Dear friends in Christ,
The disciples objected. In our Gospel from St John for today Jesus decided to go the Bethany to see his friend Lazarus, and when he shared this plan with his disciples, they objected. And John tells us why. The Jews in Judea hated Jesus and they were planning to murder him. The disciples didn’t want Jesus to die. He was a great man. He healed people. He was a great leader of men. They had plans for him, good things they were intending for him to accomplish, so when Jesus told them he was placing himself in harm’s way, they objected.
So then, Jesus told them, “Lazarus has fallen asleep.” Well that was good news. In their minds, if he was sleeping he was healing so he would get better and he wouldn’t need Jesus, all the more reason to stay. But then Jesus let the other shoe drop. “He’s dead.” Do you suppose that changed their minds at all? If the man is dead what is the point of going to heal him. He’s dead. There’s nothing you can do. Why would you even think about going now.
But Jesus went. And we know what happened from there. Lazarus was raised from the dead with a word, a command from Jesus. And Jesus spoke those famous words. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live even if he die.”
But the disciples objected. The disciples always seem to play our role in the Gospels. They say what we would say, they think what we would think, they do what we would do. Just like them we get caught up in thinking the things of the world. Just like them we are prone to thoughts and actions and decisions that seem to be more informed by unbelief than by faith. We are no different from the disciples.
But Jesus is not a god of the dead. He is Lord of the living. He isn’t held back by weakness or illness, not even death can stand in his way. Because Jesus has come to save the weak. He has come to save the lost. He has come to call us out of sin and to call us away from the death of sin. And so, dear friends, Jesus has come for you and for me.
The way of unbelief is always the way of objections. Objections to the Lord and His will, the Lord and his commands.
Consider our writing from God’s the Old Testament, from the Prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel was writing and delivering the Word of the Lord to a group of Jewish exiles who were away from home and enslaved in the land of Babylon. Their objections to the Lord and his commands had become so severe and so complete that the Lord had given them into the hands of their enemies. They suffered defeat, their homes were destroyed, their land had been laid waste, the walls of their city had been pulled down. Their families were separated. They were strangers in a strange land.
But this was no surprise. At least it should not have been. They should have seen it coming. After all, the Lord sent prophets. The Lord warned them that their objections to his word and command would prove ominous for them. The Jews had been a faithless people. They were faithless in their worship. They were faithless in their love for God and their love for each other. And so the Lord warned them. “Behold I will send for all the tribes of the North declares the Lord and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction and make them a horror and a hissing and an everlasting desolation. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (Jeremiah 25:9-11) Israel and Judah should have seen this coming.
But they did not. The continued in their objections. They continued in their unbelief. They continued in their sin. And the Lord did what he said he would do. They were attacked. Over come, enslaved and exiled. They received the fruit of the labor and the result of their unbelief.
But, we are not the one objectors. We are not the only ones who stand in the way of someone’s will. It happens that God is the great objector. If we are opposed to the Lord’s will, how much more is the Lord opposed to ours.
Our will is sin. Our will is unbelief. Our will is the self, sin, and even death and damnation. No thank you Lord, I don’t think I want you to be me God. You don’t do things my way, the way I think they should be done. You have rules and commands. You don’t give me the respect I deserve. You call me a sinner and quite frankly Lord I don’t like the sound of that. You say I need a savior. I am not so sure I agree.
And the Lord objects. He doesn’t take our objections to him and his commands lying down. No he meets them head on. He stands in their way and he opposes us in our pride and our unbelief.
He doesn’t settle for our sin and he doesn’t settle for our death. Instead he calls us to life. He sends out his word and He sends out his spirit and he undoes our unbelief, he undoes our objecting, and he undoes our death.
Hear the words of the prophet.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. [2] And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. [3] And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” [4] Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. [5] Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. [6] And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
The Lord sent Ezekiel to go to that valley of bones. That valley of the spiritually dead and destitute. The valley of the damned. And the Lord told him to prophesy to those bones.
Now remember the disciples. Jesus the healer went to bedside of a dead man. The disciples thought it was a waste of time and an unmitigated risk. Jesus if you go you will be arrested and murdered. Jesus if you go, you are not going to be doing anybody any good. Jesus it’s too late, the guy is already dead. Don’t waste your time.
What other things do we object to that the Lord has given? Love? Mercy? Forgiveness? Fellowship? We want those things on our terms as they suit our purpose. We want God’s mercy distributed only to the one we find to be worthy and so we object.
Be happy that Jesus isn’t one of us. Be happy that he does not hear our objections. Because the Lord is fair and just and our objections would inevitably turn back on our own head and our objections would inevitably condemn us.
And so Jesus does those things that we would never do. He ignores the objections of his disciples and he goes to the side of the dead man. Jesus sends prophets to prophesy to a valley of bones. Jesus speaks his word where we think it has no usefulness and calls life to invade the territories of death. And he does that with you, oh valley of bones. Valley of bones that we call Chuckery. Jesus calls you to repentance. Jesus calls you to faith. Jesus comes to fill you with the breath of his Spirit and he comes to fill you with life that will last forever.
Amen.
And now may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment