Reflection on John 11:1-45

I need to start with the scene in the chapter of the Bible immediately following the raising of Lazarus.  It is a scene that shows Lazarus and Jesus sitting at the table together.  But, the image of tables and chairs created in our head is not quite accurate.  In the Greek, it says that Lazarus is reclining on Jesus. 

You see, in the ancient world they did not use tables and chairs as we do today.  Rather, people ate at low tables or on large, fancy rugs, and they lay at these tables filled with food next to one another, with their feet facing out and their heads toward the food. 

So, the image that I want you to have in your head is one where Lazarus is leaning against Jesus; lying as close to Jesus’ heart as one can get. 

It is an image of close friendship.  It is an image of compete trust.  It is an image of being as close to someone as that person can possibly get.

I like that image.  More to the point, I need that image.  It is an image of trust, and rest, and hope in the middle of crisis all around. 

Lazarus is reclining on Jesus, even though religious leaders are plotting to take this newly raised man’s life.  Jesus is holding onto Lazarus, unwilling to depart from him, even though the cross looms in the near future.  Like a flower that clings to its lily pad even in the roughest of seas, Lazarus clings to his savior as the waters rage and roar around.  And, as he does so, he is at peace.  He is at peace as he reclines at the table, his head on his savior’s chest.

This week the waters have definitely raged and roared.  The future of one of my family member’s life who suffered a traumatic accident, and the life of his family, is still in a stage of uncertainty.  It is a wave of uncertainty and fear. 

The threat of the COVID-19 virus is right here, in our area.  Those who are in the healthcare field need to weigh the risks of threatening their own lives and those of their families and doing their jobs for the sake of others.  It is a wave of uncertainty and fear. 

Jobs have been put on hold and incomes are stagnant or worse, non-existent, as we await this dangerous tide to pass.  Children and spouses who are in abusive situations are now stuck at home with their abusers; no reprieve is allowed.  There is so much more than I could list.  The tension and anxiety of these days are straining even normally polite relationships.  We have seen it even among us in the church.  And, it is all threatening to drown us as the water rise and crash around. 

Yet, Lazarus is a peace, resting on his Lord. 

How?  How can he be so at peace?  Maybe, it is because he has been raised from the dead.

Apparently, knowing that you will be raised changes things. 

Remember, at the beginning of the story, Lazarus was deathly sick.  A message was sent to Jesus, telling him that he needed to come quickly.  However, Jesus did not come quickly.  He stuck around where he was even longer.  Lazarus was not healed.  Lazarus died. 

And, this would all seem to go against my point, that Lazarus trusts the Lord, because it sounds like Lazarus would learn from this that the Lord does not care.  It is the conclusion of many who do not have their prayers answered as expected.  But, that is not what Lazarus learned.  Apparently, God had better things in mind that Lazarus and his family could not possibly know about at the time.

When it was the right time, Jesus does come.  Jesus actually chooses to enter into a region that is dangerous to him and his disciples.  The authorities are already onto him, and they are waiting for a chance to capture him.  Jesus’ decision to come and work in a region that is dangerous to him and his disciples will end up having tragic and amazing cross related consequences, but not yet.

First, Jesus meets up with his good friends, Mary and Martha.  The anxiety and sadness of the days explode onto Jesus as they both accuse him: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” 

They know that God the Father gives Jesus whatever is asked.  He has healed a blind man.  He has changed water into wine.  He and the Father are one.  God the Father will do whatever Jesus asks. 

So, why was he not there? 

Why was Jesus not present when he was needed? 

Why did Jesus refuse stop the tide from washing rising up and drowning them all?

To this anger…to this rebuke of Jesus’ ministry…Jesus answers the women’s accusations, not with anger, not with words of rebuke, and not with words defending what he is up to.  Rather, Jesus answers Mary and Martha with a promise, “I am the resurrection and the life.”  And, he answers with tears. 

Jesus is not unaware of the pain. 

Jesus is not unmoved by the loss. 

Jesus is not distant. 

Jesus shares in the pain.  And, Jesus will soon share the world’s pain on a cross, but not yet.  First, he will give life, and give it abundantly.

Coming up to the tomb, Jesus calls out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 

The dead man came out.  But, he was not dead.  Lazarus was given life! 

As those around him unwrapped Lazarus from the scraps of cloth that held him down…from the death that had claimed him…Lazarus’ eyes were uncovered and he saw Jesus, and at that moment was given the gift of trust. 

When the waters rage and roar, there is no gift that is more special than trust.  We in the church call it faith.  But, it is not the sort of faith that believes in a set of dusty doctrines or musty smelling beliefs.  Rather, it is the sort of faith that trusts in a person.  It is the sort of faith that trusts in the one who brings resurrection and life.  It is the sort of faith that trusts in the one who accomplishes the right thing at the right time, especially when the waters rage and roar. 

Why is Lazarus so peaceful in a time where his very life is threatened?  Jesus.  He trusts Jesus, the one who came and raised him from the dead. 

After-all, if the Lord cares enough to raise you from the dead, then what else is there to fear?  What amount of drowning waters could cause you concern? 

As the Apostle Paul puts it in Romans, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (NRSV, Romans 8: 35). 

Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  Life is found in him.

So, as the chaos of the world threaten and crash and rage, I hope to take a moment to picture that flower clinging to its lily pad in the raging waters.  I hope to take a moment to think of the peace on Lazarus’ face as he rests his head against the Lord while at a table filled with good things.  I will ask Jesus to hold me close. 

When we do that, Jesus will remind us, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"