THE FOURTH DAY
John 11:1-45 I remember the day and time my hope died. It was June 26 th , 2018, at 5:00 pm. I was finishing up a project in my office at Fort Madison United Methodist Church in southeast Iowa. My cell phone rang. It was a police officer in Savannah, Georgia, informing me that my husband Tom was dead. After the initial shock had worn off, I raged at God. “Where were you?!? I put Tom in your care; I prayed for you to take care of him and protect him!” All the hope I had invested in the future Tom and I had dreamed about was gone. Lazarus, whose name means “God has helped,” was dead. According to the Jewish tradition of that time, the soul stayed with the body for three days. During those three days, healing and resurrection were a possibility. Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus, their dear friend, Jesus who had spent time in their home, Jesus who had a close bond with their brother, Lazarus. ...