Sunday 1st November - All Saints Day
Theme: Saints Alive!
Readings: Isaiah 25:6-9 Revelation 21:1-6a John 11:32-44
Psalm 24:1-6
Theme: Saints Alive!
Readings: Isaiah 25:6-9 Revelation 21:1-6a John 11:32-44
Psalm 24:1-6
Comment:
The story of the raising of Lazarus has a lot of very human reactions. We see Mary blaming Jesus for Lazarus’ death – and she had a point, for Jesus delayed coming until he knew Lazarus had died. (In fact if he had come immediately he would still have been two days too late.) We see Jesus weeping at Lazarus’ tomb. We see the crowd acknowledging Jesus’ love for Lazarus, and some wondering why Jesus had not kept Lazarus from dying. We see Martha’s common sense objection to removing the stone – you don’t enter a tomb to pay your respects when the body is already decaying and the smell unbearable. And of course there is Jesus’ common sense reaction to the sight of Lazarus coming out of the tomb – get him out of the
wrapping of grave clothes!
The natural human reactions cannot disguise the supernatural goings on. This is an amazing miracle! To bring someone back from death when they’ve only been dead a short time is one thing; to do so after the full horrors of decay have set in, that is something else!
There are big questions about the story. Not the fact of the miracle – God the Creator has the power to bring life out of death. But it seems that Jesus knew from the start what was going to happen. Why then was he so upset? This may be a puzzle only to those who react to problems by first looking for solutions, rather than by first empathising with the sufferer, for the answer must lie in the fact that he shares our suffering even while knowing all the reasons for it and the outcomes of it.
A bigger question is what is the point of the story? John selects his miracles carefully, as pointers to some truth about Jesus. The obvious truth that this miracle points to is that Jesus is Lord of life – ‘the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it’ (John 5:21). Lazarus was not resurrected to eternal life; he came back to resume his earthly life, and in due course to die again. But the resurrection was certainly pointed to by this miracle. The miracle also underlines the fact that when Jesus was crucified he voluntarily chose to die. He had the power to come down from the cross. But his death was the necessary prelude for true resurrection, a new creation which he invites us all to share in.
The passage from Revelation tells us more about that new creation. (‘No more sea’ means ‘nowhere for evil to live’, for in Jewish lore the sea was the home of evil.) The best part: God will live with us, face to face, and we will live happily ever after! It’s not a fairy story!
What has this to do with All Saints Day? Simply this: a saint is one who is ‘set apart for God’ (that’s what the Greek word for saint means). If we belong to Jesus, we are set apart for God – not just for this life, but for ever. We have a place in the new creation! This is what we were made for, this is what we come through this world for.
Questions:
1) How can we be sure about all this?
2) What is your hope for the future?
The story of the raising of Lazarus has a lot of very human reactions. We see Mary blaming Jesus for Lazarus’ death – and she had a point, for Jesus delayed coming until he knew Lazarus had died. (In fact if he had come immediately he would still have been two days too late.) We see Jesus weeping at Lazarus’ tomb. We see the crowd acknowledging Jesus’ love for Lazarus, and some wondering why Jesus had not kept Lazarus from dying. We see Martha’s common sense objection to removing the stone – you don’t enter a tomb to pay your respects when the body is already decaying and the smell unbearable. And of course there is Jesus’ common sense reaction to the sight of Lazarus coming out of the tomb – get him out of the
wrapping of grave clothes!
The natural human reactions cannot disguise the supernatural goings on. This is an amazing miracle! To bring someone back from death when they’ve only been dead a short time is one thing; to do so after the full horrors of decay have set in, that is something else!
There are big questions about the story. Not the fact of the miracle – God the Creator has the power to bring life out of death. But it seems that Jesus knew from the start what was going to happen. Why then was he so upset? This may be a puzzle only to those who react to problems by first looking for solutions, rather than by first empathising with the sufferer, for the answer must lie in the fact that he shares our suffering even while knowing all the reasons for it and the outcomes of it.
A bigger question is what is the point of the story? John selects his miracles carefully, as pointers to some truth about Jesus. The obvious truth that this miracle points to is that Jesus is Lord of life – ‘the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it’ (John 5:21). Lazarus was not resurrected to eternal life; he came back to resume his earthly life, and in due course to die again. But the resurrection was certainly pointed to by this miracle. The miracle also underlines the fact that when Jesus was crucified he voluntarily chose to die. He had the power to come down from the cross. But his death was the necessary prelude for true resurrection, a new creation which he invites us all to share in.
The passage from Revelation tells us more about that new creation. (‘No more sea’ means ‘nowhere for evil to live’, for in Jewish lore the sea was the home of evil.) The best part: God will live with us, face to face, and we will live happily ever after! It’s not a fairy story!
What has this to do with All Saints Day? Simply this: a saint is one who is ‘set apart for God’ (that’s what the Greek word for saint means). If we belong to Jesus, we are set apart for God – not just for this life, but for ever. We have a place in the new creation! This is what we were made for, this is what we come through this world for.
Questions:
1) How can we be sure about all this?
2) What is your hope for the future?