Spirit Of Life
Commentary
Usually we emphasize the spirit around the season of Pentecost. However, this same spirit is present for all believers even during times of trials, testing, and journey though life’s difficulties. All three of this week’s lessons serve to remind us that the outcome of the Lenten journey is intended to point toward new life. While Christians are reminded all year that we might see and experience the shadow of the cross, the spirit of life is also ever present.
How does anybody get out of bed in the morning during Lent? This year, it is the end of March and the beginning of April. The winter Christmas holidays are a distant memory and the only thing people have to look forward to in April is “tax deadline” day on April 15. Some people have had their share of “cabin fever,” being housebound much longer than they would desire. Summertime is at least a couple of months away. So how does one resist simply trying to find shortcuts from doing chores and simply snuggling up as a couch potato during the season where we are supposed to be growing spiritually?
Ezekiel 37:1-14
As in other areas of this book, this text is the third or fourth vision of the prophet. Was he in a trance? The prophet is part of a group of deportees in exile. He was trained to be a temple priest in an established holy city of Jerusalem. Instead, he and his generation are deported into a strangle land. A modern example might be “Bob,” who was an apprentice and trained craftsman in his hometown. He knew he would follow his father’s footsteps in this trade. Bob is a chip off the old block from Bob Sr. Just as he had started his job, gotten married, and had a child, the company closed the plant and told him that he could either move to another state with less pay and another job description, or be laid off.
Earlier, in Ezekiel 18:1-3, there is a complaint that “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The text is understood as the complaint of a younger generation paying for the sins of their parents. Later, in Ezekiel 18:10-18, the prophet warns the younger generations not to repeat the sins of their parents. God will be the ultimate judge for each generation.
This text is a further response to any group of people who believe they have inherited the sins of the past generations of workers, family, politicians, and upper management, etc. The prophet uses the motif of the spirit of creation (such as in the book of Genesis 1-3) to suggest that God can and does breathe new life into any dead bones. God remains sovereign. God is capable of doing a new act of creation among God’s people. Death is not the final word. God’s spirit is still active, albeit not always in easily recognizable ways. Israel expected another political monarch to restore them to greatness. God’s spirit points to another enemy to be defeated -- death!
N.T. Wright has written a persuasive volume titled The Resurrection of the Son of God (Augsburg Fortress, 2003). He argues that visions such as Ezekiel’s here in chapter 37 need not be consigned to a hazy religious experience. Rather it is intellectually reasonable to believe in life after death as this text is used alongside other texts in the Hebrew Bible which suggest some form of life after death (Daniel 12:1-3; Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 73:26; 118:19-26; this list is not exhaustive).
During this time of Lent, where do we find a spirit of new life emerging out of any ruins of the past? If we believe in a God of creation, this God continues to create even after we as humans have died. The Jesus in the gospel lesson of John 11:1-45 is capable of providing new life.
One direction of preaching might be to suggest that new life will come for those who have lived in ruins. The form it takes may be unclear now. But God’s promises and acts of creation through a new spirit are real. In the illustration above, Bob did move with the company. But the company later made him retire early against his will. Bob found other work in the community. When his present employer threatens to take away his benefits or salary, Bob reminds the boss that he has relocated before, and is willing to relocate again if needed in order to feed his family and keep a roof over his head. [Source: Joseph Blenkinsopp, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching -- Ezekiel (Westminster John Knox Press, 1990)]
Romans 8:6-11
In his book Allah: A Christian Response (Harper One, 2012), Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf takes on the difficult question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Volf tends to believe that they do, but in a different way. He even suggests that Martin Luther held a similar view. The major barrier of common consent Volf sees is the Christian doctrine of the Trinity or Triune God. However, the Romans 8:6-11 text might serve as one way to bridge the differences or diffuse conflict between the two major world faiths.
While Muslims recognize Jesus as a great prophet and venerable teacher, Christians hold Jesus as the second person of the Trinity, or God in the flesh. Romans 8 is a constant reminder to Christians that we face the daily decision to live according to the old ways of the flesh or to follow the Spirit of God. God’s spirit is given to those who are baptized (or converted) in the community of faith. During Lent, how do those outside of the church actually see and recognize whether a person is living by the Spirit of the flesh or that of the Creator God? This is a Lenten challenge for spiritual growth. Miroslav Volf would suggest that the way people of faith love both God and one another is a visible sign of a strong connotation of faith. It is not about violence, any form of pious legalism, or imposing one’s views of God upon an unwilling recipient. Rather, to live as Paul suggests by the “Spirit” will yield new life after any death.
The Holy Spirit not only empowers Christians to announce the good news in both words and actions, this spirit enables any community of faith to perform works of ministry that reflect the spirit of new life after any death. Christians are bound to the spirit of the crucified Christ. But this also points to new life in the resurrection.
For example, old “First English Church” finds itself in a changing neighborhood where there are worship places and buildings of other faiths and varieties of Christian views. The church may or may not survive this next chapter of their existence. However when there is a death in the neighborhood, the folks at “First English Church” are there with casseroles for the grieving family; active participants for a fundraiser for the family needs; and they keep the family on the church’s prayer list. Members of First English Church make sure they reach out in conversation and listening to the family who lost a loved one. One knows which “Spirit” the people of First English are driven by simply because of their longstanding growth as disciples of the crucified and risen Jesus as Christ. This active witness speaks volumes in a world that often experiences organized religion in the form of religious fanaticism as a source of violence. [Source: Roy A. Harrisville, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Romans (Augsburg Fortress, 1980)]
John 11:1-45
This text is unique to John, though some might suggest that John followed Mark’s healing stories but on a larger scale (Beasley-Murray, pp. 199-200). An approach to this text might be to imagine that one is one of the messengers or runners who must travel back and forth between Jesus’ location (across the Jordan River, 10:40) and that of Mary and Martha in Bethany. This would be one of many narrative positions one might pursue. Also, one of the onlookers who saw these events occur could prove to be an interesting sermonic perspective After all, how often does one see a dead corpse which is decaying return to life?
A couple points one might want to underscore is that Lazarus was dead to the point of body decay, and this “sign” was the final act that led to the high priest Caiaphas plotting Jesus’ execution on the cross. In Johannine terms, the cross event is Jesus’ hour of glory (Schein, pp. 131-143). In Mark’s gospel it was the cleansing of the Jerusalem temple that that was the final act in the decision to execute Jesus (Mark 11:18; Beasley-Murray, p. 199). Those who had power over life and death were major powerbrokers in the world of John’s gospel within the Roman empire.
The high priest Caiaphas was threatened by Jesus actually living out his words “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). This was the fifth of Jesus’ six signs. These signs were intended to provide insight into Jesus’ true identity as Messiah, God’s unique son, heavenly revealer, and the one who can provide for the ultimate needs of humans, as well as provide true meaning in life (Kysar, p. 97).
Previous to this account, the signs include: changing water into wine (2:1-11); healing a nobleman’s son (4:46-54); healing the crippled man (5:1-9); feeding the multitude (6:1-14); walking on water (6:15-25); and healing the man born blind (9:1-8). This raising of Lazarus is the sixth sign here in John 11:1-46. The final sign will be the miraculous catching of fish in a post-resurrection appearance (21:1-14). The intent of these signs is to produce faith. Whether this is successful or not is contested. For John, faith is a daily process or reassessment and growth is based on one’s perspectives in life. Does one see the acts of history through the eyes of faith? This will determine how successful these signs are in their attempts to produce faith (Kysar, pp. 96-102).
As this relates to the theme of Spirit of Life, Jesus is indeed the one who can raise people from the dead. This reinforces John’s view of Jesus as God in the flesh (John 1:1-14). He is the author and giver of life from the beginning (1:1-4). The raising of Lazarus is simply another “sign” that Jesus is who he says he is, as well as whom John the Evangelist believes Jesus to be.
Other observations of the text include John 11:24, where Martha articulates the accepted views of the Hebrew Bible in John. She declares: “I know that he [Lazarus] will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (11:24). This reminds us that there was a belief in the resurrection of the dead at that time, but many were unsure as to the details. John’s gospel clarifies this by declaring that Jesus is the “resurrection and the life” (11:25).
This might suggest another preaching path -- creating a reasonable case for resurrection views in the ancient Near East, even before the Christian resurrection events recorded in the New Testament. This is important because it solidifies the case that life after death and resurrection is more than wishful thinking or a product of the post-Easter church. The belief was real, and expected to occur -- only the details were missing. This supports the view in Wright’s book (referenced in the Ezekiel 37 section above) that resurrection was a reasonable belief to hold in that era. It was not an editorial addition to Mark 16:8, in response to a discomfort with the Marcan ending at the empty tomb. This is an important point for Christians who wrestle with life after death questions, concerns, and doubts.
Jesus is the source of life and new life! This theme emerges from this text. It can be told as a narrative from any point of view, including the messengers (as Schein suggests), or in the third person as the Johannine account describes. What would new life look like in any given congregation or community of faith? Who or which parties do we look to for such new life? This is important for congregations who might seek a pastor, program, or new church movement to revitalize the congregation. John’s gospel repeatedly argues that any event can be read through the eyes of faith, or result in disbelief as the temple leadership tended to hold. Who would be threatened by new life in any given community? Might it be the powerbrokers who benefit from the status quo? Also, who would be willing to make the supreme sacrifice for new life in any given community, place of work, or organization? These are some questions for reflection in this fifth week of Lent. [Sources: George R. Beasley-Murray, Word Biblical Commentary: John (Word Books, 1987); Robert Kysar, John: The Maverick Gospel, 3rd edition (Westminster John Knox Press, 1993); Bruce Schein, Following the Way: The Setting of John’s Gospel (Augsburg Fortress, 1980)]
Application
A church, nonprofit organization, or community social club is dying due to lack of attendance in activities, as well as the shifting priorities of area families in terms of financial support and time commitment. Does the board/council take a position of keeping this organization alive at any cost? Might another leader simply say, “Let it die and we begin all over again.” For those who have built the church or organization, the latter response might be seen as irresponsible and uncaring. However, if we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, how might this translate through the eyes of faith in any given church? Is a shared ministry with another congregation inevitable? Might the leadership be kicking the can down the road? Is there a mindset that says, “I want to keep this organization going until I can retire... then it is up to others to decide from there?” This text brings out life and death questions that many leaders face in many contexts. If the church confesses that Jesus is God in the flesh incarnate, then what is God up to in the decline of any group? Lent is a time for such careful self-reflection.
Alternative Application
How much do we owe our closest friends and relatives? This question has emerged in relation to Jesus simply not dropping everything to attend to his good friend Lazarus. A quandary I have often struggled with as a pastor is when an out-of-state relative is experiencing a serious illness that might result in death, and I as the called and ordained pastor am expected to perform duties in my own congregation which could range from a baptism or funeral. Do I attend to my family out of state, or remain dutiful to my church (which by the way also is my income, the source of a roof over my head for my family). This is another set of questions one can ponder from this text. Also, one church councilman could tell the pastor to attend to his/her family’s needs out of state. But if it was this same councilperson’s relative who is dying in a hospice bed... would the hospice chaplain suffice, or must the pastor be present? In a time when consumer values and corporate method performance reviews find themselves within the church, the whole Lazarus narrative here in John 11 takes on a life of its own.
How does anybody get out of bed in the morning during Lent? This year, it is the end of March and the beginning of April. The winter Christmas holidays are a distant memory and the only thing people have to look forward to in April is “tax deadline” day on April 15. Some people have had their share of “cabin fever,” being housebound much longer than they would desire. Summertime is at least a couple of months away. So how does one resist simply trying to find shortcuts from doing chores and simply snuggling up as a couch potato during the season where we are supposed to be growing spiritually?
Ezekiel 37:1-14
As in other areas of this book, this text is the third or fourth vision of the prophet. Was he in a trance? The prophet is part of a group of deportees in exile. He was trained to be a temple priest in an established holy city of Jerusalem. Instead, he and his generation are deported into a strangle land. A modern example might be “Bob,” who was an apprentice and trained craftsman in his hometown. He knew he would follow his father’s footsteps in this trade. Bob is a chip off the old block from Bob Sr. Just as he had started his job, gotten married, and had a child, the company closed the plant and told him that he could either move to another state with less pay and another job description, or be laid off.
Earlier, in Ezekiel 18:1-3, there is a complaint that “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The text is understood as the complaint of a younger generation paying for the sins of their parents. Later, in Ezekiel 18:10-18, the prophet warns the younger generations not to repeat the sins of their parents. God will be the ultimate judge for each generation.
This text is a further response to any group of people who believe they have inherited the sins of the past generations of workers, family, politicians, and upper management, etc. The prophet uses the motif of the spirit of creation (such as in the book of Genesis 1-3) to suggest that God can and does breathe new life into any dead bones. God remains sovereign. God is capable of doing a new act of creation among God’s people. Death is not the final word. God’s spirit is still active, albeit not always in easily recognizable ways. Israel expected another political monarch to restore them to greatness. God’s spirit points to another enemy to be defeated -- death!
N.T. Wright has written a persuasive volume titled The Resurrection of the Son of God (Augsburg Fortress, 2003). He argues that visions such as Ezekiel’s here in chapter 37 need not be consigned to a hazy religious experience. Rather it is intellectually reasonable to believe in life after death as this text is used alongside other texts in the Hebrew Bible which suggest some form of life after death (Daniel 12:1-3; Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 73:26; 118:19-26; this list is not exhaustive).
During this time of Lent, where do we find a spirit of new life emerging out of any ruins of the past? If we believe in a God of creation, this God continues to create even after we as humans have died. The Jesus in the gospel lesson of John 11:1-45 is capable of providing new life.
One direction of preaching might be to suggest that new life will come for those who have lived in ruins. The form it takes may be unclear now. But God’s promises and acts of creation through a new spirit are real. In the illustration above, Bob did move with the company. But the company later made him retire early against his will. Bob found other work in the community. When his present employer threatens to take away his benefits or salary, Bob reminds the boss that he has relocated before, and is willing to relocate again if needed in order to feed his family and keep a roof over his head. [Source: Joseph Blenkinsopp, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching -- Ezekiel (Westminster John Knox Press, 1990)]
Romans 8:6-11
In his book Allah: A Christian Response (Harper One, 2012), Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf takes on the difficult question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Volf tends to believe that they do, but in a different way. He even suggests that Martin Luther held a similar view. The major barrier of common consent Volf sees is the Christian doctrine of the Trinity or Triune God. However, the Romans 8:6-11 text might serve as one way to bridge the differences or diffuse conflict between the two major world faiths.
While Muslims recognize Jesus as a great prophet and venerable teacher, Christians hold Jesus as the second person of the Trinity, or God in the flesh. Romans 8 is a constant reminder to Christians that we face the daily decision to live according to the old ways of the flesh or to follow the Spirit of God. God’s spirit is given to those who are baptized (or converted) in the community of faith. During Lent, how do those outside of the church actually see and recognize whether a person is living by the Spirit of the flesh or that of the Creator God? This is a Lenten challenge for spiritual growth. Miroslav Volf would suggest that the way people of faith love both God and one another is a visible sign of a strong connotation of faith. It is not about violence, any form of pious legalism, or imposing one’s views of God upon an unwilling recipient. Rather, to live as Paul suggests by the “Spirit” will yield new life after any death.
The Holy Spirit not only empowers Christians to announce the good news in both words and actions, this spirit enables any community of faith to perform works of ministry that reflect the spirit of new life after any death. Christians are bound to the spirit of the crucified Christ. But this also points to new life in the resurrection.
For example, old “First English Church” finds itself in a changing neighborhood where there are worship places and buildings of other faiths and varieties of Christian views. The church may or may not survive this next chapter of their existence. However when there is a death in the neighborhood, the folks at “First English Church” are there with casseroles for the grieving family; active participants for a fundraiser for the family needs; and they keep the family on the church’s prayer list. Members of First English Church make sure they reach out in conversation and listening to the family who lost a loved one. One knows which “Spirit” the people of First English are driven by simply because of their longstanding growth as disciples of the crucified and risen Jesus as Christ. This active witness speaks volumes in a world that often experiences organized religion in the form of religious fanaticism as a source of violence. [Source: Roy A. Harrisville, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Romans (Augsburg Fortress, 1980)]
John 11:1-45
This text is unique to John, though some might suggest that John followed Mark’s healing stories but on a larger scale (Beasley-Murray, pp. 199-200). An approach to this text might be to imagine that one is one of the messengers or runners who must travel back and forth between Jesus’ location (across the Jordan River, 10:40) and that of Mary and Martha in Bethany. This would be one of many narrative positions one might pursue. Also, one of the onlookers who saw these events occur could prove to be an interesting sermonic perspective After all, how often does one see a dead corpse which is decaying return to life?
A couple points one might want to underscore is that Lazarus was dead to the point of body decay, and this “sign” was the final act that led to the high priest Caiaphas plotting Jesus’ execution on the cross. In Johannine terms, the cross event is Jesus’ hour of glory (Schein, pp. 131-143). In Mark’s gospel it was the cleansing of the Jerusalem temple that that was the final act in the decision to execute Jesus (Mark 11:18; Beasley-Murray, p. 199). Those who had power over life and death were major powerbrokers in the world of John’s gospel within the Roman empire.
The high priest Caiaphas was threatened by Jesus actually living out his words “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). This was the fifth of Jesus’ six signs. These signs were intended to provide insight into Jesus’ true identity as Messiah, God’s unique son, heavenly revealer, and the one who can provide for the ultimate needs of humans, as well as provide true meaning in life (Kysar, p. 97).
Previous to this account, the signs include: changing water into wine (2:1-11); healing a nobleman’s son (4:46-54); healing the crippled man (5:1-9); feeding the multitude (6:1-14); walking on water (6:15-25); and healing the man born blind (9:1-8). This raising of Lazarus is the sixth sign here in John 11:1-46. The final sign will be the miraculous catching of fish in a post-resurrection appearance (21:1-14). The intent of these signs is to produce faith. Whether this is successful or not is contested. For John, faith is a daily process or reassessment and growth is based on one’s perspectives in life. Does one see the acts of history through the eyes of faith? This will determine how successful these signs are in their attempts to produce faith (Kysar, pp. 96-102).
As this relates to the theme of Spirit of Life, Jesus is indeed the one who can raise people from the dead. This reinforces John’s view of Jesus as God in the flesh (John 1:1-14). He is the author and giver of life from the beginning (1:1-4). The raising of Lazarus is simply another “sign” that Jesus is who he says he is, as well as whom John the Evangelist believes Jesus to be.
Other observations of the text include John 11:24, where Martha articulates the accepted views of the Hebrew Bible in John. She declares: “I know that he [Lazarus] will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (11:24). This reminds us that there was a belief in the resurrection of the dead at that time, but many were unsure as to the details. John’s gospel clarifies this by declaring that Jesus is the “resurrection and the life” (11:25).
This might suggest another preaching path -- creating a reasonable case for resurrection views in the ancient Near East, even before the Christian resurrection events recorded in the New Testament. This is important because it solidifies the case that life after death and resurrection is more than wishful thinking or a product of the post-Easter church. The belief was real, and expected to occur -- only the details were missing. This supports the view in Wright’s book (referenced in the Ezekiel 37 section above) that resurrection was a reasonable belief to hold in that era. It was not an editorial addition to Mark 16:8, in response to a discomfort with the Marcan ending at the empty tomb. This is an important point for Christians who wrestle with life after death questions, concerns, and doubts.
Jesus is the source of life and new life! This theme emerges from this text. It can be told as a narrative from any point of view, including the messengers (as Schein suggests), or in the third person as the Johannine account describes. What would new life look like in any given congregation or community of faith? Who or which parties do we look to for such new life? This is important for congregations who might seek a pastor, program, or new church movement to revitalize the congregation. John’s gospel repeatedly argues that any event can be read through the eyes of faith, or result in disbelief as the temple leadership tended to hold. Who would be threatened by new life in any given community? Might it be the powerbrokers who benefit from the status quo? Also, who would be willing to make the supreme sacrifice for new life in any given community, place of work, or organization? These are some questions for reflection in this fifth week of Lent. [Sources: George R. Beasley-Murray, Word Biblical Commentary: John (Word Books, 1987); Robert Kysar, John: The Maverick Gospel, 3rd edition (Westminster John Knox Press, 1993); Bruce Schein, Following the Way: The Setting of John’s Gospel (Augsburg Fortress, 1980)]
Application
A church, nonprofit organization, or community social club is dying due to lack of attendance in activities, as well as the shifting priorities of area families in terms of financial support and time commitment. Does the board/council take a position of keeping this organization alive at any cost? Might another leader simply say, “Let it die and we begin all over again.” For those who have built the church or organization, the latter response might be seen as irresponsible and uncaring. However, if we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, how might this translate through the eyes of faith in any given church? Is a shared ministry with another congregation inevitable? Might the leadership be kicking the can down the road? Is there a mindset that says, “I want to keep this organization going until I can retire... then it is up to others to decide from there?” This text brings out life and death questions that many leaders face in many contexts. If the church confesses that Jesus is God in the flesh incarnate, then what is God up to in the decline of any group? Lent is a time for such careful self-reflection.
Alternative Application
How much do we owe our closest friends and relatives? This question has emerged in relation to Jesus simply not dropping everything to attend to his good friend Lazarus. A quandary I have often struggled with as a pastor is when an out-of-state relative is experiencing a serious illness that might result in death, and I as the called and ordained pastor am expected to perform duties in my own congregation which could range from a baptism or funeral. Do I attend to my family out of state, or remain dutiful to my church (which by the way also is my income, the source of a roof over my head for my family). This is another set of questions one can ponder from this text. Also, one church councilman could tell the pastor to attend to his/her family’s needs out of state. But if it was this same councilperson’s relative who is dying in a hospice bed... would the hospice chaplain suffice, or must the pastor be present? In a time when consumer values and corporate method performance reviews find themselves within the church, the whole Lazarus narrative here in John 11 takes on a life of its own.
