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SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2008

THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT

John 11 (The left-handed sermon)

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TODAY’S SERMON THEME:

In moments of doubt, confusion and crisis, God is right there with us. And no matter what words you speak -- and even if you do not speak at all -- God listens intently and understands completely. God is never confused. And His voice is the only one that can bring life, hope, and joy out of death, depression, and despair. The proof of this is all around us.

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1. I have in the past eight days proven -- beyond any shadow of doubt -- my two favorite definitions of life. The first is this: (1) Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans. And the second is this: (2) If you want to give God a good laugh, tell him your long-range plans. I am standing before you with a large surgical cast on my right arm as a living witness to (a) my own weakness, and (b) the sovereignty of God. As most of you know, I slipped on the ice on our front walkway while shoveling snow last Saturday night, wound up in the emergency room, and I spent most of last Wednesday having surgery to fix my shattered right wrist. Underneath this bulky cast, I am now the proud owner of three screws, a large plate, and two wires in my right wrist. And I am sufficiently humbled so that I will never again make joking comments about the winter weather here in Fargo. I promise. No more disparaging words about the winter weather. (While I was in the ER, two other people came in because of falling.) At any rate, I was reminded of the many other times I have fallen over the years: When I was young and fell, it was funny. When I was a bit older and fell, it was embarrassing. And now it is just plain DANGEROUS.

But I do want to thank you all for your prayers, cards, and e-mails this past week. And especially for your prayers for Dixie, who has just come through radiation treatments for breast cancer and a serious car wreck at the end of the past year. And now she has to deal with a husband who will only be able to use his left hand for the next several months. And please believe me when I tell you that I am NOT a great patient.

2. Over the last week, while trying to be patient, I have had a little time to think about prayer -- and about the different types of prayers that come to us in moments of crisis. When I suddenly found myself on the icy walkway last weekend, as best I can remember, my first words were, “Oh, my God!” You know, there were times in my life when other words came first, before the name of God, in similar situations. Including some words I would never want anyone else to hear. And, to be completely honest, I was somewhat surprised that my first words after falling were addressed directly TO Him . . . And not hurled in anger AT Him. I guess that even in my shock, even with the blood rushing to my shattered bones, I instinctively knew a couple of important things:

(1) Clearly, I knew that God did not make me fall, just as He did not cause Dixie’s car to be struck broadside by a college girl who ran a red light doing 30 miles an hour.

(2) And I knew that the devil did not cause it either. Old Satan gets far too much credit for things that happen in life -- things that can be chalked up to human carelessness, stupidity, or brokenness. We are ourselves the cause of much of our pain and turmoil, just as we are often the cause of so much pain and turmoil to those around us. Bad things happen to good people all the time, as any newspaper or TV news show will reveal. We still live in a broken world -- a world that produces suicide bombers, drunken drivers, and crooked politicians . . . Along with saints like Billy Graham, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

(3) When I fell last Saturday night, I realized instantly that I had slipped on a patch of sheer ice, covered with a light dusting of snow. And, surprisingly, I realized instantly that I had only myself to blame. And my broken self -- again to my surprise -- turned immediately to my Lord. The fact that I got up immediately -- without hitting my head, or back, or elbow, or knee, or hip -- and walked immediately into the house, is nothing short of a miracle. And the fact that Dixie was home, and that my first words to her were “I need you to drive me to the emergency room right now; I fell on the ice and broke my wrist” -- these were also miracles.

(4) Even in my shock, I found myself surrounded -- on all sides -- by miracles. One after another. In the midst of the worst physical pain I have felt in 40-plus years, I still felt myself to be surrounded by the presence of God.

3. The simple point I want to make this morning, before we look at the miraculous Gospel lesson of the raising of Lazarus, is this:

4. The most dramatic illustration of the power of the Lord’s voice is seen in our Gospel lesson this morning from John Chapter 13. Without question, this is one of the most amazing stories in the entire Bible. Let us take a closer look:

(1) The setting -- Jesus and His apostles enter the little village of Bethany, just across the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. It was then, and is now, a suburb of Jerusalem. The moment in time is the day before Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. Lazarus, one of Jesus’ dearest friends, has been dead four full days. People are still gathered in mourning at the home of Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha of Bethany.

(2) The people -- Jesus enters a chaotic scene -- tears, confusion, anguish, sorrow, pain, despair, depression, desperation.

(3) The encounter with Martha -- Jesus first encounters Martha, who was away from the crowd, probably watching for Him. “Lord, if ONLY you had been here earlier,” she begins. If only. How many of our prayers begin this way. But Jesus already knew . . . Just as He always knows . . . He knows our needs before we ask. Martha goes on to profess her belief that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. But she is not sure what this means. Jesus tells her: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Martha, do you believe this?” (I want you to hear this again, and this time put YOUR OWN NAME there instead of Martha’s. DO YOU BELIEVE? It is a question that demands a YES or NO answer.) And Martha responds with a resounding YES.

(4) The encounter with Mary -- After this exchange, Mary arrives, along with the mourners -- probably from the house. These are the ones, some of them, who are transfixed with death, who spend much of their spiritual energies focused on this life, not the next. This is the group that is always ready to go back to the tomb. And so they do here, in our lesson. “Show me where you have laid him,” Jesus says. When they arrive at the tomb, JESUS WEEPS.

(5) Jesus encounters death -- He tells them to roll away the stone from in front of the hillside burial cave. Martha protests about the stench of death. BUT JESUS SHOUTS IN A LOUD VOICE: “LAZARUS, COME FORTH!”

In Spanish, it is: “LAZARO, SAL DE AHI!” In the Greek of the New Testament, it is: “LAZARE, DEURO EXOO!” With the stone moved away, the dead man stands up from his final resting place and comes out. Jesus then says: “UNBIND HIM AND LET HIM GO.”

(6) The voice of Jesus -- Penetrates the chasm between life and death. Shatters the bonds of death and the grave. Brings life into the midst of death, hope into hopelessness, joy into despair, light into darkness.

(7) The reaction -- The crowd, for the most part, is stunned. Shocked. Some run all the way back to Jerusalem to report to the authorities -- who determine not only to get rid of Jesus, but to get rid of Lazarus, too.

NEVERTHELESS -- The voice of Jesus is so powerful, so majestic, so miraculous, that it echoes the voice of God in the Creation narrative in Genesis 1:3:

Way’omer Elohim Yahiy ‘Owr WaYahiy ‘Owr.

And the Lord said, “Let there be light, and there was light.”

5. How is YOUR prayer life today, on this fifth Sunday in Lent? Please remember: In moments of doubt, confusion and crisis, God is right there with us. And no matter what words you speak -- and even if you do not speak at all -- God listens intently and understands completely. God is never confused. And His voice is the only one that can bring life, hope, and joy out of death, depression, and despair. The proof of this is all around us.

Even an old right-handed pitcher like me -- a right-handed pitcher who can’t use his right hand -- can testify to the truth of this.