Ann Barker, Lent V, March 10, 2008

Before Jesus, there were two

great certainties to human existence –

life and death. People were

born and people died.

Neither was a choice.

Anyplace there was life,

at some point there would

be death. Then Jesus tells

Martha, “I am the resurrection

and the life. Those who

believe in me, even though

they die, will live, and

everyone who lives and believes

in me will never die”.

Suddenly there is a

third reality – life beyond death.

It is not the same

life, but the gift of

new life, of eternal

life with God. (P)

As we approach Holy Week,

the Scripture readings foreshadow both

Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In John’s gospel, the raising

of Lazarus is the event

that sets in motion the

plan to kill Jesus. Jesus

gives Lazarus, who has died,

new life and faces death

because of it. The prophet

Ezekiel is given a vision

by God of the people

Israel, dead or living in

exile, as dry bones.

Ezekiel prophesies and God gives

them new life, putting flesh

back on the brittle bones

and breath in the lifeless

bodies. Paul, too, speaks to

the Romans of death and

life and the new life

that is possible if the

Spirit of God dwells in

them. Instead of going from

point A, life, to point

B, death, because of Jesus,

we humans now dwell in

a reality of life, death

and new life – an ever

intertwining braid that weaves its

way through our life on

earth as well as

our life after death.

We know about life

and death. We have life

right now, and most of

us have seen death up

close, maybe even our own.

We know about coming into

existence and going out of

existence. But resurrection life is

a more elusive concept for

most of us. We wonder

if it is really possible

and what it is like.

Our reactions to the resurrection

appearances of Jesus are all

over the map. For many

of us it is easier

to believe our “souls”, whatever

those are, will be given

immortality and our bodies will

be left behind, even though

Jesus’ was not. Some of

us may prefer that our

bodies be left behind because

they’ve caused us nothing

but trouble. Others see our

bodies as an integral part

of who we are as

humans and would feel less

than ourselves without it. (P)

Today’s lessons offer us some

things we can know about

the resurrected life. First, it

is a gift of God.

God is the source of

all life, period. We cannot

resurrect ourselves. We are entirely

mortal, body and soul. We

do not possess an immortal

spark. When we die,

all of us is dead.

For the Jews, bodies were

buried and souls, essences or

whatever you call them went

to Sheol, the place of

the dead. To be human

is to be entirely mortal.

Therefore, it is God who

gives new life as well.

God asks Ezekiel (whom he

calls mortal) if the bones

he sees can live, and

he says to God, you’re

the one that knows,

not I. It is Jesus

who gives new life, albeit

not quite resurrection, to Lazarus.

The thinking of that time

was that the soul stayed

near the body for three

days and after that, it

separated. Lazarus being dead four

days is important because it

means that life is only

possible for him because the

Lord Jesus called him back

to it, not as a

human being who works miracles,

but as God. Paul says

it is the Spirit of

Christ dwelling in us who

gives us new life

and sustains us in it.  (P)

The life of the Spirit,

of resurrection, begins on earth

because Jesus died and

rose again. God gives the

people of Israel new life

and Jesus gives Lazarus new

life – new human life. But

Jesus sacrifice has given us

the beginnings of resurrection

life here on earth. Paul

says we are no longer

in the flesh, but the

Spirit because the Spirit of

Christ dwells in us.

And it is only those in

whom the Spirit dwells that

possess this life, as humans

have no power to generate it.

This new life that has begun

is only in our spirits

for now. Our mortal bodies

will still die because of

sin, but after death, God

who raised Christ from

the dead will give life

to our mortal bodies to

through the Spirit that

dwells in us. (P)

Our new life in the

Spirit frees us from our

bondage to sin and allows

us to obey God. Jesus

tells those at the tomb

to unbind Lazarus and let

him go”. Paul warns that

setting the mind on the

flesh is death because those

who do are hostile to

God – too busy trying to

get as much power and

control as possible in this

life because they cannot

fathom eternal life. Minds that

are set on the Spirit

are free from bondage to

our sin and our limitations.

They are free because they

believe that the gift of

new life through the Holy

Spirit heals and makes whole

in the midst of human

vulnerability, limitation and brokenness.

Life in Christ brings

us hope and connection

with God.  In Ezekiel the

dry bones have no hope,

because they are away from

their land and oppressed by

the empire. They feel cut

off from their land, from

one another and from Yahweh.

But God promises to put

God’s spirit within them and

place them on their own

soil, where they will

be connected once more to

their people and to God.

We, too, have been given

hope and connection because Jesus

is the resurrection and

the life. God has closed

the gap between God and

us that came from sin.

God’s love in action is

bigger than death, and we

have hope of eternal life

with God, not just after

we die, but now, because

we know that death cannot

separate us from God. With

the Holy Spirit’s help, we

can live in the righteousness

God gives us, which is

the best way for us. (P)

There are two other things

we need to know about

the life of the resurrection.

It is a very costly

gift. God gave himself in

Christ to win it for us.

Jesus’ raising of Lazarus was

bought at the price of his

life, and he paid the

same price for us all.

God gave us life, but

our disobedience brought sin

and death. Our turning away

from God and trying to

control our own lives made

it impossible for us to

choose relationship with God.

The only way we could

have the choice again was

for God to conquer sin

by sending Jesus to live

among us and die on

our behalf. To go from

life to new life requires

passing through death and

the one who freely chose

that was Jesus, our Lord. (P)

We also need to know

that the life of the

resurrection is not a given,

as life and death are.

We must choose it.

We must want to be

in relationship with God and

willingly allow the Holy Spirit

to dwell within us.

We are only in the

Spirit if we choose to

be; the Spirit does not coerce

us into giving it power

to direct our lives. Paul

found for himself that being

in the Spirit brought life

and peace because God designed

humans to be happiest in relationship

with God in the Spirit,

but he also knew that

there were tendencies in all

of us to reject the Spirit,

especially when we were afraid

and quarrelsome and too obsessed

with our own security. (P)

After Jesus tells Martha he

is the resurrection and the

life, he asks if she

believes this. He asks each

of us the same question

and waits for us to

answer, not once but many

times in our spiritual journey.

There was no eternal life

before Jesus, and there is

none without him. The Spirit

of Christ is the only

power that can sustain us

through life to death and

beyond to eternal life.

As we approach Holy Week,

            May we reflect especially on

                        the price Jesus paid for

                                    the priceless gift we are

                                                offered and choose to accept

it with grateful hearts. AMEN