This week in our Gospel lesson from the Gospel of John we find Jesus sharing who he is with people. And most of them know not what to make of it.
A short recap of the Lenten Gospels for some context …
The Pharisee Nicodemus visits Jesus at night, Jesus meets a woman at a well at mid-day, a blind guy is healed on the Sabbath, now the dead friend of Jesus, Lazarus, is resurrected. And all along the way Jesus is trying to teach us to see … to know.
What I’ve experienced over the last 3 weeks is a lot of anxiety and much of that is my own. Anxiety is a normal human reaction to the unknown, the unwanted. There are times when we have better anxiety coping skills; talk it out, phone a friend, clean the bathroom, work on a hobby, finish projects, exercise a prayer practice. We also have some not so healthy ways to try and cope; an extra glass[es] of wine,
overeating, take your anxiety out on others, hoarding food or supplies, … [This is just my short list]
Anyway back to the Gospel, here is Jesus, I imagine, trying to manage anxiety over Lazarus’ illness and death, his disciples, Martha and Mary, the religious leaders and friends.
And I need to hear the words that Jesus has got this, our response is to do what we can to assist and not get in God’s way. Jesus has got this.
That’s easy to say from the comfort of my kitchen table and yet my interior response is panic and disbelief … hey Jesus if you had been here this wouldn’t have happened.
And then we have the amazing recovery of Lazarus with the help of the community, Lazarus emerges. Jesus knows we need each other, okay that’s challenging to figure out, especially for a perfectionist.
So, might we be unbound from the things holding, binding us. Pick one.
Join us this week for worship on Wednesday evening at 5 pm and Sunday morning 10 am. How and where these will happen are still being determined, both geographically and technologically.
For children – I remember the story of the recycled orchestra of Paraguay – I preached on this miracle last year. It is an amazing story of resurrection – there is a documentary and some supporting books. This could be a great project for any family to learn more about it.
by Susan Hood
(Written for ages 5-8)
In this story of deep grief and great joy, we begin moving closer to the story that will be the focus of the approaching Holy Week. The grief of Mary and Martha and Jesus over the death of Lazarus is real. It is painful. It is hard. But Jesus’ power to restore life from something that is dead is also real and an occasion for wonder and joy. All of these realities – death and new life – are present in this story of Lazarus. And they are realities for us today. Where do we see pain and hopelessness in our own lives or in the world? Where do we see signs of new life blossoming in places that once seemed to have no life at all? Martha’s words about Jesus point us to where we find that new life: “Yes, Lord. I believe you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.” (v. 27)
A music teacher arrives in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay that is built on a trash dump. Every day, garbage trucks roll up to dump more waste. Favio Chavez sees the children playing amid broken glass and trash and wants to give them something more beautiful. He tries to start an orchestra with some instruments he has gathered, but realizes they are not accessible to the children in town whose parents could never pay for them. So, with the help of others, he scours the trash for things that might make suitable instruments. A piece of water pipe becomes a flute. An oil drum becomes a beatable drum with the addition of an old x-ray film attached to it. The orchestra becomes a place where the children learn about dedication, community and hard work and the town is lifted up through the sounds of music. Ada goes from a timid child to first violin in the orchestra and her world expands as the Recycled Orchestra traveled to play in venues all over the world. Ada’s story and the story of Lazarus are both stories of the realities of the things that bind us – poverty, alienation, death – and the reality of new life.
Check on your friends and neighbors from the proper distance. Call your family. Send a letter. I’m using our directory and praying my way through that.
Rev. Alison +
