15^th November 2012

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 4 November 2012

Lessons - Isaiah 25:6-9; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:25-44

Jesus said to Martha, 'I am the resurrection and the life; those who
believe in me, though they die, yet shall they live, and whoever
lives and believes in me shall never die.' (John 11:25)

These words, often read at funerals, are most suitable for All Saints Day and the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. As we remember fellow members of the 'communion of saints' who have gone before us, we are encouraged to live by hope in the face of evil and death.

The raising of Lazarus occurs at a pivotal point in the Gospel. In John's portrayal of Jesus' unique power this sixth sign prepares us for the drama of his crucifixion-and-resurrection. At the same time, it hardens the resolve of Jewish leaders to eliminate this popular 'miracle-worker' (11:45ff).

As we hear this incredible story, it is important to see what John is saying about Jesus. It is easy to miss the 'miracle within the miracle'.
Jesus does not say 'I am the resurrection and the life . . . ' after Lazarus is raised from the dead - as if the miracle proved his identity - but before: to point to the deeper significance of what is about to transpire. Jesus, says John, is much, much more than a wonder-worker!

* The story itself, like the raising of the widow's son (Luke 7:11-17) and the centurion's daughter (Mark 6:35-43), stretches our credulity to breaking point. It flies in the face of our experience of the horror and finality of death to believe that a stinking, disfigured corpse could be raised to life.

* But even more shocking is the claim that Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the One who exercises the very power of God over death. John's portrayal of Jesus as 'the resurrection and the life' - the One who embodies God's life- giving purposes for humanity - is unbelievable and offensive in a age that believes that there are many paths to truth.

Strange as it may seem, however, our natural scepticism can be the starting point for seeing the uniqueness of Jesus. This dramatic, compelling story speaks of genuine hope in the midst of the utter desolation of death.

It reminds us of earlier announcements of hope in dire situations:

* Ezekiel speaks to dispirited exiles in Babylon whose plight is so acute that they are compared to a 'valley of dry bones'. 'Dry bones' are covered with sinews, flesh and skin and a word of hope is breathed into them as a sign of God's coming victory over evil. (Ezekiel 37)

* Isaiah looks to a festive time when Israel's hope in God will be vindicated and 'all nations on earth' will share in the promised reality that 'death shall be swallowed up for ever and tears shall be wiped away from all faces' (Isaiah 25:6ff).

In places where Israel's death and death itself seemed inevitable, a word of hope is spoken! The dead shall not be separated eternally from the Living God - the God who opposes, and ultimately defeats, the forces of death.

Such depictions of hope prepare us, to some degree, for the raising of the dead Lazarus.

Lazarus is not yet 'dry bones' but, after four days, his body has completely collapsed and the stench of his decaying flesh is strong. He is lifeless; beyond hope. Yet remarkably he is raised to life as a sign that God brings 'life' where, from the human point of view, all is hopeless.
Nobody, living or dead - and Lazarus too will die - is beyond the scope of God's loving power.

It is not surprising that Lazarus has become a symbol of all who, unexpectedly, have triumphed over adversity:

* Morris West's novel, Lazarus, tells the story of a fictitious pope who, having ruled with an iron fist, is completely changed after facing the prospect of his own death in a dangerous heart operation. His transformation as a man of compassion is likened to Lazarus being raised from the dead.

* The former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, once described John Howard as 'Lazarus with a triple bypass' to describe how his seemingly dead political prospects unexpectedly came to life. John Howard was so taken with the description that he called his memoirs Lazarus Rising.

The imaginative and symbolic uses of Lazarus must not blind us to the specific point that John is making. He is not interested primarily in Lazarus but in the identity of the One who breaks through the final boundary between life and death by which our lives are limited.

We should look for the 'miracle within the miracle' in this situation.

Like all Gospel writers, John wants us to look more deeply into what Jesus says and does. Do not take the miracles at face-value. Do not mistake Jesus for a magician with supernatural powers to resuscitate the dead.
Look within and behind the miracle to see its true significance!

Otherwise, we will miss the 'true miracle' that Martha sees. She sees the full significance of Jesus. Jesus is the 'Messiah', the 'Son of God', the 'Lord' who has come into the world (11:27). He is head of the new Israel ('Messiah'), the fulfilment of Greek hopes ('Son of God'), the 'Lord' of all nations who embodies a future hope for humanity when death shall be no more (Revelation 21:1ff).

Replying to her confession of faith in him, Jesus says, 'I am the resurrection and the life . . . ' (the eleventh use of 'I am' in John's Gospel). Jesus is thus making the staggering claim that his power over death is identical with that of the 'I am who I am ... the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob' who called Moses to bring life to his enslaved people. (Exodus 3:6,13-15.)

The true miracle is that Christ is the very presence of God bringing life out of death, hope from despair! In him we see the miracle of a love unlike any other. We see that the loving compassion of God is stronger than death. The whole passage (11:1-44) is a reflection of that love.
Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary (v5). He weeps. And he acts on the authority of the One to whom he is intimately related as 'Father' (v41).

The story is a signpost to the life-giving death and resurrection of Jesus himself. He who is 'the resurrection and the life' is to be rejected, crucified, dead and buried (Apostles Creed). Jesus is not just a 'wonder worker', but the one whose own imminent death and resurrection is 'the sign' of hope for the dead, the hopeless, the desolate and the godforsaken. It is word of hope for the saints - living and dead.

If we see the true miracle in the raising of Lazarus is to know that nothing in life or death can separate the 'communion of saints' - dead and living - from the love of God in Christ.

The 'miracle within the miracle' is that God is uniquely present in the 'flesh' of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, to restore the 'dead' to life and to create lively faith and hope even where, from the human point of view, there is the stench of death and our 'bones' are dried up. In him is found full-bodied hope for the whole person - body, mind and spirit. In him there is hope for those who have suffered unspeakable evil or been scarred by life's tragedies or persecution.

It is also a miracle when people, here and there, like Martha, believe that God is uniquely at work in the costly life and death of Jesus to restore people to life-giving relationships where love of God and others mirrors the love between the Father and the Son. It is the Church's joy and privilege to celebrate this self-giving love in every aspect of our life-together, thus putting our trust in the eternal love of God.

On All Saints Day, therefore, we should celebrate this firm hope with the festive spirit of the prophet Isaiah (with the best food and wine) around the Lord's Table. This single historical event gives us confidence that death does not have the final word - that God who raised Lazarus from the dead shall destroy the 'last enemy' - the dread power of death - consistent with Christ's triumph over crucifixion and the grave.

-----------------

Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of
Confessing Congregations within the UCA.