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.  Jesus was across the Jordan near the area where John the Baptist’s ministry was located. 

 From Bethany, it was an easy day’s journey, so Jesus could have been there in two days.  But Jesus decided to wait two days before he and his disciples left for the village where the three siblings lived.

 Lazarus was dead.  It was the fourth day, and the stench of death was already seeping from the sealed tomb.  The two unmarried sisters had not only lost their beloved brother, without him, they had no protector and no source of income.  They found themselves in a hopeless situation.

 It was the fourth day.  It was too late for hope.  There was only tears, disappointment, and anger.

 “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” said Martha.

 “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” said Mary.

 Where were you, Jesus?!?

 Jesus accepted Martha’s anger and gently reminded her who he was.  “I am the resurrection and the life.”

 Jesus has the power and authority not only to raise the dead and bring spiritual life through the liberation of humanity from the night of sin.  Through Christ, death is not the end of anyone’s story, for no one whom Jesus loves can be separated from God.

 Christ can also redeem the shattered dreams, failures and disappointments of our lives and resurrect our hope and confidence in God’s future for us.

 In the face Mary’s disappointment and grief, Jesus responded with compassion and his own tears.  Even though Jesus knew that Lazarus was going to be all right, was going to be healed, the Son of God took the time to share Mary’s sorrow.

 Undaunted by the putrid smell coming from the tomb, Jesus ordered the stone blocking the entrance to be removed.  “Lazarus,” Jesus shouted, “Come out!”

 Jesus called forth life from a hopeless tomb on a hopeless day.

 In the darkness of lost hopes and dreams of happy endings in a future Tom and I had planned for, I found comfort in the tears Jesus wept with me.

 Entombed in hopelessness and the reality of suffering in this world, I heard the voice of Christ, the resurrection and the life.  I was called to take courage and walk out into the unknown future.

 By the grace of God, I was able to move forward, living into Lazarus name, for God had helped me.

 On the fourth, hopeless days of our lives, Jesus can resurrect our hope.