John 11:38-39

John 11:38-39 

King James Version 

  Sometimes, the King James Version captures poetic images that are moving and beautiful and help us grasp the depth and breadth of God.  

  Sometimes, I read the King James and it says something like, "He stinketh".  It's amazing, right?

  This is what death does.  It decays.  It tears apart.  It destroys.

  Jesus heals.  He binds up.  He sews together.  He makes the sad things come untrue.  He unites.

  May our lives reflect our faith, as we seek to join Jesus in his mission to bind up what might otherwise come apart.

John 11:28-37

John 11:28-37 

English Standard Version 

  I was listening to a sermon on this the other day, and it was talking about the line Jesus wept.  The preacher said that wept isn't necessarily the best translation -- it's more akin to the stamping of a bull in rage.  Jesus was moved with anger at what death had done, and he was enraged out of his love. He saw what death did to those he loved, and he saw what it did to the community, and he was moved to action.

  On a bigger picture, this is what God does for us.  God sees the way sin is destroying our community, and God is moved to action -- God enters into creation in the person of Jesus Christ, and dies for our sin so that death might no longer determine our fate, so that sin might no longer separate us from God's presence.  Such is God's love for us.

  The question for us, then, is what makes us angry in the world?  Maybe it's the way poverty leaves children hungry.  Maybe it's the way war displaces innocent civilians.  Maybe it's the way emotional stress chews people up.  Maybe it's the loneliness of children.  Maybe it's the way people are victimized by emotional and physical violence in relationships.  It could be any number of things.  But when we pay attention to the hurt in the world around us, it should make us angry, and it should move us to intervene, to use our resources to communicate our love for the world and the people in it.  

  What are you paying attention to, and what makes you angry?  That's your mission.

John 11:17-27

John 11:17-27

English Standard Version 

  Christianity doesn't ask us to believe in an abstract concept.  Christianity asks us to put our faith in a person, in a specific individual who lived in a specific time and place, who walked the dusty streets of Galilee and had specific conversations with specific people.  He was real, and is attested to in the documents of history, and we put our faith in him.  He's also willing to show us the way, to show us that he's willing to do anything that he asks of us.  He doesn't command from afar -- he invites to follow and then he sends, only when we've walked in his shoes.  

  In some ways this is harder, because we see the impossibly high standard that Jesus sets, which is why it is so important that we hear the words of grace and forgiveness that he speaks.  Here in John, Jesus has showed up after Lazarus has died, and no one understands, but Jesus looks for the best in people -- he's not quick to condemn, but rather listens to them with compassion.

  I don't know what eternity is like, or what the halls of heaven look like.  It's hard to wrap my head around some of these things.  But I can picture Jesus the first century man, the one who ascended the cross and then burst forth from a tomb, the one who taught and healed and listened and prayed and wept and laughed.  I can relate to that, and as I grow in faith, I can build upon this man and place my trust in him, and from there, I can launch into the more challenging concepts, but I can start with Jesus, the man, and build that relationship, day by precious day.

John 11:5-16

John 11:5-16 

English Standard Version 

  How we do know Thomas? We all know him as Doubting Thomas, because he had the nerve to wonder if a man could really rise from the dead.  I still think he got a raw deal and should be known as 'Thomas, we should go and die with him,' because he's the one willing to follow Jesus even though everyone in Judea is ready to kill Jesus.  Many people get known by their worst moments, even though they have many great moments.  Here's your reminder that even the disciples had some rough moments, but that didn't separate them from fellowship with Jesus Christ.

  There's an old saying that God is never late, always on time, but it's curious to me that when Jesus heard Lazarus was ill, he then stayed two more days.  Remember, this, too -- Lazarus was dying, but God knew exactly what was happening.  God's decision not to intervene wasn't done because God didn't notice, but it was an intentional decision made with a long-term view in mind.  Lazarus died, and was later raised, for the glory of God.  May all of our lives serve the same purpose, to bring glory to God, even in the lowest moments, when we wonder where and how God is at work.