Sermon on John 11:1-45

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

Lazarus was dead.

He was not asleep. Jesus did not arrive in time to heal him.

Jesus had healed so many—where was he when his close friend was dying?

Lazarus’s sisters and other family and friends had gathered to mourn and support each other in their grief.

They were all probably thinking what Martha and then Mary said.

“Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died.”

And now, look: he’s crying! Maybe even Jesus is despairing.

Even Jesus was confronting the reality of death.

And yes, Jesus wept with his dear friends over Lazarus’s death. Jesus knows what it’s like to grieve. Jesus knows the bitter touch of death.

He wept even though he knew that death was no match for God.

Jesus met his friends in their grief, even as he trusted in the God who breathed life into the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision.

Jesus knew he had the power to heal—he had, indeed, healed many. But he trusted God enough to wait when he was told to wait, instead of rushing to Lazarus’s side. It must have been terrible staying put, waiting helplessly as he knew the life drained from Lazarus’s body.

Once the time came, he risked his very life to go out to a place where people had nearly killed him. His disciple Thomas was keenly aware of this risk and resolved to die with him (so much for Doubting Thomas).

Martha and Mary’s words must have pierced his soul— “if you had been here…if only…”

And so he wept on his way to the tomb.

But the story was not over yet.

Lazarus, even in death, heard the voice of his shepherd and came to him.

God breathed into his dead bones, and he lived!

Jesus, the resurrection and the life, overcame death in a final, miraculous sign that pointed toward his own death and resurrection and the final defeat of the power of death.

God brings to life what seems dead, whether dry bones or Lazarus’s body.

And still, while the power of death has been defeated, we still feel its impact in the here and now.

Our bodies still die.

Disasters and wars still devastate our lives.

We still need organizations like Crittenton Services, because there are children who experience unimaginable pain and trauma in their young lives.

We still need groups like our Synod’s antiracism roundtable that will meet this afternoon, because white supremacy is alive and well.

We need activists and artists and community organizers because trans people are being legislated against simply for expressing who they are.

The world is not as it should be.

And still, amidst grief and death, God is still at work.

God is still breathing life into situations that make it seem like death has the last word.

There are organizations like Crittenton and LSS and Lutheran Disaster Response and so many others that are filled with people trying to ease the suffering in the world.

There are activists and artists and educators and others who are striving for equity and justice for all people of all races and ethnicities and genders and sexualities and abilities.

And for every individual who has dedicated their life to a cause like this, there are hundreds and thousands of people who are learning and growing and taking small, brave steps toward making earth a little more as it is in heaven.

There are people coming alongside their neighbors in pain, just as Mary and Martha’s community did for them.

There are people like Thomas, who was willing to put his body on the line for what he believed in.

There are people like you who, whether through your donations or physical presence or prayers, will allow the kids at Crittenton to just be kids today—playing and eating doughnuts and laughing.

By God’s power, in big and small ways, this is how we declare that death doesn’t win.

Jesus’ command to Lazarus’s friends and family was: “unbind him and let him go.”

God has overcome death, even though sometimes it’s hard to recognize that amid the suffering in the world. But our actions together, big and small, guided by the Holy Spirit, unbind the worldand declare that death has no power here.

Let our lives together unbind the world and follow where God’s life-giving breath leads us.