Passionate Love
Lent 1 – Narrative Lectionary 4
John 11.1-44
Grace, Mankato, MN
March 9, 2013
It’s been quite a while since I received the call from Tom, asking if I could come to the hospital and be with his family. His father in law, Ned, had just passed away and he wondered if I could join his wife, Linda, and their two daughters, Amy and Jessica. Of course I went, not only because that’s what I do, but also because how quickly I’d gotten to know their family. Tom and Linda were very active; Amy was a leader in the youth group; and I had walked with Jessica in the fifth grade Communion class and then Confirmation.
Now, I’ve had the opportunity to be with many families and their deceased over the years. Generally speaking, God has gifted me with a large dose of composure in those situations; I seem to be able to be in them but not of them. However, I was unprepared for the emotion I experienced that day, not at Ted’s passing (he was 91), but at the very real grief his granddaughters were expressing. My heart broke at the pain they were feeling over the loss of their grandpa.
Now, I am not so bold or presumptuous to claim that I know what the Creator of the Universe was feeling that day in Bethany 2,000 years ago, but I think I have a close approximation. It’s an incredible story on many levels. Jesus meets first Martha and then Mary as he got closer, engaging in an amazing conversation, especially with Martha. Unfortunately, the NRSV doesn’t fully convey the power and depth of Jesus’ response to the grief of the women and their fellow Jews. In fact, he is downright angry and deeply upset, though we aren’t sure what the anger is about. More than likely, Jesus is angry over the effects of sin and brokenness on our world, most notably death. He is moved by the grief of those he loves deeply, who, of course, represent all of us loved by Jesus just as deeply.
Death is all around us, an integral part of life. As someone has observed, we never open the obituaries and see “None” listed. Yet, our society really doesn’t deal with death well. On the one hand, we trivialize death through our movies, TV shows and video games so much so we almost become immune to it. That is, until on the other hand, our worlds are rocked when these games come true. There’s a study that says society will give you a year to “get over” the death of a child, two years to “get over” the death of a pet, but only six months to “get over” the death of a spouse. As if we could ever get over losses so deep and profound.
As followers of Jesus, we realize that the road to Easter runs right through a cemetery, and that road doesn’t avoid the realities of life, but meets them head on, refusing to be held hostage to them. It is right that we have a baptism today. Hudson’s baptism today stands as witness that, like Martha, we hold fast to our faith in Jesus as the resurrection and the life even when we don’t fully understand what God is going to do in the midst of our fragile existence.
One of the messages in Lent is that in the midst of death we boldly proclaim life. The next time we gathered, Tom, Linda, Amy, Jessica and me, we planned Ned’s celebration of life in the face of death. We are an odd people, we Christians, who can grieve and celebrate, laugh and cry at the same time. We do so because we believe deeply that there is no place that Jesus’ love cannot go, even the cross, or perhaps, especially to the cross. For we have a God who loves us so passionately that gives himself for us so we may have life and have it abundantly. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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