Our Lady of the Rosary, NOLA
Jesus
is perturbed. Very upset. The Greek word here – embrimaomai
– means something like “angry within himself.” John uses this
word twice in the reading. Once when Mary falls at his feet weeping.
And again after the Jews wonder aloud why he couldn't save Lazarus'
life – he healed the blind man after all! Why is Jesus angry?
What's more, why start a homily on the last Sunday of Lent by
pointing out Jesus' anger? The Sunday readings of Lent build to this
Sunday. Jesus is tempted in the desert for 40 days. He is
transfigured on Mt. Tabor. He meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob's
well. Then he heals the Man Born Blind. With our readings this
morning, we see a theme: Jesus' humanity – his consistent,
undeniable humanity. And the interaction between his humanity and the
physical world he inhabits. As we rapidly approach the solemn
celebration of his resurrection from the dead, the gospel writers
want to point us back again and again to Christ's human nature, back
to his body and bones and blood. Lest we forget that Christ's
resurrection was a physical, historical event, we are reminded –
by his anger – that is he one of us, like us in all ways but sin.
And like him, we too will be resurrected.
As
strange as it is to think of Jesus as an angry man, it is even
stranger to think that he allowed Lazarus to die in order to raise
him to live again. But it appears that this is exactly what happened.
John reports that Jesus waits for two days after hearing about
Lazarus' deadly illness before he leaves for Bethany. Two day delay
plus two days of travel and our Lord arrives four days after his
friend has died. When Jesus arrives, Martha says to him, “Lord, if
you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Her words may
sound accusatory, so she quickly adds, “But even now I know that
whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Imagine Martha's
emotional state. Mourning her brother's death. Upset with Jesus for
not arriving sooner. Relieved that he is there. And trusting that he
will be able to do something miraculous. Riding this roller-coaster
of pain and barely suppressed joy, Martha believes. And Jesus chooses
this moment to reveal a mystery. To the grieving sister he says,
“Your brother will rise.” This is why our Lord waited to attend
Lazarus: to uncover the mystery of faith, to reveal an eternal effect
of believing that he is the Christ – new life out of death.
Jesus
even spells it out: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever
believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives
and believes in me will never die.” Then he turns to Martha and
asks the fundamental question of faith, “Do you believe this?”
Martha's answer is exemplary. Is ours? I mean, do you believe that
Jesus Christ is the resurrection and life? Do you believe in him? Do
you believe that by believing in him you will rise again to new life?
And let's not piddle with spiritualized metaphors or psychological
interpretations here. Jesus means exactly what he says. Do you
believe that you – body and soul – will be given an eternal life
after you physically die? The whole point of waiting for Lazarus'
death is to reveal the mystery of life after death. The whole point
of showing Jesus at the tomb with a four-day old corpse is to reveal
the mystery of life after death. Martha warns Jesus when he orders
the tomb opened, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been
dead for four days.” Spiritualized or psychologized metaphors do
not emit a stench, much less a stench that deserves a warning! We're
talking about a corpse. A dead human body. No embalming. No
refrigeration. Martha's warning about the smell is not just a
courtesy to Jesus. She deadly serious.
And
so is Jesus when he answers her warning, “Did I not tell you that
if you believe you will see the glory of God?” He did tell her
that. Martha believes. So, she sees the glory of God. Lazarus walks
out of the tomb when Jesus calls his name. Lazarus risen from a
four-day old death is the glory of God that Jesus promises. That's
the same promise he makes to us: believe and be raised. And not just
on the last day either. But raised again and again from the little
deaths that sin inflicts on us daily. Yes, there will be one,
final resurrection – some into eternal life and some into an
eternal death – but there is also an ongoing, daily resurrection
that we experience along the way to perfection. As our joy is being
completed along the Way, we experience everything that Martha and
Mary experience after Lazarus' dies – joy, anger, disappointment,
wonder, grief. And with Christ among us we experience each one of
these passions as a whole human person, a complete creation made
complete by Christ's miraculous resurrection from his tomb. But our
perfection in him must wait until the last day and our job 'til then
is to do as Martha does – to believe that Christ, the Son of God, “the
one who is coming into the world.”
And
to not only believe that Christ is the Son of God, “the one who is
coming into the world,” but to live every imperfect day in the full
knowledge that everything we say and do shouts to the world around us
what it is we believe and who it is we believe in. Keep in mind, no
one has to be a Christian or even a theist to be a good person. No
one has to be a Christian or even a theist to do good works. No one
has to be a Christian or even a theist to work for justice and peace.
Every good thing a Christian or theist can say, do, or think can be
done by a non-believer. However, only a follower of Christ can give
him praise and call him Lord. Only a follower of Christ can claim an
eternal inheritance, one bequeath to us as God's adopted children.
Only a follower of Christ can say with Martha, “Yes, Lord. I have
come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who
is coming into the world.” If we cannot or will not make this
simple proclamation, then we cannot claim to believe that the Christ
is Lord, that he is risen, or that we will be raised with him on the
last day. In other words, our claim to be followers of Christ is a
lie. And we are living an even bigger lie.
Our
Sunday readings in the season of Lent draw us toward Lazarus'
emergence from his tomb in order to prepare us for Christ's
resurrection on Easter morning. Each Sunday reading pounds on the
theme of Christ's humanity so that the glory of his miraculous
resurrection doesn't outshine the truth that he is one of us in all
but sin. He cries. He bleeds. He feels and expresses anger. He mourns
and believes. And he loves. Just like we do. And if we place our
trust in him, believing in his Lordship and acting on that belief in
our lives, we will rise as he rose. With just one week of Lent left
before we begin the Easter season, let this be the question you ask
yourself all day everyday: do
I believe? Do I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, risen – body and soul
– from the dead on the third day? If you say yes to this question,
our Lord will say, “Untie him, untie her and let them go.”
