The Dirty Work of Resurrection
John 11:32-44
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
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If there is a story written about humanity, about us, it will center on relationships. We are relational people who deeply value the connectional threads that hold us together. Yet, at the same time, the story of humanity would also tell of our losses, fears, and waywardness. This week, as many remember saints who passed this year, we look for resurrection moments here and now. If we follow the Spirit of God, perhaps we will discover the dirty work of resurrection as one of mourning, redemption, and rebuilding.
It is a rare moment in the gospel story to find Jesus weeping, mourning over the loss of a friend. We see Jesus be passionate and express emotion in several other stories, but this is a special moment where we see just how much Jesus cares about the death of a friend and loved ones. Jesus wept. It was a sign of his love for a friend who was now entombed. It was and is a sign for us and shows just how much our living God cares for us as we find ourselves in tombs of our own making.
For as much as we look for resurrection moments, we must recognize the moments where we trap ourselves in tombs, in need of resurrection ourselves. This happens when we surround ourselves with questions of "What could have been," "What was," and "How," but those questions can't change our present reality and instead keep us in a mire of fatigue and weariness. Perhaps we are also plagued with guilt for all the times we have driven others to their tombs by our words and deeds, intentional and unintentional acts.
When we start to think that there's no way out, that is when we hear a voice calling from the outside, "Hey! [Your Name] Come out into the light! Come out and feel the warmth of the rays of God's life and love! Come out and risk living again for the sake of love! Come enter into a sustainable community of relationships." Jesus stands at the opening of whatever closed-off cave we've made for ourselves and pulls us free from the hold of death and despair. It is that needed jolt to wake us from a spirit of listlessness to one of new life and invigoration.
The resurrection of Lazarus from the damp and darkened tomb was a community endeavor; it wasn't done alone and it’s dirty. Jesus stands at the front and commands Lazarus to come out, and who is there to greet him? His friends, family, and a fellowship of folks who gathered to witness this miraculous sight. As Lazarus most likely stumbled out of the tomb, adjusting their eyes to the bright rays of the sun, the community swoops in to untie the bandages wrapped around his body and cleanse his body of the musty smell that clung to his body from the grave. This moment of resurrection and new life required the action and vision of a community. Jesus' role was indeed significant, but without the involvement of others, the power of this biblical narrative is lost. Resurrection is dirty work, but work that is holy and a part of our identity as people created in God’s image.
As we look at the relational aspect of this passage, there are two things I want you to consider and take to heart. The first is that Jesus continues to stand at whatever tomb you might be surrounded by and calls out your name. If you are wrestling with fear, doubt, with uncertainty in life, listen closely. Pray, and listen to the voice of God, who weeps for us and desires to bring us to life anew. And do not forget that it is this living God, who, as distant as they might feel, is walking by our side through the pains and glory of life.
The second thing is this: Don't stop building relationships with people as a church. I know that periods of transition are complicated, things slip through the cracks, patience begins to wane, and tempers can flare. But Jesus' calling to you to be that community of people who rushes in to do the work of resurrection and unbinding doesn't stop. The relationships you've formed here and will continue to form will bear witness to the resurrection hope, resurrection love that is made manifest today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. And that sacred calling does not stop because a church finds itself in transition. So please, continue to build relationships that undo bindings and help bring people into the light.
The deep relationships Jesus calls us to care about involve taking risks, personal investment, and daring to see the world through new eyes, which we can't do from a solitary tomb. The challenge for this season will be to listen hard for the voice of Jesus calling out to us, to reinvigorate our sense of mission, identity, and purpose. Of course, we aren't the first people who've had to wrestle with the realities of hardship and death and loss; Lord knows that generations before us struggled with similar endeavors and feelings. But, as they learned new ways to lean hard into the vision that God was casting, may we, too, learn to lean hard into the ways where the Spirit of God is calling us to act.
As we remember how much God values and cherishes a relationship with us, may we give thanks, and in offering thanks, take the following steps necessary to be a part of something that helps others find a way out of their tombs, as well, as we live our lives together. May we joyfully participate in the dirty work of resurrection.