The Second Sunday of Easter ---- 27 April 2013

{The congregation was rather small today, because many of the "regulars" were busy cooking and preparing for the Church's annual Church supper at the German Canadian Club's Saxonia Hall. I helped set up the tables yesterday along with many, many folks. I'll looking forward to the fried chicken, cabbage rolls, and fruit flans that the supper holds.}

"Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."

·        This sermon will be more personal than usual. I don’t always like to speak of my own ideas or actions since they don’t always say much about the Gospel… but this might be different.

·        When I hear the story of Thomas and his desire for proof of the resurrection, I think of other, rather dissimilar things.

·        I was baptized when I was 10 or 11 days old. That was the custom then. My grandmother wanted to baptize me in the sink in the hospital room for fear I might die. My mother talked her out of it.

·        Years later, I took my first Holy Communion and I had high expectations. When I used to look around after people received Communion, they appeared so intent. I guess I figured they were seeing Jesus. So I expected that when I received for the first time, I’d see Jesus and angels and heaven.

·        Well, that didn’t happen. I don’t remember if I was disappointed or not. I was a kid, what did I know?

·        I don’t expect such things now. I hope I’ve grown up some since then. I received no visions when I took my vows in the monastic community or when I was ordained or when my wife and I were married. There were all times of grace, but not of visions. The same goes for the birth of my children. And –just so you know- I didn’t receive any special visions or revelations when I was installed as your pastor.

·        Maybe it’s better that way. If there had been visions and revelations, I probably wouldn’t have been able to speak about them. I’d probably also have become incredibly arrogant and have a wildly inflated sense of self-importance, basking in the things I’ve seen and been told.

·        Turning to Thomas, did he ask for proof because he wanted to be part of the “special” crowd? Was he setting a “God trap”? You know, saying something like “I won’t believe unless this or that happens.”, setting conditions for faith and setting a trap for God to fall into. Or was he just being human? I’d like to think it was the second. After all, this resurrection of Jesus is a hard event to wrap our heads around.

·        Jesus does not criticise Thomas for being sceptical. He freely offers to do what Thomas said he needed to believe. As it is, Thomas never puts fingers in the nail marks or his hand into the spear wound. Seeing was enough.

·        What about those who did not and do not see? Like us. John writes: Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

·        Is that enough? It was enough for the evangelist and he wished to assure us that those who came to faith after and long after Jesus departed from his disciples’ sight were no less believers and disciples than those who were in the room on Easter evening to meet the resurrected Jesus.

·        Still is that enough for US? Once we grow up, it might be. It may be difficult to leave behind our expectations of constant consolation and a sensible presence of God all around us. Those things are possible, but can it be possible for the human mind and spirit to constantly sustain them? I’m not sure it is.

·        So we live by faith, day by day. Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." If any passage of Scripture was written to each of us, this is the one. We are the ones who have not seen and have believed.

·        And we have seen Jesus. We hear him when the Gospels are read. We know him in the breaking of the bread, as Luke puts it. We see him in our sisters and brothers of the faith. Matthew tells another way we see Jesus:  “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” 

·        Jesus Christ is waiting to be uncovered all around us. And there’s one more place we haven’t spoken about: Jesus Christ lives within us. His life is ours and our lives are his. Never forget that Christ lives in you. Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

·        All Scripture was written for us, but this comes home today especially.

·        Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Easter Sunday ---- 20 April 2014

{Easter Sunday at St. John's saw a baptism of a young lady and a well attended service.}

Matthew 28:1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you." So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 

Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me

·        Christ is risen from the dead. By death, he conquered death and to those in the tombs, he granted life.

·        The women at the tomb doing their ordinary familial duty for a lost loved one. The women know the way to the tomb and they know what to do once they’re there.

·        Yet when they arrive there, they can’t do their duty; something has changed. No, strike that! Everything has changed!

·       We know that with any change in life, everything around it changes. One simple change effects the whole system, the whole thing, every part and how each part interacts with the other parts.

·       For example: the loss of a spark plug or a certain hose or wire effects the entire engine. Maybe it’ll run, maybe it won’t, but it sure won’t run the same as a well-tuned machine.

·       For another example: In our body, a simple runny nose can ruin your whole day. A burned finger can distract you from everything else you might want to do… and let’s not even mention a toothache! Sadness or anger can colour our every perception and thought and they both can change how we interact with people and how we see ourselves.

·       In our Gospel reading, the women doing their ordinary thing, doing what would be expected for their lost kin, encounter something extraordinary that creates a “new ordinary.”

·       Something has happened that has changed everything and things cannot go back to what they were before, even if the tasks, the chores, or whatever those women do is done like it’s been done before. What is done might never change, and why it is done might never change either. The world in which those things are done and the person doing those things are changed forever, and things cannot go back to the way they were.

·       Think back for a moment to the important milestones in our own lives. Consider how those events changed us and the world we know. We all know those milestones – a birth, a death, a sickness, a new home, a new country. Any of those events changed and effected our lives in so many ways, maybe more than we can count.

·       There’s an “ordinary” we hardly ever think about and on this day after what we’ve all been part of today - both the baptism and the celebration of resurrection, it bears thinking about.

·       The only ordinary we’ve ever experienced is the ordinary life of grace. As Christians, we might not be able to imagine a world without the grace of God. We are so steeped in grace and the very life of God that I don’t think we can think outside of grace. I don’t think I want to. We don’t have to.

·       With the resurrection of Christ, all areas of our lives and the life of the world have been touched by grace. Things may not appear to be changed, but remember that where graced people are, grace is present and where God’s people are, they will find God there ahead of them.

·       Things cannot be the same because they simply cannot be. Christ’s resurrection and our participation it his death and resurrection through our baptism have seen to that.

·       So today (and even if only today) we greet each other with the ancient salutation and proclamation, the one that springs from faith and renews our faith as we share it one to another.

·       Like our Saviour says to the women at the tomb “Do not be afraid!” Don’t be afraid of it. Use whatever language you want. It tells of the event that gives us life and give us hope. It proclaims the new creation and the new ordinary of grace and the Kingdom of God that Christ’s death and resurrection have given us

·       “Do not be afraid!”

·       Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

The Great Vigil of Easter ---- 19 April 2014

{This sermon was delivered at the Easter Vigil service held at Trinity Anglican Church in Aylmer, ON. Our two congregations share a number of services through-out the year as well as Bible study and other activities.}

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

·        Tonight we celebrate an empty tomb and a barren cross. Tonight we celebrate words remembered and an event we cannot fathom or comprehend.

·        Tonight we celebrate the change of the universe and the beginning of the new creation as well as the old, old story of what God has done for God’s people.

·        Tonight we say with Christians of so many nations and so many times an old salutation, one that speaks of joy beyond telling and beyond understanding.

·        Tonight we celebrate with word and song, a new fire and a watch fire, and with a meal of remembrance. Yet some might wonder why we celebrate.

·        For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Here, the apostle and our brother Paul tells us briefly why we celebrate. What he wrote so many years ago does not even come close to exhausting what this night means, yet what he says sums it up.

·        Jesus rose from the dead, but like his life, his resurrection goes beyond his own life.

·        We like stories of heroes who receive reward or honours for unselfish acts. Stories of the Victoria Cross or the Congressional Medal of Honour, of bounties paid for daring deeds are the stuff of dreams. Tales of treasure for hard work or brilliant ideas drive us to greater endeavours through-out life. But the story tonight is not one of those.

·        Jesus did not live for reward nor did he die for mystical reward for his ministry. He lived to proclaim the Kingdom of God. His first words in the Gospels speak of the Kingdom and his parables tell us of the Kingdom.

·        Jesus did not rise to new life to be rewarded like some hero of myth and legend. He rose to life because death could not keep him and the terror of all humankind could not defeat him. His resurrection was not some temporary suspension of the ways of nature, allowing him to lay aside the cloak of death that we all know is our lot and that we avoid talking about.

·        Jesus’ resurrection is part and parcel of his life and ministry. The event we celebrate this night is the culmination of all his preaching, teaching, and working deeds of power. What we celebrate this night is nothing less than the first glimpse, the first taste, the first touch of a new creation – even as the Father’s first word of creation was spoken in the first day of Genesis’ week, changing chaos and emptiness into order and light.

·        Jesus did this for us and for all of creation. His death was ultimately for us – to take away sin and the sting of death, to unmask those powers of the world that rebel again God, and to demonstrate is a most vivid way the love of the Father and how far our God would go to bring that love to us.

·        Jesus rose for us and for all creation as well. Now there is a hope beyond all telling and a freedom that sin can never even imitate. Now there is a hope that takes us beyond even our own death and a freedom to love where we once felt that love could not go.

·        Now there is hope for life and grace from God in this life and in whatever is to come. Now there is freedom to live as if what is beyond death holds no terror… because it doesn’t!

·        Tonight we say again the ancient disciples’ greeting that has echoed in so languages and times. We say again the proclamation that had brought hope and solace to so many in times of sickness and oppression. Tonight we say again the words that remind us that For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

·        Tonight we say again with solemn joy and joyful solemnity…

·        Christ is risen!   He is risen indeed!

Good Friday --- 18 April 2014

{This message was delivered during our Good Friday Service of the Cross.}

When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished."

·        As he died, Jesus said “It is finished.” John records this as one word in Greek – tetelestai.

·        We could take this to mean “It’s over; I’m done” as Jesus’ surrender to death, but the word has much deeper meanings.

·        It was a common word in the world in Jesus’ time. It was used in a number of settings.

·        Believe it or not, it was a word written on a bill when the debt was discharged. In this case, “It is finished” might be translated as “Paid in full”, a very appropriate translation if we consider the theological meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross.

·        The word could also be used by priests of the day once they had inspected an animal to be used in sacrificial offerings. The sacrificial victim needed to be perfect, unblemished, and without damage. Here the word could be translated as something like “It is proper and worthy.”

·        Another way the word was used was in art. When a sculptor finished his statue, he might step back to look at what he had done and, if he liked it, he’d murmur to himself, “tetelestai” as if to say “this work is complete; no more needs to be done.”

·        Oddly enough, the word was a legal term as well, one written on a prisoner’s sentencing document once the sentence was fulfilled. This statement could be shown to anyone who questioned the person to show that he was freed and his sentence was completed. Old movies would use the phrase “My debt to society is paid.”

·        Lastly, this phrase was often given as a report when a son or an agent had completed their assigned mission. Once the assignment was completed, the answer would be taken back to the person who assigned the task, as if to say, in modern terms, “Mission accomplished.”

·        However we take it, this Greek phrase – tetelestai – means what was intended has been finished.

·        It is not a cry of despair. Far from it, it is a statement of triumph. What Jesus came to do has been done.

·        What did Jesus do? Simple, he brought in the Kingdom of God and took away our sin. He showed us how we are to love one another and how we are to serve one another and the world. He told us we don’t have to do it ourselves, because “Tetelestai” – It is accomplished.

·        It is paid in full.

·        It is proper and worthy.

·        It is finished… and it is now ours.

Maundy Thursday ---- 17 April 2014

{My sermon for Maundy Thursday was delivered during a special service that included an "Agape meal" for the congregation attending. A number of members made a vegetable soup according to their favourite recipes and we combined them once they folks arrived to make a wonderfully tasty and hearty soup mixture. Bread and desserts were also available. During the meal, we celebrated the Lord's Supper.}


For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,

·        We don’t think about this all the time, but it bears some consideration. Have you ever noticed in the Gospels how often Jesus eats with others?

·        Jesus is accused of being a “glutton and a drunkard.” He’s often eats with sinners and is taken to task for that. One of his greatest deeds of power is the feeding of a great multitude with a few loaves and fish. It should be no surprise that his last meeting with his disciples before his crucifixion would be a meal and that some of his post-resurrection meetings with his disciples include eating.

·        In our own lives, meals are the basis of hospitality and family life. We all know that it is best to offer food and drink to people who come to our homes.

·        In the Old Testament, especially in the books of the prophets, meals and feasts are used as a description of God’s Kingdom.

·        In the ancient church, the congregations gathered in the context of a communal meal. During that meal, the Lord’s Supper was celebrated.

·        When we gather for a meal as a Christian congregation we are following the example of the early church and the example of Jesus.

·        To celebrate the Lord’s Supper in the midst of our own supper ties our daily lives into the life of grace.

·        When we leave here, we can make our meals different. They can become more than taking in nourishment and become a real experience of community and communion.

·        When we gather again in the place we’ve set aside for the congregation’s worship, our experience of communion with others enhances our celebration of communion with God in Jesus. When we go our own way after worship, our communion with God in Jesus can enhance our communion with all we meet… which is one of the reasons why we gather in the first place.

·        It’s no coincidence or random happenstance that Jesus speaks to his disciples at what we know as the Last Supper and washes their feet. John does not mention the usual formula for the Lord’s Supper here; he does that elsewhere. He does emphasize the love the disciples were to have for one another and in washing their feet gives an example of service and of love. Still all Jesus did was in the middle of the last meal he ate with his disciples before his crucifixion.

·        The meal is tied to Jesus’ new commandment and every time we eat the bread and drink the cup, Jesus’ new commandment comes to mind.

·        I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Palm Sunday Ecumenical Service ---- 13 April 2014

{On Palm Sunday, the Aylmer Ministerial Association holds an ecumenical service at one of the local churches for the sake of Christian Unity. This past Sunday, I preached the service at the Aylmer Full-Gospel Church.}

Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.^*’ ⁴This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
⁵ ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
    Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd^* spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
  ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
   Blessed is the one

   who comes in the name of the Lord!
   Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ ¹¹The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

 ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,

  Look, your king is coming to you,
  humble, and mounted on a donkey,
  and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ 

• Who here likes parades?
• I’m one who happens to like parades. I like the pageantry, the music, the colours, the         whole thing. As a child I watched my father and some of my older friends marching in         parades. Later I took part in many parades as a member of my high school’s marching     band. I’ve taken part in a number of parades since then as a bandsman or as a                   chaperone.
• I recall one parade I marched in (I play the tuba) where the parade ended where it started and was uphill all the way. I have yet to figure that one out!
• This evening, we hear of a different sort of parade. This parade is more spontaneous and celebrates a different sort of event. The event is the entry of the one the crowds called “the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” We might imagine that the whole city of Jerusalem –which could be pretty lively on an ordinary day- would be buzzing like a bee-hive. Here people knew where the parade was going to end.
• You’d think that such a parade would be a joyous occasion for the one on whom the attention was focused. We might imagine it to be a triumph for Jesus. If his disciples had had a “public relations” department, it might have been taken as a triumphal procession, especially as it was going into the centre of the Jewish world. With all this backing, what couldn’t Jesus do?
• Might this very occasion be another temptation for Jesus? Everyone is speaking well of him and those who don’t know him are asking just who he is. Could his popularity be higher?
• The Evangelist Matthew tells us that This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet… Did this pass through Jesus’ mind as he rode the donkey through the gates of Jerusalem? What might seem like triumph is actually an experience in humility. Jesus knew where this particular parade would end.
• Conquerors might enter a city with a similar procession, showing the might of his armies and the splendor of loot he’d taken. Such a parade might be useful to show who was in charge, as the victor advanced on his white horse or in his chariot at the head of his triumphant legions with captive generals or heroes in tow.
• Yet Jesus arrives on a donkey. This is NOT an impressive animal.
• In fact, there seems to be very little about this procession that is impressive. Much of the crowd has no idea what’s going on. The authorities were probably skeptical at best. Behind it all, there is the subtext of plot and conspiracy.
• We all know what is soon to come. We all know where this parade will end in a few days. We all know it so well, there is no need for much to be said about it here, beyond the fact that in a very few days what appeared to be triumph will become the ultimate humiliation of a criminal’s death and the death of a rebel who defied the powers of the world and ultimately, the powers of Hell.
• Still what appears to be devastation and failure turns out as triumph over the powers that led Jesus to death, whether we take those powers to be the power of empire or the power of Hell.
• The basis of this triumph is Jesus own humility, a humility that reverses and overcomes the original sin of Adam, namely that we humans try to be God.
• From this day and this rather wild parade, we are shown the humility of Jesus again. The ride into Jerusalem may not have been his real choice, but he chose to do the will of his Father on that day and through-out the week we memorialize this week. Because of this, we know where this parade ends and we know what is to come as the parade move to Friday and Saturday. What we learn from his example is expressed by Paul in his letter to the Philippians:
• Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:5-11)
• Jesus’ attitude and actions of humility and obedience to the Father’s will is salvation for us and something to rejoice in… and to take as our example for our parade through this life to what is yet to come.

Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday --- 13 April 2014

{Since the Passion from Matthew's Gospel was read today, my sermon was shorter and it was based on one of the other readings.}

Philippians 2:5-11

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus

·        What is the mind of Jesus? Why is it important?

·        To learn the mind of Jesus, we need to look at his entire life on earth and what everything he did was dedicated to.

·        His parables, his teachings, his public words were all dedicated to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.

·        His healings and deeds of power were signs of Kingdom breaking into our understanding of reality. For lack of a better term, they are the symptoms of the Kingdom entering our world.

·        Finally, as we’ve heard, Jesus’ own death – as an innocent suffering for the sake of others shows another face of this Kingdom of God.

·        The mind of Christ Jesus is to do the will of the One who sent him, to empty himself to see that the will of God is done.

·        Jesus laid aside all that he was so that others could be what God wished them to be. That is the mind of Christ Jesus.

·        This “mind of Christ Jesus” is important to us because it is to be our mind, too. Jesus is our example and our model to follow.

·        We will fall short of this example and model, but that does not make our following any less important. We may have our lives required of us in the same way Jesus’ was, but that does not make our change of heart and mind any less vital.

·        You see, the mind of Christ Jesus is nothing less than grace; grace that sees us through despite our failings.

·        In truth, when we surrender to the grace of God and realize that in grace, we live and Christ lives in us, then our mind will be conformed to Christ Jesus in many ways.

·        The mind of Christ is obedience. The will of Christ is salvation. The choice of Christ is the cross for our sakes and the sake of the Kingdom among us.

·        The mind of Christ Jesus is to empty oneself to show, proclaim, and live the Kingdom of God.

Swans

After worship and our congregation's Lenten Lunch today, Beth and I went to the Aylmer Wildlife Area (just behind the Ontario Police College) to see the arctic swans that flock there every spring on their way north. The numbers were not as high as other times but it sure looked like a lot of swans to me!

I took some photos and Beth took better ones. She's a talented photographer and I simply point and click. I'd like to share some of them with you. I can't comment much since I know so little about swans and birds in general, but I found the feathered vista wonderful.

Taken without the telephoto effect; this is how far away the observation area is from the birds.

The far side of the pond was still frozen!

A short video of the swans flying.

For all of you who are familiar with these sights, just take this as a refresher. For those reading this in further away places, I just wanted to show you the beauty around where I live that I often don't appreciate.

The Fifth Sunday in Lent --- 6 April 2014

John 11:1-45

1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." 8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" 9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." 11 After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." 12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." 17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." 28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." 45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 

…when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

·        The past few Sundays, we’ve been talking about John and the “signs” in John’s Gospel. In the weekly Bible Study, we’ve been discussing the Parables in Matthew. It’s odd to note that there aren’t any parables in John; there are only signs.

·        Each sign points to the Kingdom of God breaking into our world and our reality. Each of these signs accomplishes something wonderful in itself, but even more wonderful in pointing beyond themselves to what is to come and what is to be.

·        In his signs, Jesus turns water to wine, heals a suffering person. He walks on water, feeds thousands with a few loaves and a couple of fish, and finally raises his friend Lazarus to life from death.

·        In each of these signs, these deeds of power, the tables are turned. The thirsty revellers at the wedding now have better wine to drink than they started out with. The royal official receives his son back from a terrible illness, believing that Jesus’ word can heal. A paralysed man walks at the command of Jesus only to be berated for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. The small amount of food given over by a small boy becomes enough to satisfy a large crowd.

·        Last week we heard of a man who was born blind and who received his sight from Jesus. Those around him had difficulty accepting his new health because they didn’t believe that things could change and weren’t sure it really was him. Today we hear of a dead man raised to life.

·        The common thread here – beside the fact that Jesus performs these signs – is that they change everything around them. When Jesus walks on the water, his disciples’ journey in the boat is accomplished; What was a moment of terror becomes a time and place to move on. A paralyzed man awaiting his turn to enter the healing waters of a certain pool finds his own healing waters in the person of Jesus. A handful of bread and a few pieces of fish becomes a massive feast with leftovers to spare.

·        With the man born blind, Jesus shows that none are so blind as those who will not see, as the old saying goes. The Pharisees refuse to see God working because it does not fit their narrow understanding of how God can work. With Lazarus, Jesus shows that death does not have the last word and that the power over life and death is not in the hands of the so-called powerful. Those who can kill seem to be in control, but the one who gives life is really in charge. In many ways, Jesus redefines what living means. Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

·        Now the dead come to life and those who appear to live come to understand just how dead they really have been.

·        In raising Lazarus to life, Jesus serve notice to all who assume that it is they who have the power of life and death that their power is null and void and at an end; It is the Son of Man who really has the power over both life and death. No king or judge or emperor can give life, but Jesus can.

·        These signs in John's Gospel all point to the Kingdom of God. And there is still one sign left to see in John’s Gospel: the crucifixion and the Resurrection. Some scholars say this is really two signs, but can those events ever be separated? This final sign, Jesus' own death and resurrection turns the entire world over, death leading to a greater life and humiliation leading to glorification. Those who have studied John's writings call this part following the “Book of Signs”, the “Book of Glory” for those chapters show Jesus in his glory, even though we might feel that his humiliation, passion, and death is not glory. For John, it is.

·        All of these signs in John turn things over. The old becomes new, the broken is mended, the blind see, and the dead live. But still for new growth in the Spring doesn't the ground need to be turned over?

·        So it is with the Kingdom of God. For us who believe, it is our hope and our goal. This kingdom of grace is what we count on, even if it seems topsy-turvy. What seems like defeat will be known as triumph. What appears as sadness will be turned to joy. What is seen as death will be turned into life. As it was for Jesus, so it will be for us. All through the love of God.