Our Gospel for March 29 is John 11:1-45 but for today I will focus on verses 1-6. ( I have provided the verses) These daily readings will sometimes be part devotional (the aim is to soften the heart—to create an “aw” moment) and in part something to fill our heads with information/knowledge (the aim being to use the information to soften our hearts): These daily readings also will reflect part of the process I use to write a sermon:
John 11:1-6 Contemporary English Version (CEV) The death of Lazarus.
11 1-2 A man by the name of Lazarus was sick in the village of Bethany. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. This was the same Mary who later poured perfume on the Lord’s head and wiped his feet with her hair. 3 The sisters sent a message to the Lord and told him that his good friend Lazarus was sick.4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “His sickness won’t end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son.”5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and brother. 6 But he stayed where he was for two more days.
One of the questions that jumps out immediately is why did Jesus wait two more days before he did what Mary and Martha wanted him to do right away? One answer is that Jesus waited because he loved Mary and Martha and he wanted them to see all the more who he was. Another answer is that people make demands on us all the time, but we need to response to what is right-or what God wants rather than the demands of the people. Have we ever not done what a loved one wanted us to do because it would have been the wrong thing to do? Finally, in John, dying does not disconnect us from God—not believing does. (One of the examples is that Jesus died—he really died and yet he stayed connected to God). As a person who has “lost” loved ones to death, I hang onto God never losing my loved one to death.
- Pastor Bob