Learning to See the Glory of God
John 11:1-45
by Jim Westmoreland
There is an ancient Chinese legend of an old man and his only son. One night
the old man's horse escaped, and the neighbors came to comfort him in his loss. "How
do you know this is a bad thing?" he asked them.
Several days later his horse returned with a herd of wild horses. Now his
friends came to congratulate the farmer for his good fortune. But the old man said,
"How do you know this is a good thing?"
While his son was trying taming one of the wild horses, he is thrown and
breaks his leg. Again his friends gathered to bemoan his new misfortune. But the old man
asked, "How do you know this is a bad thing?"
Soon a warlord came to recruit able-bodied youth for his army, and the
farmer's son escaped conscription because of his broken leg. In true fashion, the farmer's
neighbors came and expressed their pleasure over the man's good luck. "How do you
know it's a good thing?" he asked. The story can go on forever. Good fortune can
quickly turn on you and bad fortune may be a blessing in disguise. (Brett Blair,
www.eSermons.com, March 2002.) Even our struggles, given to God, can be used for His
glory.
In our reading from John today about the death and raising of Lazarus we see
what, at first glance, seems like strange behavior coming from Jesus. Jesus is asked to
come to Lazarus. Bethany is just a few miles from Jerusalem on the other side of the Mt.
of Olives, up from the Kidron Valley and just over the crest. It was a village not far
from Jerusalem, to which Jesus had often retreated to be with friends while he was in
Judah.
Verse 2 tells us that Lazarus' sister is the same Mary who bathed Jesus' feet
with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair. The previous chapter tells us that the
mood of the Pharisees has turned hostile and they are ready to stone him for blasphemy.
Jesus had left Jerusalem and had crossed the Jordan near the place where John was first
baptizing.
So, Jesus has a lot on his mind. The Jewish religious leaders have rejected
him and are so enraged that they are ready to stone him. And, his friend Lazarus is
apparently sick, and his worried family has sent for Jesus to come. But Jesus doesn't
come. Jesus is probably about a half a day's journey away. From across the Jordan River,
he wouldn't even have to come through Jerusalem. He could just cross over and come up the
mountain on the Jordan side to Bethany.
We can learn something of Jesus' intentions. In response to the news that
Lazarus was sick, vs. 4 says, "But when Jesus heard it, he said, 'This sickness is
not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified.'"
Near the end of this story Jesus said to Mary, in vs. 40, "Did I not say to you, if
you believe, you will see the glory of God?"
But, in between the beginning anticipation of seeing the glory of God and
Jesus' reassurance with the raising of Lazarus, life happens! Isn't that
the way it always is? We get excited about God and, boom, life happens!
We struggle with jobs, with sickness, with making ends meet. We struggle with
disappointment by friends, spouses and maybe the church. We experience grief and despair.
It wasn't supposed to happen this way. In vs 21 and 32, we see first Martha and then Mary
saying to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
Thank you for coming, but it's too late now. He's been buried four days now.
The Jews, at that time, believed that a person's spirit hovered near the body
for three days before departing. After that, there was no possibility of life left. And
so, for Lazarus, like the picture of the scattered bones of Israel with no life, these are
dry bones. Just as there is no hope in a valley of dry bones, after four days in the tomb,
there is no hope for Lazarus. Mary and Martha, when Jesus arrives, are spent with grief
and completely without hope.
Jesus directs them to remove the stone. Martha objects. At this point is when
Jesus asks, "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of
God?" Jesus calls for Lazarus to come out. As he steps out of the tomb, Jesus says,
"Unbind him and let him go." Isn't this what we often need to happen to us, for
someone to take off our bindings and let us go. If we are not careful, we can stay bound
to bad habits, weak spiritual muscles and even weaker spiritual eyesight and vision. When
we get bumped and bruised when "life happens," we think we are supposed to get
down and depressed or mad and sulky. God can use the hard times to cause us to give thanks
and to see his glory.
Recently, I heard a story of a father and daughter in their last moments
together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they
hugged and he said: "I love you. I wish you enough."
She in turn said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough.
Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy."
They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was
seated. Standing there, I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on
his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone
knowing it would be forever?"
"Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories that I
had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing
that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to
me. So I knew what this man was experiencing."Forgive me for asking, but why is this
a forever good-bye?" I asked.
"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and
the reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral," he said.
"When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May
I ask what that means?"
He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other
generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused for a moment and
looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. "When we said
'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just
enough good things to sustain them," he continued. Then, turning toward me, he shared
the following as if he were reciting it from memory:
"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough
rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I
wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you
enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you
possess. I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye." He then
began to sob and walked away.
Life does "happen," and God is always with us. Lazarus was always
alright in God's care. But, our vision is limited. We want things done our way. Behind and
beyond all of life's trials is a God who loves us, who calls us to come out and get
unbound.
Billy was a new person, but he had come close to dying. He realized he'd been
given a second chance, a new lease on life. No longer was he alone and confined in the
dark spirit of depression. His tomb of illness, had become a womb of new life, releasing
him from bondage, giving him a spirit of energy and hope, and connecting him with a
helpful, compassionate community of faith and friends.
Like Lazarus, we have received a new lease on life. He was raised from his
tomb to embrace a new, richer life of following Jesus. Like Lazarus, whose tomb became a
womb of new life, we also have "new" and richer lives to live in the spirit of
faith, gratitude, love and hope.
How might your life change if you had a near-death experience? And how is
Christ calling you to "come out" of your tomb or womb?
When we come out of our tombs of defeat and despair, like Lazarus, we give
glory to God. When we see His glory and trust and relax in His love for us, then he helps
to take off the things that bind us and restrain us like our fears and doubts, our need
for control and security, and our pride and rebellion. We are calmed, assured and cared
for. We have hope for this life and for life beyond. And, we give God the glory!