‘Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life…’ (Mark 10:17)

How would we answer this question?

Bible Readings: John 11:1-6, 17-44

The story of the raising of Lazarus is one that we often hear at this time of year but I wonder if we ever stop to consider what was going through the minds of Martha and Mary at that time. Don’t forget, they knew Jesus well, He spent time with them and Lazarus whenever He came to Jerusalem. So at the beginning of this chapter when they sent word to Jesus saying that Lazarus was sick is it perhaps possible that they would have expected Him to come at once, to come and help heal His friend as He had healed so many others. But He didn’t…

We are then told that when he did eventually come to Bethany it was Martha that first of all went out to meet him. But what might she have been thinking or doing just prior to that moment. Perhaps she was wondering just how on earth she and Mary were going to be able to continue living without their brother. Maybe her whole body ached as she grieved the loss of her Brother as she suffered from both physical and emotional exhaustion. She and her Sister would have had to make all the necessary arrangements for the burial of her Brother And now she would be playing host to the family and friends who were there in mourning.

And what about Mary, was she sitting in the house grieving, unable to be consoled or comforted by any of the family or friends who were there. Or did they both take time to look at all the family and friends who were there, thankful that they were able to be by their side. And as they did so, did they think of the one friend who wasn’t there, the one who could have helped most…the one who could have saved their Brother…

Did that make their grief worse, did that kindle their anger, to know that Lazarus might have been healed, need not have died – if only He had been there…Why didn’t He come quickly, what was the delay. Surely Jesus didn’t intend to stay away so long, something must have happened.

And when Jesus did come and when Martha went out to meet Him – Lord, if you had been here my Brother would not have died…How was that said? Was there any anger or even resentment in her voice? We will never know. However, look what Martha says next. But I know that even now God will give you what you ask…

At that point, did she really believe that Jesus could raise her Brother from the dead. And even after that brief theological exchange between Jesus and Martha, about Jesus being the resurrection and the life. Did she truly believe that within minutes her Brother could be standing by their side once again…

Mary then arrives on the scene and says almost the exact same thing her sister did – Lord if you had been here my Brother would not have died. This time, however, there is no theological talk of any kind. Instead we are told that on seeing Mary weeping, Jesus wept. And when Jesus calls out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out…How do these Sisters then feel on seeing their Brother walk from that tomb. Overjoyed, no doubt to have their Brother returned to them. But is there that question nagging in the depths of their minds, why did Jesus put us through all this and allow this to happen…

And maybe that’s a question we would ask also…Why did Jesus intentionally hold back and allow this to happen. Maybe a question that we’ve asked on more than one occasion.

How often when we walk in some dark and despairing valley do we feel as if we are doing so on our own because we feel as if God has abandoned us. How often have we felt that at that time when we need to know God’s presence most in our lives, it’s almost as if He is hiding from us. We call in to the darkness and all we seem to get is darkness in return – so we stop talking to God.

We stop talking to God, perhaps afraid that we that we shouldn’t be so angry or sad or that we shouldn’t be so despondent and despairing. We stop talking to God because we have no right to talk to God in that way – and yet perhaps this passage teaches us something different.

So often when we consider these verses we focus purely on the raising of Lazarus – and perhaps understandably so, given the significance of that miracle. Yet if we look closely at the behaviour of Martha and Mary in this story, we can take so much from it.

When Jesus did appear, Martha and Mary were not shy at sharing their feelings and their emotions with Jesus. In their time spent with Jesus previously they had learned a valuable lesson. They had learned to trust God in the darkest of valleys – but not be afraid to be honest about their distress. Jesus disciples had not yet come to this point in their faith journey but Mary and Martha are honest and even as their tears fall they say. If you had been here, things would have been different.

They may believe but still they don’t hold back their grief, their disappointment, their dashed hope.

And here we see that Mary and Martha have learned something that we learn over and over again – God can take it…We can scream, shout, weep, be true and honest about our feelings and emotions. Because not only will God hold all of that, God will scream, shout and weep with us.

The simple truth is that we all know that feeling, the wavering between despair and hope. That Mary and Martha experience of…if you had been here…mingled with…I believe…We have all asked the question why did Jesus allow this to happen. Where was he when I needed Him, I thought he was my Lord and Saviour. But the thing is, in asking these very questions are we not getting to the very core of what our Christian faith is all about.

To learn to hope even in the darkest of valleys. To know that life is indeed possible, and indeed stronger, than the darkness which seems to be all around us.

Is it not the case that what the actions of Martha and Mary teach us is that somehow we need to learn to live with both a sense of abandonment and the joy and hope of resurrection. That we need to put our faith and trust in Jesus at all times – good and bad.

I believe, said Martha, that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into this world…

Help us Lord to hold on to that belief, that we too may be as faithful witnesses as Martha and Mary…

Amen.

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or your body, what you will wear…’ (Luke 12:22)

Is our faith such that we are able to live our lives in this way?

‘They already know what to do…’ (Luke 19:31)

This verse is taken from the story of the rich man and the poor man Lazarus and focuses on the action – or inaction – of the rich man. Would we have responded in the way we should have to the plight of poor Lazarus?

‘If anyone wants to follow me, then they must take up their cross and put their own needs aside…’ (Matt. 16:24)

Are we ready to follow Jesus in this way?

‘One day Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am”‘ (Matt. 16:13)

How would we answer this question?

‘A man asked Jesus a question:’ “Who is my neighbour?”‘ (Luke 10:31)

Who do we think of as our neighbours?

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind…’ (Matt.22:37)

Does this describe our love of and for our Lord? Can we honestly say yes?

Bible Readings: John 9:1-38

Last week we thought of how people might say that some of the things that we see happening in the world today are a sign of the times we live in – one of these well known phrases that we here all the time. What about – everything happens for a reason. Or, what’s for you will not go by you. Or, what will be will be. Are these the kind of mantra that we live our lives by today and if so where does the question of faith come into all of this. How does the relationship we have with God apply to all of this.

Our passage this morning begins with Jesus seeing a man born blind and the disciples asking a seemingly silly question – at least it might seem silly to us today. Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents. But silly as this question might seem to us, it made perfect sense to them at that time. Where many believed in a kind of first century version of instant karma…of direct punishment for sins. Kind of, everything happens for a reason.

In his response, however,  Jesus focuses on how God will respond and in so doing, takes the focus away from trying to find out why this happened and instead focuses on how God will work in this situation. And that’s something we need to remember no matter what we see happening around us. In ways that we might not be aware of or imagine, God will be there at work, through individuals, agencies or whatever. God will be there…

All too often in this passage we focus on the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees, for obvious reasons. However, there are many other things that we can take from this passage.

This has happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life…

Jesus answer to the disciples when they ask whose sin was to blame for his condition seems controversial to say the least. Because for some the implication here might be that God actually set up a man to be born blind, in order to teach the rest of us a lesson.

Now that’s huge, because if that applies to this one scenario here, where else might such an argument be applied.

Needless to say, however, that’s not what Jesus was really saying here. God did not make it so this man was born blind, that’s not God’s way. The harsh but simple truth is quite simply that, as human beings, we are all, each of us, born fragile or flawed in some way. And by the same token, we each have our own innate characteristics and qualities.

In years gone by there is no doubt that many may have believed that some of these may have been because of sin on someone’s part. That’s not the case, but by the same token, nor is it the case that God has allowed these things to happen in order to teach us some kind of lesson.

The truth is, that however we were born, God’s works can be revealed in and through us.

All to often, as human beings, the reality is that we need to believe that everything happens for a reason. Things don’t just happen, there has to be a reason behind everything. However, whilst that may indeed be true in many instances, the problem arises when we feel the need to define precisely what that reason is.

Whereas, rather than keeping looking for such a reason, what we should be doing is sometimes just simply accepting that we have no idea why things happen and turn out the way they do. But that even so, still we are able to look and see how God is at work in these situations.

Because when we learn to look for the hand of God at work, in all and every situation, we are then able to anticipate God’s healing and grace in every situation. And that perhaps leads us into another lesson that we can learn from this passage.

Are we not at times guilty of refusing to question certain things by closing our eyes, and our minds, to new perspectives. And in so doing avoiding so much of what we might discover in life. But more than that, is it not the case that when we refuse to see things, or choose to see things incorrectly, not only do we run the risk of hurting others, very often those closest to us. We are also in grave danger of allowing our ‘blindness’ to impact negatively on our faith. Whereas if we keep our eyes wide open and are willing to see things as they are, we are able to see life in all its fullness and discover a real connection with God and with others.

In our passage the presence of the healed man before them negates any and every argument that the Pharisees could possible put forward with regard to Jesus healing. But they refuse to see what is directly in front of them and maybe this is something that we need to be wary of…

How often do we fail to see what is directly in front of us. How often do we fail to see and accept the hand of God at work around us.

This passage, and indeed the whole of John’s Gospel, seeks to reveal Jesus as God’s chosen one, the one whom God sent for every one of us. The revelation of God Himself. And in so doing it seeks to inspire faith in Jesus Himself rather than just the miracles He performs.

And the blind man is, if you like, the model which we are to follow…

Not because of the physical miracle of the healing itself, not because this man goes from blindness to being able to see. But because he is able to see Jesus for precisely who and what He is.

Amen.