to support his eight children. He also had twenty-one grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren. During the committal ceremony at the cemetery, the Catholic deacon said (and I’m quoting), “Because John was in the military, was a hard worker and a good father, he is in heaven.”
My head literally fell into my chest. I shook my head. My eyes welled up with tears – not with joy, but with sadness – sadness for all those who heard those discomforting, hopeless words. There was no hope in that cemetery. There was no resurrection comfort given by the deacon that day.
As my large family was leaving the cemetery, I wanted to stop them all and shout, “No, wait! Grandpa isn’t in purgatory. He’s not in limbo. Nor is he in heaven because he was a good man or a hard worker or a war veteran. He is in heaven because he believed in His Risen Redeemer, Jesus Christ who lived, died and rose for him. The Savior who said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He is the One who opened Lazarus’ grave, who opened His own grave and who will open Grandpa’s grave on the Last Day.”
That’s real resurrection hope at the cemetery. Amen.
A man named Reule Howe tells about growing up with his parents in the country. When he was 15 years old, their house caught on fire. They escaped with only the clothes on their backs. There were no neighbors close by to help, so he and his father walked to a distant town to get supplies. As they returned they saw something that stayed with Reule all the years after. Beside the charred remains of what had been their house, his mother had laid out lunch on a log. She had placed a tin can filled with wild flowers on the log. It was a symbol of hope in the midst of tragedy.
This is the Christian faith, isn’t it? Mrs. Howe didn’t try to cover up the disaster with flowers, but in the midst of that gloomy scene she had placed a symbol of hope.
Martha had a hope that did not cover up the fact that her brother had died, but she had hope that in her grief, Jesus would act.
Hope does not cover up what has occurred, but it gives a promise of something better to come. The house was gone, but there was hope of rebuilding and getting supplies to carry on.
That was Martha. She had the hope that something would happen when Jesus arrived. Her brother was gone, but Jesus was coming. Hope was on the road to the Bethany cemetery.
Martha ran out to meet Jesus on the road and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Martha had hope. She didn’t know exactly what Jesus had planned, but when the Son of God shows up, you have to hope that something miraculous and marvelous is going to happen.
Jesus gives her a glimpse of what was going to happen when he said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus turns Martha’s hope into action. Jesus gives Martha a glimpse into the grave.
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
Martha is rightly thinking about the resurrection at the end of time. Jesus is talking about the resurrection and life right now in Him and through Him, for all those who believe in Him.
We need to remember these words of hope while we are in the ICU, the hospice home, the funeral home and at the cemetery. For that is where we meet our greatest enemy face-to-face.
There are many in our society who will try to tell us that death is our friend. It is the end of suffering. The end of pain. The peaceful conclusion to a long life. The solution to our problems. But standing in the cemetery you know that this is all a lie. Though we all die, death is not natural. Adam and Eve were not created to die, but to live. Death, then, is an unwelcome intruder in the life of God’s creation. It is the violent rending of the soul from the body.
Dying exists in God’s once immortal human race as a punishment for human evil and rebellion. It is not nice or natural. What was once spoken as a curse on Adam and Eve; what has been spoken over countless cemetery committals; will also be stated as a matter of fact upon your death. “For dust you are and dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). Death is the clearest expression of God’s hatred over our sins.
Many times when someone dies we try to blame God. But it is death who is the enemy. Death takes our loved ones away from us and leaves us a hole. And whether it happens suddenly or slowly, to a grandmother, spouse, brother or child, it really doesn’t matter, does it? The pain is great. The brokenness is absolute. The hurting is unbearable.
What God has joined together, death has torn asunder.
Have you felt that pain? Have you been called to stand on the thin line that separates the living from the dead? Have you lain awake at night listening to machines pumping air in and out of your lungs? Have you watched sickness corrode and atrophy the body of your loved one? Have you held his hand or her head as life slowly ebbed away? Have you lingered behind at the cemetery long after the others have left, gazing in disbelief at the casket that contains the body that contains the soul of the one you can’t believe is gone?
You’ve felt alone. Alone with your doubts. Alone with your fears. Driven to despair. Unsure what to do next.
And we’re not much help to the grieving, are we? How often don’t we say things like, “I’m sorry.” “If you need anything, I’m here for you.” “Here’s a casserole.” Often times when we see someone grieving, we either leave them alone or force them to move along too quickly.
We may not be much help to the grieving, but Jesus certainly is. You see, if God is anywhere, He is in the face of death. Pop psychology can help with depression. Pep talks can deal with pessimism. Prosperity can handle the hunger. But only God can deal with our ultimate dilemma – death.
Only God stands tall and bright in the dark valley of death. God was there when death intruded upon His perfect creation. Immediately after the Fall into sin, as funerals and cemeteries would soon be filling the world with prolonged sadness, God brought immediate hope with the promise of the Savior and Serpent-crusher (Genesis 3:15). In the Bethany cemetery, Jesus brought hope with Him as He stood near the tomb of His dear friend, Lazarus, and spoke. And Jesus gave hope upon the hill of death as He told the repentant thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Jesus has Martha take Him to the cemetery where her brother is entombed. Jewish tradition was to grieve for seven days. Jesus arrives on the fourth day, in the middle of the mourning period. He wants the stone rolled away and the grave opened. Martha objects that the decaying flesh would smell too bad. Jesus replies, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” When Jesus finished His prayer, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” He who called planets into existence and breathed life into man, now calls Lazarus back from the dead and gives him once more the breath of life.
Lazarus had no choice. He came out.
What happened at that Bethany cemetery is a prelude to what would happen in a few weeks in a Jerusalem cemetery. Jesus’ borrowed tomb was opened by the angel to show that Jesus was already gone. Jesus walked out of His own grave – alive. This is a prelude to what will happen to us on the Last Day when our graves are opened and we are called from our tombs. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Don’t miss what was happening in that Bethany cemetery. Don’t gloss over it thinking, “Oh, it’s another resurrection. Ho-hum.” This is amazing. This is astounding. This is a miracle. Life from death. Hope follows despair. The cemetery turned into a party.
Imagine this setting at the tomb. Jesus has intruded into the enemy’s turf. He is standing in Satan’s territory – the valley of death. He weeps, for death has grabbed hold of His dear friend. His stomach turns as He smells the sulfuric residue of the ex-angel. He winces as He hears the oppressed wails of the mourners. Satan has been here. He has once again violated one of God’s creations.
With His foot planted on the serpent’s head, Jesus speaks loudly enough that His words echo off the hills around this dark valley. “I am the resurrection and the life.”
This is a critical event in history. A chink has been found in death’s armor. The keys to the halls of hell have been claimed. The tomb has been opened and will have to claim another. The buzzards scatter and the maggots scurry as Life confronts death – and wins!
The stage has been set for the confrontation at Calvary. Bethany is only a few miles from Jerusalem. The raising of Lazarus is only a few weeks before the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday – both for them and for us.
“Do you believe this?”
Jesus asks Martha the greatest question in Scripture, a question that is meant for you and me as much as for Martha.
“Do you believe this?”
This is the bottom line. The dimension that separates philosophers, gurus, shamans, and prophets from Christians. This is the question that will drive you either to absolute obedience or total rejection of a crucified and resurrected Christ. Do you believe that the Creator of life died so His creation may have life with Him? Do you believe that Jesus opened His grave so He may open yours? Do you believe that for the Christian, death is but a sleep and you will awaken in your own room in the mansions of heaven? Do you believe that you are but a stranger here and heaven is your home? Do you believe that on the Last Day cemeteries will turn into parties? Do you believe there is hope even at the cemetery?
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
I do. Last month I attended the Catholic vigil, funeral and committal of my grandfather, John Parchim. My grandfather fought in World War II at the Battle of the Bulge. He worked as an automobile manufacturer in Kenosha, plus a whole host of other jobs to support his eight children. He also had twenty-one grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren. During the committal ceremony at the cemetery, the Catholic deacon said (and I’m quoting), “Because John was in the military, was a hard worker and a good father, he is in heaven.”
My head literally fell into my chest. I shook my head. My eyes welled up with tears – not with joy, but with sadness – sadness for all those who heard those discomforting, hopeless words. There was no hope in that cemetery. There was no resurrection comfort given by the deacon that day.
As my large family was leaving the cemetery, I wanted to stop them all and shout, “No, wait! Grandpa isn’t in purgatory. He’s not in limbo. Nor is he in heaven because he was a good man or a hard worker or a war veteran. He is in heaven because he believed in His Risen Redeemer, Jesus Christ who lived, died and rose for him. The Savior who said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He is the One who opened Lazarus’ grave, who opened His own grave and who will open Grandpa’s grave on the Last Day.”
That’s real resurrection hope at the cemetery. Amen.
5th Sunday in Lent at Epiphany on April 10, 2011
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