March 9, 2008

The Down Payment on Resurrection

by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

John 11:28-42

Opening Illustration – Exhumation of Padre Pio (Slide)

The body of the Capuchin friar, who was said to have had the stigmata -- the wounds of Christ's crucifixion -- on his hands and feet -- is to be conserved and put in a part-glass coffin for at least several months from April 24.

A Church statement said the body was in "fair condition," particularly the hands, which Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, who witnessed the exhumation in the southern Italian town where Pio died, said "looked like they had just undergone a manicure."

A spokesman for the monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo said he believed morticians would be able to conserve the face of the bearded monk well enough for it to be recognizable.

A Catholic magazine once found that far more Italian Catholics prayed to Padre Pio than to any other icon of the faith, including the Virgin Mary or Jesus.

Some 7 million people visit his tomb every year. There are some 3,000 "Padre Pio Prayer Groups" around the world, with a membership of around 3 million.

Purpose of Exhumation is to increase the faith at a time when people doubt God’s existence.

Purpose of John’s gospel is to convince you that Jesus is the Son of God. If you believe, you will receive the gift of eternal life.

Seven signs presented to make the case. (Slide)

Seventh sign is ultimate – raising a dead person after four days.

Jesus was wanted on charges of blasphemy. Gets word that Lazarus is close to death.

Jesus delays, lets Lazarus die so that he has the chance to bring Lazarus back to death. Ethical?

Disciples realize that going to Bethany will result in Jesus’ arrest, conviction and execution. They are willing to risk it.

Before Jesus gets there, Lazarus’ sister Martha comes out to meet him. She chides him for not coming sooner.

Jesus says Lazarus will rise again – Martha affirms general resurrection. Jesus says he is that resurrection. Martha says she believes him.

Mary comes out and chides Jesus too. Jesus is moved emotionally by their grief. Asks to be shown the tomb.

The tomb sounds like the tomb Jesus will be laid in. Obvious parallels to Jesus’ own death and resurrection.

Jesus asks them to open the tomb. Martha objects because he has been in there for four days decomposing. Four days means he cannot be resuscitated.

Jesus prays and asks God to show everyone that Jesus is God’s son. Jesus calls Lazarus to come out of the tomb.

Lazarus comes out wrapped in his grave clothes. Jesus tells the people to remove the grave clothes and let Lazarus go free.

Result is that some believe, while others conspire to have him executed.

The point John wants us to see is that any hope you and I have of eternal life is centered in the person of Jesus. God has come to the world and fulfilled the hopes of the world in the person of Jesus.

Ask yourself – what do people hope for? What dreams do I have for the world?

Dreams and hopes these days are expressed in the voting booth. The Bible reflects a time when those dreams and hopes were expressed by talking about God.

Sometimes we are like Martha and Mary – we think that bad things happen in life because God was away from God’s desk. We think things are too far gone. Things smell like they’ve been dead for four days. My ticket agent.

Message of this story isn’t that God fixes all our problems. Anyone who says that is dishonest. (Preachers who claim that following biblical principles is guaranteed to make you rich.)

Message is that in our deepest depression, in our darkest times, when no one can do anything but console us, God is there. Any hope we have for the world is centered in the person of Jesus and his own death and resurrection.

Final Illustration: My Dream. This passage reminds us to embrace life with all the good and all the bad.

Conclusion – Many people look for meaning in the world in many places. For us, the world has little meaning except as we look at it through the person of Jesus.

We may be angry at God from time to time and ask why God doesn’t fix something sooner. This passage reminds us that hope is always present, that death is not the final word, and that life in Jesus lasts forever.

We do not know how it will happen. We do not approach our own mortality with a clear idea of what God will do when you and I are no longer a part of human existence.

But the part of our faith which we will not surrender to doubt is in the goodness of God, and the promise of eternal life, in whatever form that comes.

Lazarus was the down payment on God’s promise. As we approach Easter, we realize that like Lazarus’ own resurrection, this life is just a taste of what’s to come.