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John 11:1-45 - Lent 5

The Raising of Lazarus

The story for this week begins with a certain sense of urgency. It is easy to stand here now and talk about it with some sense of calm, but I can assure you that there was no calm for Martha and Mary. They were beginning to panic. Lazarus, their brother, was slipping fast. Indeed, it looked as though he would not make it.

Now, I want you to envision a person in your mind. I want a face to appear in your mind’s eye. Who would you turn to if you faced a serious crisis in your life? There are some people we would instinctively turn to in time of trouble. I want you to know that the person who came in Martha’s mind was Jesus. She sent an urgent message to him: “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” That is an interesting wording isn’t it. You see, love sees with special eyes. Mary was sure of one thing. That Jesus' love for his friend would compel him to come. This is the situation that John paints for us at Bethany. There is tension, there is fear, and there is a sense of anxiety. But, there is hope.

Now the scene shifts to the far side of the Jordan River. Jesus is there for a specific reason. He had been in Jerusalem and a very dangerous situation had developed for him. The Jewish authorities had become so enraged with his words that they had risen up against him and had even attempted to stone him to death. Indeed, John tells us that some stones were tossed. So he retired to an area where, we are told, John the Baptist had begun his ministry. Jesus is getting back to the roots of his calling. While there large crowds came to hear him.

Upon hearing the news of Lazarus’s illness, we expect Jesus to drop everything and come running, but alas, it does not happen. He is only about seventeen miles away. If he really pushed hard he could make it by late evening or by early the next morning. In one of the most bewildering scenes in all of scripture, however, Jesus did nothing for two entire days. Surly he must understand their anxiety. Surly he must be eager to help. But there it reads: “He remained two days in the place where he was.”

Why did this happen? I can only respond to that by saying: I do not know. When I read this story I want to know. Why did he delay? Surly there must be an answer to this. But read the commentaries of all of the great minds: Luther, Dodd, Calvin. None offer an answer. To this day it is still hard for me to accept not knowing why. How true were the words of the Apostle Paul when he wrote: In this life we look through a mirror dimly. If we had all the answers then we would not need faith, for faith picks up where sight leaves off. The Book of Hebrews reads: “Faith is the evidence of things not seen.” In my mind I understand that but I still cannot get out of my mind the thought of Martha looking down the road that first night waiting for Jesus to come. Every time she sees someone her hopes are lifted as she thinks: maybe that’s him. But God has his own schedule.

John 9:1-41 - Lent 4

One day as Jesus and His disciples are walking along together, they see a pitiful sight… a man who has been blind from birth. The disciples watch him groveling and begging there in the gutter. This sightless one with dead eyes makes a sad, haunting picture… as he crouches there and feels in the dirt for scraps of garbage… and wards off with his hands and arms the trampling, heedless crowds, eating their dust and pleading (without much success) for their help. Intrigued by this man’s horrible plight, the disciples ask Jesus a hard theological question: Who sinned? Was it this man or his parents? Why was he born blind? Was it his fault? Or did someone in his family do something wrong to cause this?

There is an interesting theological point here. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time had the mistaken notion that the persons who were down on their luck were in that fix because they had sinned… and this was God’s judgment upon them for their wrongdoings. So these blind people, or lame people, or leprous people, or poor people were looked down upon by society as sinners, as wicked people and they were shunned. But Jesus didn’t see them as sinners or as wicked people. He saw them as children of God, as persons of integrity and worth, as members of God’s family, as His brothers and sisters… and He loved them and embraced them and enjoyed them… and healed them.

So, here in John 9 Jesus goes over to the blind man to help him. Notice that when the disciples see the blind man, they see something to discuss, but when Jesus sees him, He sees something to do. The disciples want to debate the truth; Jesus chooses to do it… and be it. The disciples want to give their energy to words. Jesus puts His energy into action. The point is this: It’s not enough to talk about it. What pleases God is when we do something about it. Jesus is trying to teach us that here. So, notice this… He spits on the ground and makes clay of the spittle and then He anoints the man’s eyes with the clay. Now, if that seems repulsive to you, don’t let it be. Saliva has long been a folk remedy. Ancient people believed strongly in its curative powers… and in a sense, we still do. At least, our children do. A child burns his finger and into his mouth it goes… or a child scrapes her arm and wants mom to kiss it and make it well.

Jesus anoints the man’s eyes with the clay. Now, the single most important word in this whole passage is this word “Anoints.” The word, the original Greek uses here for “anoints,” is the same word it uses for the word “Christ”… which, of course, means “The Anointed One.” Listen! He Anoints the man’s eyes! He “Christs” the man’s eyes! Isn’t that beautiful? He “Christs” the man’s eyes! Now, let me ask you something… “Would you like to have your eyes Christed?”

Recall the rest of the story. After anointing the man’s eyes with the clay, Jesus sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man goes, washes away the clay, and comes back seeing! The neighbors are amazed. They can’t believe it. They ask him how this happened and he says the man called Jesus healed me. He gave me my sight. And there is great joy in the city and they all live happily ever after?… No, not quite! The Pharisees, the watchdogs of religion, get wind of this… and they come out fuming … upset about the whole thing… because for one thing they are suspicious of everything Jesus does… and on top of that, it happened on the Sabbath Day… a blatant violation of their rigid rules. “He made clay”… “He healed”… on the Sabbath… and that is strictly forbidden. We can’t have that!

So, they come out with the fervor of Barney Fife to investigate. They interrogate the healed man’s parents… and scare them out of their wits… and then they interrogate the man who has been healed… and he gives them a classic and powerful response that has resounded across the centuries. He says: “This one thing I know. Once I was blind, but now I see.” You see, this man (like most people) is a Pragmatist. Look at what he is saying to their “hard-line” questioning! “I don’t know about all of that. I don’t know about rules or regulations or restrictions… but I do know results when I see them. This one thing I do know. Once I was blind, but now I see.” The Pharisees are defeated by this argument and they know it,… so they do what people often do when they feel insecure or have no moral power… they turn to force. They kick him out. They cast him out of the synagogue. They excommunicate him. They push him out.

Now, this sets the stage for one of the most beautiful moments in all of scripture. Jesus hears about it. He hears that they have cast him out and Jesus comes to find him. Aware of his trouble, Jesus comes to him. Jesus comes to help. That’s the good news, isn’t it… it’s when we are in trouble Jesus comes to help! And when they come face to face Jesus says to him: “Do you believe in me, the Son of God?” And the healed man says: “Yes, Lord, I believe”… and he worships Him!

Isn’t this a great story? It’s so packed with the stuff of life. There is so much here… blindness and sight, sickness and healing, prejudice and love, fear and faith, rejection and acceptance, defeat and victory. But, there is one question that explodes out of this gospel story and addresses itself directly and personally to you and me. Namely this… Have your eyes been Christ-ed? Can you see with the vision of our Lord? Have your eyes been anointed with the spirit of Christ?

John 4:5-42 - Lent 3

It was noonday at Sychar. The disciples went on into the village, we are told, to buy food. Someone has suggested that they were seeking out the stores that gave the clergy discount. Jesus stopped at the well on the outskirts for a brief respite from the sun’s blistering rays. When a woman of the village walked up Jesus addressed her: "Woman, give me a drink."

She was taken back that Jesus spoke to her for two reasons. First, men did not publicly speak to women. Two, she was a Samaritan and Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. They considered them unclean—— ritualistically speaking and probably in terms of personal hygiene as well. They were dogs. Thus, Jesus had crossed both a gender and a racial line by speaking to this person. She replied: “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of water from me, a woman of Samaria?” Jesus ignores her question, ignores the racial issue, and gets to the heart of the matter. He said: “If you had known who was asking you for water you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Jesus is, of course, speaking theologically, which is the only significant way to speak, but the woman cannot get beyond the literal. “Oh, go on,” she snips. “This is a deep well and you haven’t even got a bucket.

The woman appears to be poking fun at Jesus: “You have nothing to draw with and this well is deep. Just how did you suppose to drawn this living water of yours? Our father Jacob drank from this well. Do you think that you are better than he is?” You can’t miss the irony in her sarcasm. Here she is speaking to the Master of Life about depth, when her own life was so miserably shallow.

In a sudden change of direction, Jesus startles the woman and asks her to go get her husband. With this one question he has exposed her dark side. We all have a dark side. You see, by any standard of ethics this woman was living an immoral life. Of course, we already have a hint of that because she has come to the well by herself at noon.

Now the woman is in quite a predicament. Jesus has talked here into a corner. She can walk away with her earthly water or she can stay and receive lasting water.