Ezekiel
37: 1–14 / Psalm 130 / John 11: 1–45
This
is the homily provided to the members of St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, March 29, 2020. ( This homily was not delivered
in person. Instead, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was provided to the St.
John’s congregation via electronic means and via the postal system. It is also
being shared with a wider audience via my sermon blog. -- Fr. Tucker.)
“ONE MORE MIRACLE BEFORE THE MIRACLE-OF-MIRACLES”
(Homily text: John 11: 1–45)
An
important aspect of studying any scriptural text is the necessity of reading it
in the context of what precedes it, and what follows it. Another sense of the
importance of a text can be found in its overall place in the theological
framework of the writer.
This
second sense is central to understanding John’s placement of the raising of
Lazarus in his Gospel narrative.
In
the Fourth Gospel, John concludes Jesus’ earthly ministry by relating the
account of Lazarus’ raising. It is, indeed, the last of the Lord’s miracles
before that great and final miracle, His rising from the dead on Easter Sunday
morning. So, in a very real sense, Jesus’ raising of Lazarus presages His own rising.
Put another way, what we are to learn from the Lord’s ability to bring Lazarus
back from the dead is that the Lord possesses power over death itself. We have
already noted this power in John’s narrative: One chapter earlier in John’s
account, we read the following statement: The Lord says, “No one takes it (my
life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it
down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received
from my Father.” (English Standard Version)
Some
of the details about Lazarus’ resurrection are important to understanding the
magnitude of Jesus’ miracle:
Jesus’
delay: Notice in the text that Jesus delays coming to
Bethany. He is told that Lazarus is ill, but He delays coming for two days
(John 11: 6).
Lazarus’ condition:
Jesus leads the disciples into a full understanding that Lazarus has died. At
first, Jesus tells them that Lazarus has “fallen asleep”. (Recall that the use
of the word “asleep” in the Scriptures is often used to indicate death.) The
disciples say that, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. But then Jesus
bluntly tells them that Lazarus has died.
Jesus’
delay of two days in coming to Bethany means that Lazarus has been in the tomb
for four days. When the Lord arrives at the tomb, Lazarus’ sister Martha tells
the Lord that, by this time, there will be the stench of death, an indicator
that Lazarus is dead. (11: 39b) At this juncture, another indicator that
Lazarus was truly, completely and totally dead arises, and it comes from the
commonly-held attitudes of the Jews in that day, who believed that a person’s
soul lingered around the body for three days, in the hopes of being reunited
with it. After three days, however, the belief was that the soul departed.
We
began by noting that, oftentimes, it’s important to note what events are
narrated before and after a passage we are considering. In the case of today’s
appointed text, we would do well to note that, beginning in verse forty six of
the eleventh chapter, it is the raising of Lazarus that sets in motion the
chain of events that will lead to Jesus’ death and burial. In John’s narrative,
the raising of Lazarus closes off the series of miracles that demonstrate the
truth that Jesus and the Father are one (See John 10: 30.) Scholars sometimes
call the first eleven chapters of the Fourth Gospel the “Book of the Signs”.
Then, beginning in chapter twelve through twenty one, it is followed by the
“Book of the Passion”.
Application
of the events narrated in Holy Scripture is the final step in our own
consideration of any text. “What does this text tell me about God, what does
this text tell me about God’s power, God’s plan, or God’s ability to make a
difference in my life?” Those questions are one way we might seek to apply the
lessons of Scripture to our lives. After all, we don’t read Holy Scripture in
the same way we might read the daily newspaper. We read Scripture so as to
inform ourselves about the nature of the God who loves us, and whom we love in
return.
What
might be the lesson for us, then, in the raising of Lazarus?
Perhaps
this: The Lord’s voice is heard even by
the dead. Therefore, this Jesus, who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning,
possesses all power, yes, over life, but also certainly over death, and over
everything in between. The Lord’s power has the ability to see us through every
trouble, every challenge, everything that might attempt to come between us and
God. Does this mean that we will never have challenges and troubles in this
life? Emphatically, we must say “No”!, troubles, trials, tribulations and
challenges will come. But whatever may come, we do know that our Lord Jesus
Christ stands alongside us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of
God, made known in Christ Jesus. (See Romans 8: 35)
AMEN.
