How many times have you heard that faith is a journey? Well, we've journeyed through the gospel of John this Lent and watched as faith morphs from early possibilities to astonishing miracles.
Nicodemus came in the middle of the night because he had some questions.
Jesus travels into enemy territory to invite a Samaritan woman to taste living water and
she starts proclaiming the good news.
A man blind from birth has the most incredible gift imaginable dropped into his lap and
knows he has encountered God.
We too have journeyed in our faith life from times of questioning, to taking a risk speaking with a stranger about Christ, to recognizing the astounding gifts that God has given to us in this life. Thought of this way, we can see faith unfold and this faith will take you quite a distance. Right up to the door of the tomb as a matter of fact. Because it all changes at the threshold of death.
Once you cross the threshold of death everything changes. The one who has died moves into a world we do not understand. We don't know what it looks like nor what it feels like and that frightens us in many ways. Those who are left behind come to experience the extreme alone - ness of death; now they truly understand that we come into this world alone, and alone we will leave it.
Martha and Mary struggle, they question, they grieve. Their neighbors grieve with them. Even Jesus weeps before the starkness of death. So we learn that even when we walk with Jesus we cannot leap over death, we cannot ignore the reality of it all. We all stand before the door of death.
For years we have been able to share the good news of God's love for everyone and all of creation. For years it has been so easy to talk about God's great invitation to all to have a seat at the table, to become one of the insiders. For years we have depended on the gift of forgiveness, that mending of the broken places and healing of the wounded soul.
Right up to that stone door, we have reflected the compassion of God in our lives by feeding the poor and clothing the naked. We have shared our abundance with others and told anyone who would listen that God has changed our life and filled it with Spirit. Right up to that stone door.
Where theory is no longer enough, and the question becomes DO YOU BELIEVE?
We watch as Lazarus exits his own tomb. Why? Why when Lazarus was going to die again? Why when he was already in the hands of a merciful God? Was it to give comfort and assurance to those left behind?
No, Lazarus was not raised so we could be assured that heaven was real
Lazarus was raised so we would know that Jesus is real.
That's the faith that sustains us until the resurrection. Amen.
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