“Jesus wept.” Listen again also to these other words and phrases from today’s gospel which reveal the extent of Jesus’ emotional engagement with Lazarus, his family and friends: • Jesus was “deeply moved.” • Jesus was “greatly disturbed.” • Jesus “cried with a loud voice.”
In other words, Jesus, the Word of God made flesh is no distant by-stander. He enters the fullness of human realities, even wrenching grief at the loss of Lazarus. Even when he knew the story would have a happy ending with Lazarus being raised, Jesus still wept.
Deeply moved, weeping, greatly disturbed, crying with a loud voice – all of this emotion from Jesus is motivated by one primal force, namely, love. Or as the bystanders observed, “See how he loved him!”
Fast forward now to today. Imagine in your mind’s eye, feel in your heart, how Jesus loves us, loves you, in ways that deeply move him, causing him to weep for us, individually and communally, as the whole human family suffers the ravages of a global pandemic. The coronavirus which causes Covid-19 surely disturbs Jesus greatly and causes him to cry with a loud voice.
Take a moment to let the extent of Jesus’ love for you, for us soak in. Feel that love if you can. If you are watching the video and listening on that format, you may even want to hit the pause button if you like to dwell with this good news – See how Jesus loves us!
[Pause for reflection]
Then Jesus asks for the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb to be taken away. But he was warned by Martha, “Lord, already there is a stench because [Lazarus] has been dead for four days.”
No matter. Jesus asks to go in anyway. There is no nook and cranny of human existence that Jesus is not willing to enter, even a stinking, wretched tomb.
The human family on lock down and with social distancing and calls for hyper vigilant personal hygiene – this whole reality can begin to feel like a tomb. Our homes, our apartments, wherever we happen to live and spend our days can close in on us without the freedom and benefits of what used to be our normal lives.
We routinely pray for homebound members in our congregation’s prayers and we visit them, bearing the gift of Holy Communion. Now we’re pretty much all homebound, but without the benefits of visitors and the holy sacrament.
With our current realities in mind, now I invite you to pause to become aware of the circumstances that can have the effect of entombing us…. Again, hit pause if you want to take some time for reflection on the varied tombs of our experience….
[Pause for reflection]
Now, hear again Jesus’ words, the authority of his command, “Lazarus, come out!” Hear these words as if spoken directly to you, personally.
Words have power to do things, especially when they are Jesus’ words, which are in fact words coming from the mouth of God.
Then listen, too, for these other words, again, as if spoken directly to you: “Unbind him, and let him go.” Unbind her, unbind them. Let them go. Let us go.
Jesus’ word made the difference for Lazarus and for us, Jesus, the one who has the authority to command and to make things happen. “So if the son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
In the tomb which is the baptismal font, at the beginning of the Christian life, we hear the echoes of Jesus’ word, “Lazarus, come out.” Here, add your name…. “Come out.” And up from the tomb of the waters we come, as if the words are spoken to us that were spoken to Lazarus, “unbind them, and let them go!” Baptism is our unbinding from our captivity to sin and to death. Baptism into Christ is our freedom.
Even in this season of tomb-like constraint during a global pandemic, when our normal lives have pretty much ground to a halt, may we have some inkling of Jesus’ words of freedom and promise: come out, unbind us, let us go.
May Jesus’ authoritative promise keep you hopeful and encouraged today and in the coming days – until we meet again.