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Monday, March 14, 2005
Death, Be Not Proud
God must be a great dancer.
I mean, his timing is impeccable. I'll explain that in a minute.
The last four weekends I've presided at four memorial services. It's like we've been infected in an epidemic of death. Each of those people lived a long good life, so our ceremonies turned out to be celebrations as much as final farewells. Even so, I'm insisting now that anyone else planning to die must take a number and stand in line.
Anyway, about God's timing...
In this season of death, yesterday's assigned Gospel passage was John 11. It's the story of Jesus at the tomb of his good friend Lazarus, who with his sisters Mary and Martha lived a stone's throw from Jerusalem. It seems Jesus made it a point on his trips in and out of the holy city to spend the night at their house. John says simply that he loved them. Like family.
This time he's there on life's saddest mission. Lazarus has died and been in the tomb four days already. His sisters are beside themselves, because Jesus had delayed his coming. Each of them separately tells him, "If you'd only been here, you could have healed him!"
I suppose God has a different time table from ours. How many times do you and I think, or pray, "NOW is the time for God to do something GOOD! Come on!!" And still it doesn't happen.
In any case, Jesus' clock wasn't set to Lazarus Standard Time.
His answer to both sisters was, "Your brother will rise again." To which they said, "Yes. At the end of time. [Between the lines: But that's cold comfort for here and now.]"
Then he says, "No. Now. Watch this!"
Wiping away his own tears, he faces the tomb and shouts,"Lazarus! Come out of there!"
Which he does. Yikes.
So. About God's timing...
If ever these four local families, their scores of friends, and one weary pastor needed to hear again that death is not the last word in life -- it's now!
We're well aware that death is a part of life. Everybody's body eventually wears out, shuts down, if disease or disaster doesn't get to it first. And we're realistic enough to feel all the ups and downs of the grief process.
But in light of Jesus' own death and rising up to leave an empty tomb, we're bold to look death in the eye and say, "You lose." Because there's so much more to life than flesh and blood. God's Spirit breathes into our spirit the kind of life that goes beyond death's last gasp. That's the meaning of Easter.
Hey. If you're in the neighborhood, come celebrate it with us. Two Sundays from now, March 27. I'll save you a seat.
posted by Jack Buckley at
12:29 PM
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