Loving God, breathe into us today your life-giving Spirit, and renew us in faith, hope and love, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

           As we draw closer to Holy Week, we hear about the event that was the last straw in sealing Jesus’ fate.  It is after the raising of Lazarus from the dead that the religious leaders start plotting how they will get rid of Jesus.  Too many people are believing in him, and the Romans will soon step in and destroy them all.  However, in the midst of the politics and the plotting are some ordinary people with some extraordinary grief.

         These people are Mary and Martha, who were known and loved by Jesus.  They also knew that Jesus had performed many miracles – healing people, and even walking on water.  Yet, inexplicably, he had not healed their brother Lazarus – he whom Jesus loved.  It is not a big stretch to imagine that they were hurt, and even angry, by the time that Jesus made it to Bethany.  We can hear it in the words used by both sisters when they meet Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (Jn. 11:21, 32).

         There is reproach in those words, and questioning, and hurt, and grief.  It is the “if only” lament that many of us have likely shared.  If only Jesus had been here, my brother would not have died.  If only God had heard my prayers, my loved one would not have died.  If only I had stayed home that night, the accident would not have happened.  If only she had looked after herself, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.  If only I had gotten there sooner, I could have saved him.  Most of us have been there at one time or another.

         It comes from a deep-seated belief that things do not need to be the way that they are – especially when it is painful.  In some cases, this seems like a good reason to turn away from God, especially if we blame God for our pain.  However, in other cases, this lament comes in the midst of faith, as we wrestle with why God would allow painful things to happen.  We especially see this with Martha in today’s gospel, as her lament is followed up by words of hope.  “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 him” (Jn. 11:21-22).

         She is hurting and questioning and grieving, but at the same time she hopes that Jesus can still intervene somehow.  In fact, in the midst of her grief, Martha makes an extraordinary statement of faith: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (Jn. 11:27).  As it turns out, her faith is not misplaced.

         In the midst of much weeping and wailing around the tomb, Jesus orders the stone to be removed and Lazarus to come out, still bound by the grave cloths in which he had been wrapped.  In doing so, Jesus reveals the power of God at work through him as the Messiah and the Son of God.  However, at the same time, he gives Martha and Mary an incredible gift in the midst of their grief: Their brother Lazarus is restored to them.  Jesus brings life out of death, joy out of sorrow, and restoration in the midst of loss.  What about us, though, in the midst of our “if only” laments?

         Very rarely – if ever – are our loved ones raised from the dead (although nothing is impossible with God).  And, while miracles of healing can and do happen, our prayers are not always answered in the way that we might wish.  Bad things do happen, and we do experience grief, and we regularly wrestle with God over why such and such was allowed to happen.  However, when we are able to approach these things from a place of faith and hope, it can make all the difference in the world.

         While Jesus doesn’t always take away those things that are difficult or grief inducing, he does walk with those who put their trust in him.  Sometimes (as in the apostle Paul’s case), a “thorn in the flesh” is not taken away, so that we can experience God’s power in the midst of our weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9).  Sometimes, God can only get our attention when we hit rock bottom (like Jonah).  And sometimes things are just part of life on this earth in the midst of sinful human beings.

         We will not always understand why things are the way they are.  However, we are invited to walk with the one who loves us, and who feels our grief and sorrow, and who knows our pain – the one who is the resurrection and the life.  We are also invited to hear God’s promise: “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live” (Ezek. 37:14).  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Lent 5(A)                                           John 11:1-45

March 26, 2023                                Ezekiel 37:1-14

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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