Turn Our Minds
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For March 29, 2020:
Note: This installment is still being edited and assembled. For purposes of immediacy we are posting this for your use now with the understanding that any errors or omissions will be corrected between now and Tuesday afternoon.
Turn Our Minds
by Bethany Peerbolte
Romans 8:6-11
We may have already made a mistake in this COVID-19 response. The name “social distancing” is not exactly what we are asking people to do. Online communities are already renaming the practice “physical distancing” instead as they realize we need to keep being social, just in a new way. With so much focus on keeping ourselves physically healthy, it will take extra effort to refocus some time toward our spiritual health. Romans 8 is speaking to this issue. If we want life and peace we need to set the mind on the spirit. Who better to help the world do this than the church. How many times have we begrudgingly relented to our member’s busy schedules, knowing full well they cannot handle another exercise or practice added to their plates? Now is a time for renewal. We are already seeing creation take the time to renew herself. Pollution levels drop daily as cars stay off the roads. We should take the time to clear our pollution too. As we shelter our bodies from the virus to keep ourselves strong, we suddenly also need to fill our time with healthy habits and practices. Now is a great time to reintroduce spiritual practices we have loved and try out some new ones. Let’s turn our minds to the spirit and renew our souls.
In the Scripture
Romans 8:6-11
Paul writes about two focuses a person can have in life. One is a focus on the flesh. This includes anything that is sinful and selfish. This focus only cares about what the self needs and wants and isolates from the world. These behaviors and thoughts distract us from the things God wants for our lives. A focus on the flesh thrives on the fear that we are out of control and that it is our job and only choice to regain control on our own. To feel in control again we turn to behaviors that continue the cycle of sin and selfishness. This focus is not what God wants us to fall into and goes against what we have learned in Christ.
The other focus we can choose in on the spirit. Focusing on the spirit, Paul says, brings life and peace. There is a powerful connection made between our individual spirit (small “s”) and the Spirit of God (big “S”). The Spirit of God lives in the spirit of believers and so we have access to the Spirit any time and any place. As Paul talks about the Spirit he slips between little “s” and big “S” to indicate they are integrally connected. Someone who remains focused on their spirit stays connected to God. That focus lessens the fear a physical focus will cause in us. A spirit focus recognizes that God is also in the fight with us and has the control to mold the worse cases into wholeness.
These two focuses are constantly battling for our attention. We can choose to focus on the physical and live with fear of our immortality and weakness, or we can choose to focus on the spirit and celebrate a life with resurrection as the final act. Even though we may turn our attention to the spirit for now the physical is still there waiting for us to turn around. This is the battle Paul wants to remind readers to be aware of and continue to turn towards the Spirit.
Paul points out that a physical focus “cannot” submit to God. In a physical focus the goal is to stay ahead of everyone else. Being more prepared, fitter, and shrewder is what will win the final prize. When winning means not becoming sick, or not being weak, the promises of God mean nothing. A person focused on surviving physically in this world does not find resurrection comforting, because first they must lose what they have been fighting to gain.
Paul is not promising that those who focus on the spirit will not die. What he wants the readers to see is that a physically focused person will eventually lose their fight. A spiritually focused person though wins with Christ. They live a more peaceful life as they await the eternal life Christ has made possible. With a spirit focus one does not only look forward to life after death but their life here on earth is more peaceful.
In the News
Everyday there are more and more states announcing that citizens need to stay home and shelter in place. These efforts have been used internationally to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus. With less people traveling around the infection rate significantly decreases. This allows hospitals to keep up with the demand of sick patients. The Washington Post put together a very informative simulator to show the difference between physical distancing (aka social distancing) and community shelter in place lock downs. The graphs show the infection rates lowered to a level each area hospital can handle with the staff and beds they have available.
As more people stay home to keep the community safe, we are beginning to see the need for mental health awareness. The term “social distancing” has been used to describe the practice of staying 6 feet away from anther human, not sharing touch surfaces, and avoiding crowds. This practice is one step communities can take to sloe infection rates. Unfortunately, the word “social” comes with a deeper meaning that psychologists want to make a clear distinction around. They are even suggestion we rename social distancing to “physical distancing” to better demonstrate what we are asking the public to do. Social media trends can tell us a lot about the collective mental health of our community and nation and the trends are looking more unhealthy. Mental health experts want the public to recognize that there is a difference between socializing and not meeting in person. We can still be social in a lock down; it just needs to happen virtually. If anything, we need to be more in contact with other people, especially people we are not in lock down with, in order to keep our mental health up.
An article written to help Millennials cope with mental health struggles while in their homes, gives great advice on how to stay healthy. It suggests taking time to reflect on one’s feelings. Doing this in a nonjudgmental way can help reorient the situation to a more positive place. Sticking to a routine can help trick our body into thinking not much has changed. Getting dressed for virtual meetings, eating only when you have it scheduled and not snacking all day will create healthy structure and transition back easily when we are able. Taking breaks outside will help as well as focusing on the things one can control. We can wash hands, avoid loved ones who are at risk, and support small businesses we worry will not survive and economic downturn. Other suggestions include turning off the news, staying connected to loved ones, and focusing on the positive. Essentially as we isolate our bodies we need to be doubly committed to our mental and social health.
In the Sermon
Paul’s comparison of flesh and soul includes what he saw as the ultimate ending to each focus. Focus on the flesh ends in death, focus on the spirit ends in life. Talking about death this week is going to be tricky. We are all going to feel the pressure to paint rainbows and say “it is all going to be okay” but the reality of this virus is that for many death will be a part of the experience. Some it will just be tales of grief from co-workers, but for others it will be very personal. We have the opportunity with these passages to prepare our communities to respond as Christ would. When Jesus went to see Lazarus, he cried with the family, he listened to their anger, and then he did what he could to infuse the community with hope and love. That will be our calling when death makes its mark. Focusing on our spirit now will strengthen us for the job ahead.
Your community is probably aware of the fears focusing on the flesh can cause. They all boil down to feeling out of control. Eating disorders seek to control the food one eats. Working out too much seeks to control the physical appearance on one’s body. Germaphobia, and hypochondria make us afraid of the little things we can not see and so we seek to control the cleanliness of our surroundings and constantly interpret our feelings as being sick. These fears seep into our community too. Some have resorted to hording of goods so they can control feeling prepared. Racism in surging against Americans of Asian descent because people feel like they can not control the virus so they will hurt those who they perceive as starting it.
We need to decide now who we want to be when we come out of quarantine. Will we still say “bless you” when someone sneezes or will we run away in fear? If we spend these next few weeks focused on the flesh we will come out more fearful of the world. If we spend the next few weeks focused on the spirit we will come out filled with peace and love.
This is a great time to introduce favorite spiritual practices or discover a new one. Our members will be filling their time somehow, why not in a way that focuses them on the spirit. In this time we can tap into our strength and come out better more Christlike people.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Keeping Our Distance
by Chris Keating
John 11:1-45
Of all the many details John provides in the story of raising Lazarus in chapter 11 of the gospel, none is quite as peculiar as the little gem embedded in the last part of verse six. John set the stage for Jesus’ social distancing of himself in 10:40. Jesus hunkers down across from the Jordan as Lazarus declines.
Not even an urgent plea from his beloved friends in Bethany will cause him to leave. At this point, even our familiarity with the story does not keep us from wondering why Jesus is acting so weird. What’s going on? The sisters’ message could not have been plainer: the friend you love is ill.
It’s time to gather. There’s no time to waste.
We understand the urgency. Even in this time of pandemic urgency and necessary social distancing, some hospitals (though not all) still allow limited visiting with patients who are dying.
Some 33 years ago the phone rang in our seminary apartment in New Jersey. My wife answered. A dear friend of my family was calling from California to tell us that my father was dying, and that we had better get there soon. As in “tomorrow.” While Carol talked to our friend, I did the only mature, responsible and adult thing I knew how to do: I ran into the bathroom and shut the door.
“It’s time,” she said. “You’ve got to come.”
Apparently, everyone understands this — except Jesus who stays put for an extra two days. Presumably he read the note, nodded his head and dismissed the matter completely. “This illness does not lead to death,” he tells the disciples. “Rather it is for God’s glory so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
It’s solid Johannine theology, but let’s concede it is not a helpful pastoral response. Jesus’ delayed response runs against every human instinct. His tardiness is more than rude, it is dare near unacceptable. While we know that this story is about ramping up the conflict between Jesus and the leaders, it is also the seventh sign in John’s gospel designed to promulgate belief in Jesus. We know that, of course, but perhaps we did not understand it as well until recently.
The spread of the novel coronavirus has changed our minds about many things, including the nature of the church’s Lenten witness. A couple of weeks ago I pleaded with folks not to “give up” church for Lent; now, like every other pastor I know, I am scrambling to learn the basics of ministry in times of pandemic. It is very much a learn as you go experience.
In our self-centeredness, we believed that the virus would stay put in China. We thought it would blow over, and we even joked a bit. “You know the hardest part of laughing about social isolation,” we deadpanned. “They’re all inside jokes.”
With 40,000 confirmed cases in the United States — and growing — we no longer dismiss the new normal of interacting. Social distancing has become the signature of our response to Covid-19. We might have once described it as our reluctance to chaperone the middle school lock-in, but now it is a matter of life and death. While social distancing sounds antithetical to theology, says theologian Shane Berg, it is “in fact an act of Christian love.”
“While it feels counterintuitive to us,” Berg said, “social distancing is the best way for us to respond to Christ’s call to protect the ‘least of these’ in the human family.”
The economic impact on the “least of these” has been immediate. Our distancing has caused substantial unemployment already, with some estimating that the ensuing recession could lead to unemployment rates of more than 30%. The virus has touched nearly every part of our economy: restaurants and hospitality, air travel, auto manufacturing, gyms, and more.
Our distancing will not keep us from hearing the cries of grief. Though overall the number of deaths in the United States attributed to the virus is low, the pandemic is accelerating. Just like Lazarus, people will die. Many of our already struggling congregations will decide its just too much. Even vibrant and thriving congregations will be impacted by members who may form new Sunday habits. Some will decide that perhaps staying home and watching church online in your pajamas isn’t a bad thing.
Afterall, Jesus kept his distance, right?
That would be true if the Lazarus story ended at verse 10. Ultimately, it’s only the first part of the story that is about Jesus staying away. As he has done throughout John’s gospel, Jesus moves with purposeful precision. Yes, he stayed away, but now the situation has changed. Lazarus is dead.
As in “in the tomb for four days dead.” Lazarus has passed away, and in the venerable language of the King James’ Version, “he stinketh.” (11:39).
It’s at this point that Jesus’ act of radical social distancing begins to make sense. He didn’t stay away because he was mean. He wasn’t hiding from the authorities — though that might have been a good thing to do. Instead, he was preparing the disciples to stand with him at the precipice of death. He was getting them ready to smell the stench of death — while allowing the anticipation of resurrection hope to build.
A funny thing happens on the way to Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus is confronted by Martha. There’s no hesitancy in her actions, no hint of social distancing. Instead, she runs up to Jesus and tells him she knows that had he been present, Lazarus would not have died. She models in-your-face discipleship, telling Jesus, “I know that God will give you whatever you ask of God.”
With the fetid odor of decaying corpses all around him, Jesus breaches the distance between life and death. He draws near to Martha and all her pain, saying to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Then, without even a pause, he asks, “Do you believe this?”
That question pushes us to see how God is at work, even as we are separated from each other. Death will come, and it will be hard. Life will change in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. But the resurrection will also come — even if no one is in church on Easter Sunday.
Let Jesus’ painful social distancing from his friends play in your imagination as we continue these awkward and agonizing acts of keeping our neighbors healthy. We might be the bridge to resurrection for them. As he crosses the chasm between life and death, Jesus will bring new life to Lazarus. Soon Martha and Mary will be reunited with their brother. Soon, hopefully, we will once again be gathered in our congregations. We will once again sing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.”
Do you believe it?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:
Ezekiel 37:1-14
“Prophesy” is a verb. It is correctly pronounced with a long i. Please, please be sure whoever reads this lesson does not read it as “prophecy.” Those who are Pharisees about pronunciation will thank you!
This hope during desperate times when a people are threatened with annihilation can lead to this kind of hope in miraculous deliverance. It is not unique to the society where Ezekiel prophesied.
* * *
John 11:1-45
Last week the lesson from John’s gospel was the entire ninth chapter. The reading was a complete story and difficult to preach only a portion of. The same can be said of this morning’s lesson from John. There is a lot of movement, all of which is essential in telling the story — and using the story as the basis for a sermon.
* * *
Since I’ve been named Thomas all my life I have a certain affinity for Thomas among the disciples. In the synoptic gospels Thomas is merely a name among the twelve. Only in John’s gospel does he speak, and his words reveal his character. His first appearance is in today’s reading from John. The disciples are discussing returning to Judea, where Lazarus, Jesus’s ailing and later dead, friend resides. They had just left Judea to keep from getting stoned to death. When Jesus says he’s going to return to Judea because Lazarus has died, Thomas says, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” It is not clear whether he means the disciples should accompany Jesus to Judea, and die at his side when the Judeans try to stone Jesus this time, or he means that they should go to Judea to die as Lazarus has died. Either reading shows that Thomas has a deep loyalty to Jesus.
The next time Thomas appears in John’s gospel it is at the table of the Last Supper, when Jesus is preparing the disciples for his death. He tells them that they know where he is going, and the way there. Thomas, however, like a conscientious student who really wants to understand says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5) To which Jesus responds, “I am the way, and the truth and the life,” a concise summary of who Jesus is and why God sent him.
Thomas is hardly the Doubter; he’s the one brave enough to admit he doesn’t understand the teacher that he raised his hand and asked. Jesus’s response is succinct, clear and easy to remember. Good students make good teachers.
Finally, Thomas refuses to believe that Jesus had appeared to the disciples following the resurrection. He needed to see it for himself. The next Sunday evening when the disciples were again gathered for their small group meeting, Jesus appeared and this time Thomas was with them. Jesus showed him his wounds and Thomas believed. That’s all good. What's better is that Jesus turned this moment into a way to acknowledge how difficult it will be to follow him, blessing those who believe without having the first-hand experience that Thomas had.
So preachers, take it easy on Thomas. We Thomases already have to deal with Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son, Tom Turkey and Peeping Tom.
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Resurrection is a theme that runs through this week’s lectionary readings, so here are some light hearted resurrection illustrations.
* * *
Ben Franklin’s Epitaph
In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. Apparently, he was influenced by Paul's teaching about resurrection. Here's what he wrote:
The Body of B. Franklin, Printer Like the Cover of an old Book Its contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Guilding, Lies here, Food for Worms, But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, Appear once more In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended by the Author.
* * *
When Is The Resurrection?
The resurrection isn’t just something that happened once upon a time. It happens all the time to those who live by faith.
A zealous young preacher came upon a farmer working in his field. Being concerned about the farmer's soul the preacher asked the man, "Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord my good man?"
Not even looking at the preacher and continuing his work the farmer replied, "Naw, these are soybeans."
“Yes, but are you a Christian?" the preacher asked.
"Nope my name is Jones,” said the farmer, continuing to work. “You must be lookin’ for Jim Christian. He lives about a mile south of here."
The young preacher was determined so he tried again asking the farmer, "Are you lost?"
"Naw! I've lived here all my life," answered the farmer.
"Are you prepared for the resurrection?" the frustrated preacher asked.
This caught the farmer's attention and he asked, "When's it gonna be?"
Excited that he had finally gotten the farmer’s attention, the young preacher replied, "It could be today, tomorrow, or the next day."
Taking a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiping his brow, the farmer said, "Well, don't tell my wife. She don't get out much and she'll wanna go all three days."
Joke found on JokeBuddha.com.
* * *
The Resurrection Risk
A man, his wife, and his cranky mother-in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away.
The undertaker told them, “You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150.”
The man thought about it for a while and told the undertaker he would just have her shipped home.
The undertaker asked, “Why…. why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home when it would be wonderful to be buried here in the Holy Land and spend only $150?”
The man said, “A man died here about 2000 years ago. He was buried here and three days later, he rose from the dead.”
“I just can’t take that chance.”
* * *
Easter Riots And Resurrections
Several years ago the Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio, sponsored an Easter Egg hunt in the zoo. The eggs were not real eggs but candy ones and the crowd that showed up was about three times bigger than the organizers anticipated with parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all present to take pictures and help little ones find the prized eggs. Unfortunately, there were more kids hunting than eggs to be found.
It didn’t take long for the whole thing to turn into something like a riot as adults and kids came to blows over candy Easter eggs.
At first, the zoo decided that the Easter Egg hunt was a bad idea never to be tried again, but, as they thought about it they decided to resurrect the event, this time with lots more eggs, advanced ticket sales so they could control the number of kids who entered, and with only one adult per child.
Meanwhile, in 2014, the Laval, Quebec, city administrators decided to sponsor an Easter Egg hunt for the kids of the town which they figured would number about 3,000. No problem, right?
Only it was closer to 10,000 who showed up for the event.
Angry parents, realizing that there was a good chance their kids weren’t going to get to hunt eggs, disassembled a fence and charged the hunting grounds hours before the official starting time.
Other parents, seeing what was happening, also charged forward with their kids in tow. According to CBS News, fistfights and brawls became the order of the day.
Now word as to whether city officials resurrected the hunt the following year but they were talking about bringing in police to oversee the event.
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:
John 11:1-45, Ezekiel 37:1-14
New Life: Not Quite the Same
“Can these bones live?” The answer, of course, is yes, but the reanimated bones are never going to be the same as the ones which went into the grave. Lazarus, after his three days in the tomb, will be different. George Rosch, a truck driver who drove for thirty years and a million miles without an accident, knows that story in his own life. His troubles began when he “lay sprawled on the ground for a few seconds before trying to move. Moments before, he’d been on the top of a semi tanker, trying to release expanding pressure from the oil within. But he was too late. The oil blew, and it knocked George off the top of his rig, shattering his world…But his fall from the top of the tanker ended that spotless driving career and landed him in a wheelchair. The road back hasn’t been an easy one. George spent a week in the hospital while doctors stabilized him and assessed the damage to his brain, neck, spine and back. After two surgeries to fuse vertebrae in his neck and disks in his spine to relieve nerve pain, George had to completely retrain his 64-year-old brain and body to be self-sufficient. Over the course of the year after his accident, however, he grew anxious and insecure. His speech began to slur, and he became increasingly forgetful. Surgery — one of many — helped balance George’s emotional ups and downs but left him unable to walk. His brain couldn’t tell his legs what to do.” In addition, he had trouble with his vision, his balance and his sort-term memory.
A stay in a rehab center brought George back to life, in a sense. He gained physical strength, and also encouragement. He says the caregivers there “helped me to deal with the emotional part, and to find the acceptance I needed to move on with my life. I found purpose in my life." Now George is a greeter at a nursing home. “Because of his experience, he can relate to people who walk in the door. Some people need a little guidance and inspiration to lift their spirits up. Carol Hamilton is one of those people. A broken foot caused her to cross paths with George. A warm conversation with George made her feel right at home in her new surroundings. "You get to visit with him during meal times or if you see him in the hall, you just say, 'Hi George, how are you doing today?'" Carol says, as she and George share a laugh. George says his purpose in life now is to help others — to help them see they will get better and to believe in themselves.” George says, "I'm so excited about my life here. It just means the world to me, and this is my life. I look forward to getting up in the morning and coming to work. This is my job now."
New life, changed in shape from the old life is a precious gift.
* * *
John 11:1-45, Ezekiel 37:1-14
New Life from the Old
For many, the global Covid-19 pandemic is evoking the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when there wasn’t much information, and the grief of sharply accumulating losses. Kevin Fong, who lived through the AIDS crisis as a young man, found his life changed after the experience of so much death. He remembers, “I remember a similar dynamic in another pandemic I lived through. The first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported when I was 19 years old. In those days, the modes of transmission were not widely known, prompting a widespread panic. We saw a proliferation of people wearing masks and gloves in public. People hoarding supplies. Acts of blatant discrimination and hatred abounded…For the next dozen years, HIV/AIDS became my vocation and advocation. By day, I directed a project in Oakland Chinatown that offered everything from prevention/education to clinical care. After work, I facilitated support groups, delivered meals and meds to friends and clients…On weekends, I attended funerals.”
Out of that long season of so many deaths, his life changed deeply, and became a new life. He had been working in the retail industry, and changed his vocation to serve others. Fong says that he was out with a friend one night, who announced that we “going to visit Billy before dinner. My heart raced. Billy was a model with thick brown hair, deep blue eyes, an arresting smile...When we arrived at his apartment, I expected Billy to answer the door as he always did, with his megawatt smile and perfect hair, surrounded by equally beautiful people, music blaring in the background. Instead, the place was quiet and dark. We walked down the hall to his bedroom and there was Billy, emaciated and covered with lesions. It had been days since anyone had visited. I left that apartment resolved that I would no longer pursue a career at Macy’s, and set my course on community service. Even though I never had the opportunity to tell Bill Richmond how he changed my life for good, I hope he knows that his passion for joy and beauty live on through me.” One life ended, and yet from it grew a wholly changed life for Kevin Fong.
“There is no fear in love; Perfect love casts out all fear.” Fong says that this bible passage from 1 John 4:18 “became one of my guiding lights during the pandemic…I began to seek out moments of perfect love in the midst of the sadness, chaos, and fear. Singing hymns with my buddy Tom in his final days at Coming Home Hospice sustained me. Making brownie sundaes with my best friend Scott to keep his weight up sustained me. Leaving notes of appreciation on my colleagues’ desks after another long day at work sustained me. Dancing with my partner Gerard sustained me. We have so many ways to practice moments of perfect love. A simple wave or smile to a stranger can make a difference. Thanking folks at the grocery store, police folk, first responders, and health care providers who are working extra hard to provide for our needs makes a difference. We all have elders in our lives, whether they are our relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers and mentors. Reaching out to them regularly (via phone, social media, other communication platforms such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, etc.) so they don’t feel othered and isolated makes a difference.” Fong adds, “I don’t know how this pandemic will unfold. But I do know that the entire global community is in high alert. We have the power, choice, and potential to practice social solidarity, embrace turning points, and treat each other with moments of perfect love. The scientists, researchers and health care providers will find the ways to vanquish this virus and heal our bodies. It is up to the rest of us to vanquish the pandemic of fear and hatred, and heal our souls.” May it be so, as we all move into a new kind of life in this time of illness and fear.
* * *
Romans 8:6-11
New Dwelling in the Spirit
“But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you,” Pau writes to the churches in Rome, encouraging them to look at their lives with altered vision. Like many other colleges and universities, Berea College recently required students to leave the dorms because of Covid-19…but with an unusual level of compassion. “The administration has allowed some students, particularly international students or those who may be experiencing hardships, to remain in their dorms through the end of the semester. Dining services also are staying as operational as possible to accommodate those students…But Berea College also is a work-study school, where all students must have a federal student labor job. [College President Lyle] Roelofs said all students will continue being paid their normal wages biweekly for those jobs, even if they are no longer on campus to continue working. Students were also advanced $100 from their upcoming paychecks to help with travel expenses as they moved off campus…After Berea College’s made the announcement to move classes online, the nonprofit Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project began working immediately to fill those gaps.” The project is a regional network of people ages 14-30, and “includes people of color, youth from the LGBTQ community, and those living with low income. The mission of the organization is to develop the means for youth to remain and work in their hometowns, instead of contributing to decades long out-migration to urban centers.” People near the college reached out to offer housing to students.
STAY Coordinator Lou Murrey highlights how vulnerable some of the displaced students are. “As closures continue to happen, there will be many more young people in crisis,” Murrey said. “Berea College’s administration knew that they’d need to do more to support their student body. The college established a fund to help students with financial need move back home. Roelofs said about 50 students had taken advantage of this fund by March 13. The school also is working to provide students with cellphone hotspot technology so they could continue to work online. Many students come from places where internet service is spotty if not nonexistent, and Roelofs said they’d need a way to access the internet to continue their class work online. Those connections are important not just for classes. The STAY Project regularly hosts gatherings throughout the year to provide safe space for their membership to commune with each other and discuss the unique issues and challenges they face living in Appalachia.”
We are not in the body completely, but each one of us has needs, and this epidemic highlights the needs of vulnerable people in our midst. Paul writes, “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace,” and this college has gone to unusual lengths to do that.
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From team member Ron Love:
The illustrations for this Sunday will address the topic of the coronavirus.
***
When Isaac Newton was in his 20s and a college student at Trinity College, Cambridge, the Great Plague of London hit. From 1665 to 1666, a quarter of the London population would die. At this time all the students were sent home, which was the 17th century form of “social distancing.” For the next year Newton stayed at home at Woolsthorpe Manor, the family estate about sixty miles northwest of Cambridge. This year has often been called the “year of wonders” in Newton’s life. He continued working on mathematical problems, writing papers that became early calculus. He acquired a few prisms, and wrote theories on optics. Outside his window was an apple tree. He would often sit in the garden looking at the tree, contemplating new scientific theories. Though a falling apple never struck him on the head, falling apples gave him the concept of gravity. When Newton returned to Cambridge in 1667, he was made a fellow in six months and a professor two years later.
***
The bubonic plague, better known to us as the Black Plague, struck Europe in 1347 and lasted until 1351. In that time span an estimated 475 people died. Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, was not only a theologian, but he was also a pastor. As the plague struck Wittenberg and numerous people fled the city in fear of their lives, Martin and his wife Katharina, who was pregnant at the time, remained in order to treat the infected. Regarding pastoral care Luther wrote a letter titled, Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague. In it he wrote:
In the same way we must and we owe it to our neighbor to accord him the same treatment in other troubles and perils, also. If his house is on fire, love compels me to run to help him extinguish the flames. If there are enough other people around to put the fire out, I may either go home or remain to help. If he falls into the water or into a pit I dare not turn away but must hurry to help him as best I can. If there are others to do it, I am released. If I see that he is hungry or thirsty, I cannot ignore him but must offer food and drink, not considering whether I would risk impoverishing myself by doing so. A man who will not help or support others unless he can do so without affecting his safety or his property will never help his neighbor. He will always reckon with the possibility that doing so will bring some disadvantage and damage, danger and loss. No neighbor can live alongside another without risk to his safety, property, wife, or child. He must run the risk that fire or some other accident will start in the neighbor’s house and destroy him bodily or deprive him of his goods, wife, children, and all he has. Anyone who does not do that for his neighbor, but forsakes him and leaves him to his misfortune, becomes a murderer in the sight of God, as St. John states in his epistles, “Whoever does not love his brother is a murderer,” and again, “If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need [yet closes his heart against him], how does God’s love abide in him?” [1 John 3:15, 17].
Endnote: Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 43 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 119-38.
***
One of the reasons the flu pandemic of 1918 spread across the globe, killing an estimated 50 million people, was due in part to misinformation and censorship. The flu occurred during World War I, the Great War. Both sides of the conflict, the Allies and the Axis, provided false information to the public. Each side falsely reported the news so the opposing side would not know the devastation it caused, fearing it presented a weakened war position. Also, by downplaying the severity of the epidemic, in a time of war the government did not want to cause a panic. The flu only got international attention when the king of Spain became infected. Spain was a neutral country during the war, so there were no restrictions placed on newspaper reporting. This is why the 1918 flu became known as the “Spanish flu,” even though it originated in Haskell County, Kansas.
***
In April 1919, President Woodrow Wilson travelled to France for the Paris Peace Conference. The conference composed of allied world leaders to set the terms of surrender for Germany at the conclusion of World War I. While at the conference Wilson became infected with the Spanish flu, the flu of the 1918 pandemic. In addition to being very ill, Wilson became disoriented. He left many of the negations to his subordinates. He also made many concessions to France that were, before he went to Paris, nonnegotiable, as Wilson wanted a more lenient settlement. The harsh provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on June 28, 1919, was one of the reasons that Germany went to war in 1939. Wilson had the flu. A few months later he had a stroke.
***
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis made a pilgrimage, walking with only a small security detail down the deserted streets of Rome, to San Marcello al Corso church. Pope Francis selected the church because it holds the “miraculous crucifix” which, in 1522, was carried in procession through Rome to bring forth an end to the Great Plague. The plague struck Rome so violently as to cause concern that the city would remain without inhabitants. The friars of the order of the “Servants of Mary” decided to take the crucifix in penitential procession from the church of San Marcello to St. Peter's Basilica. In a statement by the Vatican, Pope Francis prayed for “the end of the pandemic that affects Italy and the world, imploring for the healing of the many sick, and remembering the many victims.”
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WORSHIP
by Chris Keating
Call to Worship
One: We are surrounded by the dried bones of struggle and death.
All: God whispers in our hearts, “Do you believe that hope can endure?”
One: In gratitude to God, we cry, “Only you, O Lord, know!”
All: Hear the promise God offers us: “I am about to breath new life into these bones! When I do, you will live!”
One: Give praise to God, and live in the strength of God’s hope!
Or
One: Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord!
All: Lord, hear our cries! Be aware of our cries, and hear our prayers!
One: Set you minds on the Spirit of God, who offers life and peace.
All: The One who raised Jesus from the tomb shall also bring us new life.
One: Let us worship God.
Opening collect
Life giving God,
Your Spirit infuses our being with life,
and your love offers us peace.
Stand with us in these uneasy and difficult times,
So that we may anticipate with joy the promise of
Jesus’ resurrection and the gift of newness of life. Amen.
Hymns
“I am the Bread of Life”
“I know that My Redeemer Lives”
“There is A Redeemer”
“And Can it Be That I Should Gain?”
“Breathe on My Breath of God”
“Spirit of the Living God, Fall Afresh on Me”
“Awake O Sleeper”
“O Christ the Healer”
“We Cannot Measure How You Heal”
“Bless the Lord” (Taize)
“Out of the Depths,” (Luther)
“Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee” (Gelineau)
“One People, Here, We Gather” (Mary Louise Bringle)
“Mayenziwe/Your Will Be Done,” (Iona)
“Now the Green Blade Rises”
“Holy Spirit, Truth Divine”
“Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
“Wait for the Lord” (Taize)
Prayer of Confession
Call to confession: The reminders of death and decay are all around us. God calls us to set our minds on the Spirit, who will infuse us with the gift of life, so that we might dwell with Christ. Let us confess our sin together:
Loving God, we have not trusted in your Spirit’s gift of life. Surrounded by signs of defeat and disease, we have given up hope. We have hoarded resources that others need, and have turned away from those who need our help. We are indeed socially distanced from each other — not out of love to protect others from illness, but out of selfishness and fear. Too often, we have taken care of our own needs before setting on minds on peace and life. Help us to wait for your word, and infuse our being with the warmth of your life-giving breath. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
The psalmist reminds us, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?” But in God there is forgiveness, and in God’s word we shall hope. If God’s Spirit in us, then we too shall be raised from death into life. Rejoice and be at peace: in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving, Supplication and Intercession
God of resurrection and grace, we have stood in the places of death. The stench of decay and destruction rises before us, and all around us are signs of hopelessness, grief and despair. As disease spreads and anxieties increase, we become unsettled and worried. Today, O Lord, help us to set our minds on you. With your Spirit’s holy, life-giving breath, infuse us with new reasons for being thankful. Help us to praise you for the gifts we have taken for granted: the assurance of loved ones who care, the comfort of being gathered into community, and the resilience of faith. Remind us that as Jesus stood weeping at the tomb of his friend, so he stands with us today.
Hear the supplications of our hearts, O Lord. We pray for strength in these lonely days of separation from friends and family, and ask your abiding presence with health care workers, pastors, teachers, and others whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus.
Be with those whose concerns are etched in our hearts. Bring hope to those who have given up, and motivate us to care for the unemployed, the sick, the elderly, and all whose anguish fills them with pain. Equip us to be the church which carries your promise of resurrection and hope into every place we might go and send us to proclaim your gospel of hope. All this we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Time with children
The story of Lazarus offers a wonderful opportunity to help children name the worries and fears they may have concerning the coronavirus pandemic. Like Jesus’ friends Mary and Martha, we are troubled and upset because something terrible has happened. It’s hard for children to completely grasp the notion of the pandemic, but they do know their lives have been interrupted. It may seem that God doesn’t care, just as it seemed as though Jesus did not care that his friend had died. Yet the promise of the gospel is that Jesus stands in front of the grave and promises, “I am the resurrection and the life.” That promise is ours today: God is with us, even though things are different and hard. We may be scared, and even Jesus cried. But his tears remind us of God’s great love, and therefore we do not need to be afraid.
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CHILDREN'S SERMON
Our Tears Speak For Us
by Kentina Washington-Leapheart
John 11:1-45
Prop: A large posterboard with various pictures (pulled from Google Images) of people crying. The images should represent a diverse selection of people: adults and children, all genders, and a multitude of racial backgrounds.
Do you remember the last time that you cried? If so, do you remember why you were crying? Maybe you don’t remember the last time you cried, but I bet your parents do. They probably comforted you, maybe gave you a hug and some tissue. It might have taken a little time, but hopefully you felt better after a while.
All human beings have the ability to cry and as you can see from these photos, it doesn’t matter how old or young or “in-between” you are. There are all types of reasons that one might cry: sadness, physical pain, happiness or joy, and being overwhelmed with gratitude are just a few. And sometimes when we cry, it isn’t just because we are sad for ourselves; sometimes we are also sad for other people.
Today’s text about Lazarus is a wonderful reminder of the shared humanity that we have with Jesus. While our Bible stories tell us of the many wonderful miracles that Jesus performed in his life, it also tells of us of his humanity. Jesus was a human being too, and he experienced everything that we experience: hunger, anger, pain, sadness, and happiness. In v. 33 we are told that when Jesus saw Mary weeping it greatly affected him (the NRSV says “disturbs his spirit”) and in v. 35 Jesus himself begins weeping too. He was sad for Mary’s sadness at her brother’s death, and he was sad because he, too, loved Lazarus. Jesus joined Mary in her humanity. Jesus wept.
Sometimes when we are crying and sad, we can feel very alone. We may not be able to have all of the right words to communicate why we are crying or we may feel too wound up to even talk. But our tears speak for us and to the people around us who love us. They might rub our back or give us a glass of water, or just tell us that everything will be ok. In those moments, we can feel the love of Jesus very close to us. This story reminds us that even in our most difficult moments, we are never alone, and we have a savior who understands how we feel because he’s been there too.
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The Immediate Word, March 29, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Turn Our Minds by Bethany Peerbolte — Now is a great time to reintroduce spiritual practices we have loved and try out some new ones. Let’s turn our minds to the spirit and renew our souls.
- Second Thoughts: Keeping Our Distance by Chris Keating — As Jesus practices social distancing, his friend Lazarus dies, leaving all to wonder what Jesus had in mind.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen, Dean Feldmeyer, Mary Austin, and Ron Love.
- Worship resources by Chris Keating that focus on God’s triumph over death; resurrection; the power of the Spirit; the enduring promise of hope.
- Children’s sermon: Our Tears Speak For Us by Kentina Washington — Today’s text about Lazarus is a wonderful reminder of the shared humanity that we have with Jesus. While our Bible stories tell us of the many wonderful miracles that Jesus performed in his life, it also tells of us of his humanity..
Note: This installment is still being edited and assembled. For purposes of immediacy we are posting this for your use now with the understanding that any errors or omissions will be corrected between now and Tuesday afternoon.
Turn Our Mindsby Bethany Peerbolte
Romans 8:6-11
We may have already made a mistake in this COVID-19 response. The name “social distancing” is not exactly what we are asking people to do. Online communities are already renaming the practice “physical distancing” instead as they realize we need to keep being social, just in a new way. With so much focus on keeping ourselves physically healthy, it will take extra effort to refocus some time toward our spiritual health. Romans 8 is speaking to this issue. If we want life and peace we need to set the mind on the spirit. Who better to help the world do this than the church. How many times have we begrudgingly relented to our member’s busy schedules, knowing full well they cannot handle another exercise or practice added to their plates? Now is a time for renewal. We are already seeing creation take the time to renew herself. Pollution levels drop daily as cars stay off the roads. We should take the time to clear our pollution too. As we shelter our bodies from the virus to keep ourselves strong, we suddenly also need to fill our time with healthy habits and practices. Now is a great time to reintroduce spiritual practices we have loved and try out some new ones. Let’s turn our minds to the spirit and renew our souls.
In the Scripture
Romans 8:6-11
Paul writes about two focuses a person can have in life. One is a focus on the flesh. This includes anything that is sinful and selfish. This focus only cares about what the self needs and wants and isolates from the world. These behaviors and thoughts distract us from the things God wants for our lives. A focus on the flesh thrives on the fear that we are out of control and that it is our job and only choice to regain control on our own. To feel in control again we turn to behaviors that continue the cycle of sin and selfishness. This focus is not what God wants us to fall into and goes against what we have learned in Christ.
The other focus we can choose in on the spirit. Focusing on the spirit, Paul says, brings life and peace. There is a powerful connection made between our individual spirit (small “s”) and the Spirit of God (big “S”). The Spirit of God lives in the spirit of believers and so we have access to the Spirit any time and any place. As Paul talks about the Spirit he slips between little “s” and big “S” to indicate they are integrally connected. Someone who remains focused on their spirit stays connected to God. That focus lessens the fear a physical focus will cause in us. A spirit focus recognizes that God is also in the fight with us and has the control to mold the worse cases into wholeness.
These two focuses are constantly battling for our attention. We can choose to focus on the physical and live with fear of our immortality and weakness, or we can choose to focus on the spirit and celebrate a life with resurrection as the final act. Even though we may turn our attention to the spirit for now the physical is still there waiting for us to turn around. This is the battle Paul wants to remind readers to be aware of and continue to turn towards the Spirit.
Paul points out that a physical focus “cannot” submit to God. In a physical focus the goal is to stay ahead of everyone else. Being more prepared, fitter, and shrewder is what will win the final prize. When winning means not becoming sick, or not being weak, the promises of God mean nothing. A person focused on surviving physically in this world does not find resurrection comforting, because first they must lose what they have been fighting to gain.
Paul is not promising that those who focus on the spirit will not die. What he wants the readers to see is that a physically focused person will eventually lose their fight. A spiritually focused person though wins with Christ. They live a more peaceful life as they await the eternal life Christ has made possible. With a spirit focus one does not only look forward to life after death but their life here on earth is more peaceful.
In the News
Everyday there are more and more states announcing that citizens need to stay home and shelter in place. These efforts have been used internationally to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus. With less people traveling around the infection rate significantly decreases. This allows hospitals to keep up with the demand of sick patients. The Washington Post put together a very informative simulator to show the difference between physical distancing (aka social distancing) and community shelter in place lock downs. The graphs show the infection rates lowered to a level each area hospital can handle with the staff and beds they have available.
As more people stay home to keep the community safe, we are beginning to see the need for mental health awareness. The term “social distancing” has been used to describe the practice of staying 6 feet away from anther human, not sharing touch surfaces, and avoiding crowds. This practice is one step communities can take to sloe infection rates. Unfortunately, the word “social” comes with a deeper meaning that psychologists want to make a clear distinction around. They are even suggestion we rename social distancing to “physical distancing” to better demonstrate what we are asking the public to do. Social media trends can tell us a lot about the collective mental health of our community and nation and the trends are looking more unhealthy. Mental health experts want the public to recognize that there is a difference between socializing and not meeting in person. We can still be social in a lock down; it just needs to happen virtually. If anything, we need to be more in contact with other people, especially people we are not in lock down with, in order to keep our mental health up.
An article written to help Millennials cope with mental health struggles while in their homes, gives great advice on how to stay healthy. It suggests taking time to reflect on one’s feelings. Doing this in a nonjudgmental way can help reorient the situation to a more positive place. Sticking to a routine can help trick our body into thinking not much has changed. Getting dressed for virtual meetings, eating only when you have it scheduled and not snacking all day will create healthy structure and transition back easily when we are able. Taking breaks outside will help as well as focusing on the things one can control. We can wash hands, avoid loved ones who are at risk, and support small businesses we worry will not survive and economic downturn. Other suggestions include turning off the news, staying connected to loved ones, and focusing on the positive. Essentially as we isolate our bodies we need to be doubly committed to our mental and social health.
In the Sermon
Paul’s comparison of flesh and soul includes what he saw as the ultimate ending to each focus. Focus on the flesh ends in death, focus on the spirit ends in life. Talking about death this week is going to be tricky. We are all going to feel the pressure to paint rainbows and say “it is all going to be okay” but the reality of this virus is that for many death will be a part of the experience. Some it will just be tales of grief from co-workers, but for others it will be very personal. We have the opportunity with these passages to prepare our communities to respond as Christ would. When Jesus went to see Lazarus, he cried with the family, he listened to their anger, and then he did what he could to infuse the community with hope and love. That will be our calling when death makes its mark. Focusing on our spirit now will strengthen us for the job ahead.
Your community is probably aware of the fears focusing on the flesh can cause. They all boil down to feeling out of control. Eating disorders seek to control the food one eats. Working out too much seeks to control the physical appearance on one’s body. Germaphobia, and hypochondria make us afraid of the little things we can not see and so we seek to control the cleanliness of our surroundings and constantly interpret our feelings as being sick. These fears seep into our community too. Some have resorted to hording of goods so they can control feeling prepared. Racism in surging against Americans of Asian descent because people feel like they can not control the virus so they will hurt those who they perceive as starting it.
We need to decide now who we want to be when we come out of quarantine. Will we still say “bless you” when someone sneezes or will we run away in fear? If we spend these next few weeks focused on the flesh we will come out more fearful of the world. If we spend the next few weeks focused on the spirit we will come out filled with peace and love.
This is a great time to introduce favorite spiritual practices or discover a new one. Our members will be filling their time somehow, why not in a way that focuses them on the spirit. In this time we can tap into our strength and come out better more Christlike people.
SECOND THOUGHTSKeeping Our Distance
by Chris Keating
John 11:1-45
Of all the many details John provides in the story of raising Lazarus in chapter 11 of the gospel, none is quite as peculiar as the little gem embedded in the last part of verse six. John set the stage for Jesus’ social distancing of himself in 10:40. Jesus hunkers down across from the Jordan as Lazarus declines.
Not even an urgent plea from his beloved friends in Bethany will cause him to leave. At this point, even our familiarity with the story does not keep us from wondering why Jesus is acting so weird. What’s going on? The sisters’ message could not have been plainer: the friend you love is ill.
It’s time to gather. There’s no time to waste.
We understand the urgency. Even in this time of pandemic urgency and necessary social distancing, some hospitals (though not all) still allow limited visiting with patients who are dying.
Some 33 years ago the phone rang in our seminary apartment in New Jersey. My wife answered. A dear friend of my family was calling from California to tell us that my father was dying, and that we had better get there soon. As in “tomorrow.” While Carol talked to our friend, I did the only mature, responsible and adult thing I knew how to do: I ran into the bathroom and shut the door.
“It’s time,” she said. “You’ve got to come.”
Apparently, everyone understands this — except Jesus who stays put for an extra two days. Presumably he read the note, nodded his head and dismissed the matter completely. “This illness does not lead to death,” he tells the disciples. “Rather it is for God’s glory so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
It’s solid Johannine theology, but let’s concede it is not a helpful pastoral response. Jesus’ delayed response runs against every human instinct. His tardiness is more than rude, it is dare near unacceptable. While we know that this story is about ramping up the conflict between Jesus and the leaders, it is also the seventh sign in John’s gospel designed to promulgate belief in Jesus. We know that, of course, but perhaps we did not understand it as well until recently.
The spread of the novel coronavirus has changed our minds about many things, including the nature of the church’s Lenten witness. A couple of weeks ago I pleaded with folks not to “give up” church for Lent; now, like every other pastor I know, I am scrambling to learn the basics of ministry in times of pandemic. It is very much a learn as you go experience.
In our self-centeredness, we believed that the virus would stay put in China. We thought it would blow over, and we even joked a bit. “You know the hardest part of laughing about social isolation,” we deadpanned. “They’re all inside jokes.”
With 40,000 confirmed cases in the United States — and growing — we no longer dismiss the new normal of interacting. Social distancing has become the signature of our response to Covid-19. We might have once described it as our reluctance to chaperone the middle school lock-in, but now it is a matter of life and death. While social distancing sounds antithetical to theology, says theologian Shane Berg, it is “in fact an act of Christian love.”
“While it feels counterintuitive to us,” Berg said, “social distancing is the best way for us to respond to Christ’s call to protect the ‘least of these’ in the human family.”
The economic impact on the “least of these” has been immediate. Our distancing has caused substantial unemployment already, with some estimating that the ensuing recession could lead to unemployment rates of more than 30%. The virus has touched nearly every part of our economy: restaurants and hospitality, air travel, auto manufacturing, gyms, and more.
Our distancing will not keep us from hearing the cries of grief. Though overall the number of deaths in the United States attributed to the virus is low, the pandemic is accelerating. Just like Lazarus, people will die. Many of our already struggling congregations will decide its just too much. Even vibrant and thriving congregations will be impacted by members who may form new Sunday habits. Some will decide that perhaps staying home and watching church online in your pajamas isn’t a bad thing.
Afterall, Jesus kept his distance, right?
That would be true if the Lazarus story ended at verse 10. Ultimately, it’s only the first part of the story that is about Jesus staying away. As he has done throughout John’s gospel, Jesus moves with purposeful precision. Yes, he stayed away, but now the situation has changed. Lazarus is dead.
As in “in the tomb for four days dead.” Lazarus has passed away, and in the venerable language of the King James’ Version, “he stinketh.” (11:39).
It’s at this point that Jesus’ act of radical social distancing begins to make sense. He didn’t stay away because he was mean. He wasn’t hiding from the authorities — though that might have been a good thing to do. Instead, he was preparing the disciples to stand with him at the precipice of death. He was getting them ready to smell the stench of death — while allowing the anticipation of resurrection hope to build.
A funny thing happens on the way to Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus is confronted by Martha. There’s no hesitancy in her actions, no hint of social distancing. Instead, she runs up to Jesus and tells him she knows that had he been present, Lazarus would not have died. She models in-your-face discipleship, telling Jesus, “I know that God will give you whatever you ask of God.”
With the fetid odor of decaying corpses all around him, Jesus breaches the distance between life and death. He draws near to Martha and all her pain, saying to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Then, without even a pause, he asks, “Do you believe this?”
That question pushes us to see how God is at work, even as we are separated from each other. Death will come, and it will be hard. Life will change in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. But the resurrection will also come — even if no one is in church on Easter Sunday.
Let Jesus’ painful social distancing from his friends play in your imagination as we continue these awkward and agonizing acts of keeping our neighbors healthy. We might be the bridge to resurrection for them. As he crosses the chasm between life and death, Jesus will bring new life to Lazarus. Soon Martha and Mary will be reunited with their brother. Soon, hopefully, we will once again be gathered in our congregations. We will once again sing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.”
Do you believe it?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:Ezekiel 37:1-14
“Prophesy” is a verb. It is correctly pronounced with a long i. Please, please be sure whoever reads this lesson does not read it as “prophecy.” Those who are Pharisees about pronunciation will thank you!
- It’s an eerie, ghastly text, just about as close as the Bible comes to a ghost story. When telling the story, give some attention to the sound that bones rattling together make. There’s a good chance to make this reading really come alive with the right sound effects.
- The prophecy that is today’s Old Testament lesson has echoes of taking place in other, similar circumstances. One example is the Ghost Dance, practiced by the Lakota Tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1890. A charismatic leader persuaded many on the reservation to practice the Ghost Dance as an act of resistance, believing that their dead ancestors would rise from their graves and help in the battle to drive the United States’ troops off their land. There is evidence that the occupying troops were fearful of the Ghost Dance revival, which preceded the massacre at Wounded Knee.
This hope during desperate times when a people are threatened with annihilation can lead to this kind of hope in miraculous deliverance. It is not unique to the society where Ezekiel prophesied.
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John 11:1-45
Last week the lesson from John’s gospel was the entire ninth chapter. The reading was a complete story and difficult to preach only a portion of. The same can be said of this morning’s lesson from John. There is a lot of movement, all of which is essential in telling the story — and using the story as the basis for a sermon.
- Yes, Jesus wept, and that is said to be the shortest verse in the Bible. (Though the New Revised Standard Version renders this verse as “Jesus began to weep.”) Scripture never records Jesus as having laughed. Certainly the fact that he wept in the presence of others who were grieving the death of Lazarus is an indicator of Jesus’s humanity. Tears, like laughter, are involuntary expressions of emotion. Could Jesus’s weeping be an indication that he was not in control of his emotions? Is that a trait that points to his humanity?
- Defending “Doubting” Thomas.
* * *
Since I’ve been named Thomas all my life I have a certain affinity for Thomas among the disciples. In the synoptic gospels Thomas is merely a name among the twelve. Only in John’s gospel does he speak, and his words reveal his character. His first appearance is in today’s reading from John. The disciples are discussing returning to Judea, where Lazarus, Jesus’s ailing and later dead, friend resides. They had just left Judea to keep from getting stoned to death. When Jesus says he’s going to return to Judea because Lazarus has died, Thomas says, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” It is not clear whether he means the disciples should accompany Jesus to Judea, and die at his side when the Judeans try to stone Jesus this time, or he means that they should go to Judea to die as Lazarus has died. Either reading shows that Thomas has a deep loyalty to Jesus.
The next time Thomas appears in John’s gospel it is at the table of the Last Supper, when Jesus is preparing the disciples for his death. He tells them that they know where he is going, and the way there. Thomas, however, like a conscientious student who really wants to understand says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5) To which Jesus responds, “I am the way, and the truth and the life,” a concise summary of who Jesus is and why God sent him.
Thomas is hardly the Doubter; he’s the one brave enough to admit he doesn’t understand the teacher that he raised his hand and asked. Jesus’s response is succinct, clear and easy to remember. Good students make good teachers.
Finally, Thomas refuses to believe that Jesus had appeared to the disciples following the resurrection. He needed to see it for himself. The next Sunday evening when the disciples were again gathered for their small group meeting, Jesus appeared and this time Thomas was with them. Jesus showed him his wounds and Thomas believed. That’s all good. What's better is that Jesus turned this moment into a way to acknowledge how difficult it will be to follow him, blessing those who believe without having the first-hand experience that Thomas had.
So preachers, take it easy on Thomas. We Thomases already have to deal with Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son, Tom Turkey and Peeping Tom.
- In The Last Temptation of Christ the scene of Lazarus coming back to life is gripping and unforgettable. Even knowing that Lazarus will rise when Jesus commands him to come out, there is a sufficiently long pause to build suspense. When Lazarus does rise, he pulls Jesus into the tomb, rather than emerging from it. While you might not want to show that scene in worship, watching it before preaching this text could be very, very helpful.
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From team member Dean Feldmeyer:Resurrection is a theme that runs through this week’s lectionary readings, so here are some light hearted resurrection illustrations.
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Ben Franklin’s Epitaph
In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. Apparently, he was influenced by Paul's teaching about resurrection. Here's what he wrote:
The Body of B. Franklin, Printer Like the Cover of an old Book Its contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Guilding, Lies here, Food for Worms, But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, Appear once more In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended by the Author.
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When Is The Resurrection?
The resurrection isn’t just something that happened once upon a time. It happens all the time to those who live by faith.
A zealous young preacher came upon a farmer working in his field. Being concerned about the farmer's soul the preacher asked the man, "Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord my good man?"
Not even looking at the preacher and continuing his work the farmer replied, "Naw, these are soybeans."
“Yes, but are you a Christian?" the preacher asked.
"Nope my name is Jones,” said the farmer, continuing to work. “You must be lookin’ for Jim Christian. He lives about a mile south of here."
The young preacher was determined so he tried again asking the farmer, "Are you lost?"
"Naw! I've lived here all my life," answered the farmer.
"Are you prepared for the resurrection?" the frustrated preacher asked.
This caught the farmer's attention and he asked, "When's it gonna be?"
Excited that he had finally gotten the farmer’s attention, the young preacher replied, "It could be today, tomorrow, or the next day."
Taking a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiping his brow, the farmer said, "Well, don't tell my wife. She don't get out much and she'll wanna go all three days."
Joke found on JokeBuddha.com.
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The Resurrection Risk
A man, his wife, and his cranky mother-in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away.
The undertaker told them, “You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150.”
The man thought about it for a while and told the undertaker he would just have her shipped home.
The undertaker asked, “Why…. why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home when it would be wonderful to be buried here in the Holy Land and spend only $150?”
The man said, “A man died here about 2000 years ago. He was buried here and three days later, he rose from the dead.”
“I just can’t take that chance.”
* * *
Easter Riots And Resurrections
Several years ago the Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio, sponsored an Easter Egg hunt in the zoo. The eggs were not real eggs but candy ones and the crowd that showed up was about three times bigger than the organizers anticipated with parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all present to take pictures and help little ones find the prized eggs. Unfortunately, there were more kids hunting than eggs to be found.
It didn’t take long for the whole thing to turn into something like a riot as adults and kids came to blows over candy Easter eggs.
At first, the zoo decided that the Easter Egg hunt was a bad idea never to be tried again, but, as they thought about it they decided to resurrect the event, this time with lots more eggs, advanced ticket sales so they could control the number of kids who entered, and with only one adult per child.
Meanwhile, in 2014, the Laval, Quebec, city administrators decided to sponsor an Easter Egg hunt for the kids of the town which they figured would number about 3,000. No problem, right?
Only it was closer to 10,000 who showed up for the event.
Angry parents, realizing that there was a good chance their kids weren’t going to get to hunt eggs, disassembled a fence and charged the hunting grounds hours before the official starting time.
Other parents, seeing what was happening, also charged forward with their kids in tow. According to CBS News, fistfights and brawls became the order of the day.
Now word as to whether city officials resurrected the hunt the following year but they were talking about bringing in police to oversee the event.
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From team member Mary Austin:John 11:1-45, Ezekiel 37:1-14
New Life: Not Quite the Same
“Can these bones live?” The answer, of course, is yes, but the reanimated bones are never going to be the same as the ones which went into the grave. Lazarus, after his three days in the tomb, will be different. George Rosch, a truck driver who drove for thirty years and a million miles without an accident, knows that story in his own life. His troubles began when he “lay sprawled on the ground for a few seconds before trying to move. Moments before, he’d been on the top of a semi tanker, trying to release expanding pressure from the oil within. But he was too late. The oil blew, and it knocked George off the top of his rig, shattering his world…But his fall from the top of the tanker ended that spotless driving career and landed him in a wheelchair. The road back hasn’t been an easy one. George spent a week in the hospital while doctors stabilized him and assessed the damage to his brain, neck, spine and back. After two surgeries to fuse vertebrae in his neck and disks in his spine to relieve nerve pain, George had to completely retrain his 64-year-old brain and body to be self-sufficient. Over the course of the year after his accident, however, he grew anxious and insecure. His speech began to slur, and he became increasingly forgetful. Surgery — one of many — helped balance George’s emotional ups and downs but left him unable to walk. His brain couldn’t tell his legs what to do.” In addition, he had trouble with his vision, his balance and his sort-term memory.
A stay in a rehab center brought George back to life, in a sense. He gained physical strength, and also encouragement. He says the caregivers there “helped me to deal with the emotional part, and to find the acceptance I needed to move on with my life. I found purpose in my life." Now George is a greeter at a nursing home. “Because of his experience, he can relate to people who walk in the door. Some people need a little guidance and inspiration to lift their spirits up. Carol Hamilton is one of those people. A broken foot caused her to cross paths with George. A warm conversation with George made her feel right at home in her new surroundings. "You get to visit with him during meal times or if you see him in the hall, you just say, 'Hi George, how are you doing today?'" Carol says, as she and George share a laugh. George says his purpose in life now is to help others — to help them see they will get better and to believe in themselves.” George says, "I'm so excited about my life here. It just means the world to me, and this is my life. I look forward to getting up in the morning and coming to work. This is my job now."
New life, changed in shape from the old life is a precious gift.
* * *
John 11:1-45, Ezekiel 37:1-14
New Life from the Old
For many, the global Covid-19 pandemic is evoking the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when there wasn’t much information, and the grief of sharply accumulating losses. Kevin Fong, who lived through the AIDS crisis as a young man, found his life changed after the experience of so much death. He remembers, “I remember a similar dynamic in another pandemic I lived through. The first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported when I was 19 years old. In those days, the modes of transmission were not widely known, prompting a widespread panic. We saw a proliferation of people wearing masks and gloves in public. People hoarding supplies. Acts of blatant discrimination and hatred abounded…For the next dozen years, HIV/AIDS became my vocation and advocation. By day, I directed a project in Oakland Chinatown that offered everything from prevention/education to clinical care. After work, I facilitated support groups, delivered meals and meds to friends and clients…On weekends, I attended funerals.”
Out of that long season of so many deaths, his life changed deeply, and became a new life. He had been working in the retail industry, and changed his vocation to serve others. Fong says that he was out with a friend one night, who announced that we “going to visit Billy before dinner. My heart raced. Billy was a model with thick brown hair, deep blue eyes, an arresting smile...When we arrived at his apartment, I expected Billy to answer the door as he always did, with his megawatt smile and perfect hair, surrounded by equally beautiful people, music blaring in the background. Instead, the place was quiet and dark. We walked down the hall to his bedroom and there was Billy, emaciated and covered with lesions. It had been days since anyone had visited. I left that apartment resolved that I would no longer pursue a career at Macy’s, and set my course on community service. Even though I never had the opportunity to tell Bill Richmond how he changed my life for good, I hope he knows that his passion for joy and beauty live on through me.” One life ended, and yet from it grew a wholly changed life for Kevin Fong.
“There is no fear in love; Perfect love casts out all fear.” Fong says that this bible passage from 1 John 4:18 “became one of my guiding lights during the pandemic…I began to seek out moments of perfect love in the midst of the sadness, chaos, and fear. Singing hymns with my buddy Tom in his final days at Coming Home Hospice sustained me. Making brownie sundaes with my best friend Scott to keep his weight up sustained me. Leaving notes of appreciation on my colleagues’ desks after another long day at work sustained me. Dancing with my partner Gerard sustained me. We have so many ways to practice moments of perfect love. A simple wave or smile to a stranger can make a difference. Thanking folks at the grocery store, police folk, first responders, and health care providers who are working extra hard to provide for our needs makes a difference. We all have elders in our lives, whether they are our relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers and mentors. Reaching out to them regularly (via phone, social media, other communication platforms such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, etc.) so they don’t feel othered and isolated makes a difference.” Fong adds, “I don’t know how this pandemic will unfold. But I do know that the entire global community is in high alert. We have the power, choice, and potential to practice social solidarity, embrace turning points, and treat each other with moments of perfect love. The scientists, researchers and health care providers will find the ways to vanquish this virus and heal our bodies. It is up to the rest of us to vanquish the pandemic of fear and hatred, and heal our souls.” May it be so, as we all move into a new kind of life in this time of illness and fear.
* * *
Romans 8:6-11
New Dwelling in the Spirit
“But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you,” Pau writes to the churches in Rome, encouraging them to look at their lives with altered vision. Like many other colleges and universities, Berea College recently required students to leave the dorms because of Covid-19…but with an unusual level of compassion. “The administration has allowed some students, particularly international students or those who may be experiencing hardships, to remain in their dorms through the end of the semester. Dining services also are staying as operational as possible to accommodate those students…But Berea College also is a work-study school, where all students must have a federal student labor job. [College President Lyle] Roelofs said all students will continue being paid their normal wages biweekly for those jobs, even if they are no longer on campus to continue working. Students were also advanced $100 from their upcoming paychecks to help with travel expenses as they moved off campus…After Berea College’s made the announcement to move classes online, the nonprofit Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project began working immediately to fill those gaps.” The project is a regional network of people ages 14-30, and “includes people of color, youth from the LGBTQ community, and those living with low income. The mission of the organization is to develop the means for youth to remain and work in their hometowns, instead of contributing to decades long out-migration to urban centers.” People near the college reached out to offer housing to students.
STAY Coordinator Lou Murrey highlights how vulnerable some of the displaced students are. “As closures continue to happen, there will be many more young people in crisis,” Murrey said. “Berea College’s administration knew that they’d need to do more to support their student body. The college established a fund to help students with financial need move back home. Roelofs said about 50 students had taken advantage of this fund by March 13. The school also is working to provide students with cellphone hotspot technology so they could continue to work online. Many students come from places where internet service is spotty if not nonexistent, and Roelofs said they’d need a way to access the internet to continue their class work online. Those connections are important not just for classes. The STAY Project regularly hosts gatherings throughout the year to provide safe space for their membership to commune with each other and discuss the unique issues and challenges they face living in Appalachia.”
We are not in the body completely, but each one of us has needs, and this epidemic highlights the needs of vulnerable people in our midst. Paul writes, “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace,” and this college has gone to unusual lengths to do that.
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From team member Ron Love:The illustrations for this Sunday will address the topic of the coronavirus.
***
When Isaac Newton was in his 20s and a college student at Trinity College, Cambridge, the Great Plague of London hit. From 1665 to 1666, a quarter of the London population would die. At this time all the students were sent home, which was the 17th century form of “social distancing.” For the next year Newton stayed at home at Woolsthorpe Manor, the family estate about sixty miles northwest of Cambridge. This year has often been called the “year of wonders” in Newton’s life. He continued working on mathematical problems, writing papers that became early calculus. He acquired a few prisms, and wrote theories on optics. Outside his window was an apple tree. He would often sit in the garden looking at the tree, contemplating new scientific theories. Though a falling apple never struck him on the head, falling apples gave him the concept of gravity. When Newton returned to Cambridge in 1667, he was made a fellow in six months and a professor two years later.
***
The bubonic plague, better known to us as the Black Plague, struck Europe in 1347 and lasted until 1351. In that time span an estimated 475 people died. Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, was not only a theologian, but he was also a pastor. As the plague struck Wittenberg and numerous people fled the city in fear of their lives, Martin and his wife Katharina, who was pregnant at the time, remained in order to treat the infected. Regarding pastoral care Luther wrote a letter titled, Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague. In it he wrote:
In the same way we must and we owe it to our neighbor to accord him the same treatment in other troubles and perils, also. If his house is on fire, love compels me to run to help him extinguish the flames. If there are enough other people around to put the fire out, I may either go home or remain to help. If he falls into the water or into a pit I dare not turn away but must hurry to help him as best I can. If there are others to do it, I am released. If I see that he is hungry or thirsty, I cannot ignore him but must offer food and drink, not considering whether I would risk impoverishing myself by doing so. A man who will not help or support others unless he can do so without affecting his safety or his property will never help his neighbor. He will always reckon with the possibility that doing so will bring some disadvantage and damage, danger and loss. No neighbor can live alongside another without risk to his safety, property, wife, or child. He must run the risk that fire or some other accident will start in the neighbor’s house and destroy him bodily or deprive him of his goods, wife, children, and all he has. Anyone who does not do that for his neighbor, but forsakes him and leaves him to his misfortune, becomes a murderer in the sight of God, as St. John states in his epistles, “Whoever does not love his brother is a murderer,” and again, “If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need [yet closes his heart against him], how does God’s love abide in him?” [1 John 3:15, 17].
Endnote: Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 43 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 119-38.
***
One of the reasons the flu pandemic of 1918 spread across the globe, killing an estimated 50 million people, was due in part to misinformation and censorship. The flu occurred during World War I, the Great War. Both sides of the conflict, the Allies and the Axis, provided false information to the public. Each side falsely reported the news so the opposing side would not know the devastation it caused, fearing it presented a weakened war position. Also, by downplaying the severity of the epidemic, in a time of war the government did not want to cause a panic. The flu only got international attention when the king of Spain became infected. Spain was a neutral country during the war, so there were no restrictions placed on newspaper reporting. This is why the 1918 flu became known as the “Spanish flu,” even though it originated in Haskell County, Kansas.
***
In April 1919, President Woodrow Wilson travelled to France for the Paris Peace Conference. The conference composed of allied world leaders to set the terms of surrender for Germany at the conclusion of World War I. While at the conference Wilson became infected with the Spanish flu, the flu of the 1918 pandemic. In addition to being very ill, Wilson became disoriented. He left many of the negations to his subordinates. He also made many concessions to France that were, before he went to Paris, nonnegotiable, as Wilson wanted a more lenient settlement. The harsh provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on June 28, 1919, was one of the reasons that Germany went to war in 1939. Wilson had the flu. A few months later he had a stroke.
***
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis made a pilgrimage, walking with only a small security detail down the deserted streets of Rome, to San Marcello al Corso church. Pope Francis selected the church because it holds the “miraculous crucifix” which, in 1522, was carried in procession through Rome to bring forth an end to the Great Plague. The plague struck Rome so violently as to cause concern that the city would remain without inhabitants. The friars of the order of the “Servants of Mary” decided to take the crucifix in penitential procession from the church of San Marcello to St. Peter's Basilica. In a statement by the Vatican, Pope Francis prayed for “the end of the pandemic that affects Italy and the world, imploring for the healing of the many sick, and remembering the many victims.”
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WORSHIPby Chris Keating
Call to Worship
One: We are surrounded by the dried bones of struggle and death.
All: God whispers in our hearts, “Do you believe that hope can endure?”
One: In gratitude to God, we cry, “Only you, O Lord, know!”
All: Hear the promise God offers us: “I am about to breath new life into these bones! When I do, you will live!”
One: Give praise to God, and live in the strength of God’s hope!
Or
One: Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord!
All: Lord, hear our cries! Be aware of our cries, and hear our prayers!
One: Set you minds on the Spirit of God, who offers life and peace.
All: The One who raised Jesus from the tomb shall also bring us new life.
One: Let us worship God.
Opening collect
Life giving God,
Your Spirit infuses our being with life,
and your love offers us peace.
Stand with us in these uneasy and difficult times,
So that we may anticipate with joy the promise of
Jesus’ resurrection and the gift of newness of life. Amen.
Hymns
“I am the Bread of Life”
“I know that My Redeemer Lives”
“There is A Redeemer”
“And Can it Be That I Should Gain?”
“Breathe on My Breath of God”
“Spirit of the Living God, Fall Afresh on Me”
“Awake O Sleeper”
“O Christ the Healer”
“We Cannot Measure How You Heal”
“Bless the Lord” (Taize)
“Out of the Depths,” (Luther)
“Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee” (Gelineau)
“One People, Here, We Gather” (Mary Louise Bringle)
“Mayenziwe/Your Will Be Done,” (Iona)
“Now the Green Blade Rises”
“Holy Spirit, Truth Divine”
“Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
“Wait for the Lord” (Taize)
Prayer of Confession
Call to confession: The reminders of death and decay are all around us. God calls us to set our minds on the Spirit, who will infuse us with the gift of life, so that we might dwell with Christ. Let us confess our sin together:
Loving God, we have not trusted in your Spirit’s gift of life. Surrounded by signs of defeat and disease, we have given up hope. We have hoarded resources that others need, and have turned away from those who need our help. We are indeed socially distanced from each other — not out of love to protect others from illness, but out of selfishness and fear. Too often, we have taken care of our own needs before setting on minds on peace and life. Help us to wait for your word, and infuse our being with the warmth of your life-giving breath. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
The psalmist reminds us, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?” But in God there is forgiveness, and in God’s word we shall hope. If God’s Spirit in us, then we too shall be raised from death into life. Rejoice and be at peace: in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving, Supplication and Intercession
God of resurrection and grace, we have stood in the places of death. The stench of decay and destruction rises before us, and all around us are signs of hopelessness, grief and despair. As disease spreads and anxieties increase, we become unsettled and worried. Today, O Lord, help us to set our minds on you. With your Spirit’s holy, life-giving breath, infuse us with new reasons for being thankful. Help us to praise you for the gifts we have taken for granted: the assurance of loved ones who care, the comfort of being gathered into community, and the resilience of faith. Remind us that as Jesus stood weeping at the tomb of his friend, so he stands with us today.
Hear the supplications of our hearts, O Lord. We pray for strength in these lonely days of separation from friends and family, and ask your abiding presence with health care workers, pastors, teachers, and others whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus.
Be with those whose concerns are etched in our hearts. Bring hope to those who have given up, and motivate us to care for the unemployed, the sick, the elderly, and all whose anguish fills them with pain. Equip us to be the church which carries your promise of resurrection and hope into every place we might go and send us to proclaim your gospel of hope. All this we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Time with children
The story of Lazarus offers a wonderful opportunity to help children name the worries and fears they may have concerning the coronavirus pandemic. Like Jesus’ friends Mary and Martha, we are troubled and upset because something terrible has happened. It’s hard for children to completely grasp the notion of the pandemic, but they do know their lives have been interrupted. It may seem that God doesn’t care, just as it seemed as though Jesus did not care that his friend had died. Yet the promise of the gospel is that Jesus stands in front of the grave and promises, “I am the resurrection and the life.” That promise is ours today: God is with us, even though things are different and hard. We may be scared, and even Jesus cried. But his tears remind us of God’s great love, and therefore we do not need to be afraid.
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CHILDREN'S SERMON
Our Tears Speak For Us
by Kentina Washington-Leapheart
John 11:1-45
Prop: A large posterboard with various pictures (pulled from Google Images) of people crying. The images should represent a diverse selection of people: adults and children, all genders, and a multitude of racial backgrounds.
Do you remember the last time that you cried? If so, do you remember why you were crying? Maybe you don’t remember the last time you cried, but I bet your parents do. They probably comforted you, maybe gave you a hug and some tissue. It might have taken a little time, but hopefully you felt better after a while.
All human beings have the ability to cry and as you can see from these photos, it doesn’t matter how old or young or “in-between” you are. There are all types of reasons that one might cry: sadness, physical pain, happiness or joy, and being overwhelmed with gratitude are just a few. And sometimes when we cry, it isn’t just because we are sad for ourselves; sometimes we are also sad for other people.
Today’s text about Lazarus is a wonderful reminder of the shared humanity that we have with Jesus. While our Bible stories tell us of the many wonderful miracles that Jesus performed in his life, it also tells of us of his humanity. Jesus was a human being too, and he experienced everything that we experience: hunger, anger, pain, sadness, and happiness. In v. 33 we are told that when Jesus saw Mary weeping it greatly affected him (the NRSV says “disturbs his spirit”) and in v. 35 Jesus himself begins weeping too. He was sad for Mary’s sadness at her brother’s death, and he was sad because he, too, loved Lazarus. Jesus joined Mary in her humanity. Jesus wept.
Sometimes when we are crying and sad, we can feel very alone. We may not be able to have all of the right words to communicate why we are crying or we may feel too wound up to even talk. But our tears speak for us and to the people around us who love us. They might rub our back or give us a glass of water, or just tell us that everything will be ok. In those moments, we can feel the love of Jesus very close to us. This story reminds us that even in our most difficult moments, we are never alone, and we have a savior who understands how we feel because he’s been there too.
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The Immediate Word, March 29, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
