Lent with Lazarus

 

We are living with Lazarus this Lent.  We are diving and dwelling into this unique narrative that is only in the Gospel of John.  Yesterday, we prayerfully read the passage; we are slowly savoring the words as if we were eating a delicious piece of dark chocolate.  And I invited you to pay particular attention to your questions.  And here is one of mine: why did Jesus procrastinate in going to see Lazarus?  Rewind and remember the story, Jesus hears that Lazarus is seriously sick.  The brilliant storyteller John tells us Mary and Martha send Jesus the text message about their brother’s critical condition it reads, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”  Do you hear the throb in those words?  The love Jesus has for Lazarus is phila love or familial love (remember that from a few weeks ago).  Lazarus might have been Jesus “anma cara”, soul friend. 

 

Given this reality of a love between Jesus and Lazarus, why didn’t Jesus hop on the next train to Bethany?  Why didn’t he leave skid marks in the sand?  Why in the world would he linger, terry, decide that he needed to finish binge watching all of Netflix?

 

Now, as preachers and teachers, we often think we must settle and solve these questions for you.  Religious professionals think it is our job to defend Jesus, deflect anything that feels like criticism.  So we say things like, “Oh, Jesus totally knew what he was doing, that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and it is a happy ending after all.  So it’s all good.” 

 

Really?

 

Was it okay to put his friends, Mary and Martha, through the emotional rollercoaster of burying their brother just to prove his power?

How did Lazarus feel about being the prop in this parable?

And finally, I am not sure that this “ends justify the means” explanation solves everything.

 

Why did Jesus stay put rather than run to be with his friends?  Truth be told, we don’t know.  I know John presents Jesus as having it all under control.  But also remember, John isn’t doing live Tweets from the scene of the story unfolding in real time, John is writing after the fact.  John is writing after Lazarus had been raised from the dead.

 

We don’t know exactly why Jesus chose to stay behind.  More importantly, it opens the door to ask, why do I do what I do?  Why do I procrastinate sometimes?  Sometimes it is out of fear that I might fail. Sometimes it is because I see in a mirror dimly, don’t realize the consequences of not acting quicker.  Am I trying to do too much and let a ball drop unintentionally?

 

Most of us can look back on our lives and see moments when we think, “If only…”  If only I had bought Google stock.  If only I had focused more on family than on career.  If only I had eaten healthier.  I am not sure if Jesus had those thoughts.  But one clue in the text is that Jesus wept (vs. 35).  I believe his tears are real and somewhat are in tension with the explanation that he knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.  If Jesus went there knowing his friend who died four days ago and everything was going to be alright in the end, why cry?

 

I don’t have all the answers.  But I do connect with this story in moments when I terry, drag my feet, and let my inner three-year-old stomp his foot and say, “I don’t wanna!”  I also have moments when I think, “If I knew then what I know now.”  And yet, life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.  May we continue to sit with this story that can provoke and evoke so much within us.  Amen.