Boundless Life



Gate Pa – Lent 5, 2014
Readings:
Hebrew Scripture:                 Ezekiel 37:1-14                       
Psalm:                                     130 
Epistle:                                    Romans 8:6-11             
Gospel:                                    John 11:1-45                                   

What I want to say:
I want to explore the story of the raising Lazarus and wonder in what ways we are bound in death. I then want to offer the daily office as a means by which our rhythms may be shifted to God’s rhythms of life, our outlook shifter to God’s outlook of life, and we may slowly be unbound from the garments of death and freed to embrace “eternal life”.

What I want to happen:
People to try the daily office as part of the growing spiritual disciplines.

The Sermon

     1.      Introduction:

today invited into raw human emotions
            psalm - out of the depths –
            Ezekiel – offered image valley of dried out dead bones – vast army slaughtered
            story in John’s gospel evokes raw emotion around death loved one – this case brother and friend
            and for those follow story of John
            will be feeling raw emotion comes realisation that we are nearing the end
                        Jesus has taken on hated (especially in Galilee) Temple leadership
                                    priests and scribes
                                    seen wealthy, suck ups to Romans – only goal in life own self aggrandisement
                        if goes anywhere near Judea and Jerusalem – only be one outcome
as Thomas helpfully points out.

     2.      Jesus and the Judeans

Jesus is way down hills from Jerusalem
            near Jericho
            across Jordan
è hears good friend, beloved friend, is very ill
            problem is Lazarus and sisters live Bethany
                        very near Jerusalem and temple
            worse – appear from Gospel accounts –
                        Lazarus is part of temple hierarchy
                                    this is who Jews are – better translated as Judean Elite and Temple Hierarchy
                        they will be at his home – as custom demands
                        there will be no avoiding them
            so while rules say go and see him
            prudent action would be send message
            Jesus initially neither goes or sends message
            instead decides no – opportunity God glorified through his actions
-          opportunity stir up priests and scribes even more than currently are
waits two days and then goes
           

     3.      Jesus in Bethany

Johns suggests Jesus this point knows Lazarus has died
when arrived Bethany finds Lazarus has died
been dead for 4 days
            commonly understood that life force of a person, might say spirit of soul,
            hung around for 3 days
            Lazarus is gone – no turning back
and underscore that – told he is rotting        
Martha goes out meet him, maybe confront him maybe
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”
hear angst in this statement
full of regret, recrimination, love, loss.
“why didn’t you come?
why didn’t you even send word?
We thought you loved him!
where have you been!”
it is exactly the statement you will hear at every funeral
I wish that I had done this, or we had done that, or we had talked about …..
or I wish you had or hadn’t said that or done this.
raw, real, human emotion.
And Jesus is there in the midst of that
in the midst of that deep heart felt grief

     4.      Martha and the resurrection

Martha also plays it cool
22”But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him”
Out of which comes a conversation about resurrection
Martha gives to right Pharisaic answer
which is also so human, so real
read as something like…
“"Yeah, sure, I believe in the resurrection of the dead." So what? It's out of my hands and I'll be dead when it happens or if it doesn't happen, so ... really, so what?”
I suspect most of us in truth approach resurrection of dead in similar way.
I wonder if many in John’s community thinking something very similar
so
to Martha
to John’s community
to us
John has Jesus say
"I am the resurrection and the life." I am - here and now - I am - not was, not will be - I am the resurrection and the life.
present tense
happening now
all around you
all around us
can we see it?
Again we have this word “Belief” which several commentators suggest is better translated “trust”
changes text to
I am the resurrection and the life. Those who trust in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and trusts in me will never die. Do you trust this?
then Martha goes and gets Mary and she and Jesus have conversation during which shown glimpse of Jesus own sense of loss in all this
            his real human emotion
then Jesus goes to smelly tomb and orders Lazarus to come out
The Message Bible offers it like this?
"Lazarus, come out!" 44 And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him loose."
Said on multiple occasions
these are not historical stories
read and know more about Jesus
They are theology told in stories
when Jesus is saying Lazarus come out
because he is the resurrection and the life now
he is also saying to John’s hearers – come out
and to us.
When he commands "Unwrap him and let him loose."
He is also commanding that we too are unwrapped and let loose!
so what is it that holds us in death?
This lent
            what is it that we need to be unwrapped from and let loose

     5.      Daily Office

final spiritual practice explore this lent is daily office
from earliest records early church
            clear fixed hour prayer one oldest forms prayer
            along with eucharist
early church met pray at least 2 or 3 times day – morning and evening
done as offering to God - sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
done as way learn to fulfil Paul’s instruction
            – pray without ceasing

     6.      Benedict

couple weeks ago talked about St. benedict
translated a lot practices and learnings from desert fathers and mothers to western church
one things put into rule – daily office
8 services
about 3 hours apart
formalised a variety practises
based his offices around prayers early church
            singing psalms           
                        invite us bring raw, real human emotions into prayer life
            invite us to be real
            and like Mary and Martha,
            to know Jesus present in the midst of that,
                        weeping, railing, rejoicing with us.
            scripture
            intercessions

Father Anglican Prayer Book
Thomas Cranmer
Benedictine
in his prayer book included morning and evening prayer
his hope that every village England would gather in morning and night
say prayers together
gift those offices past down
sometimes seen something just for clergy
in prayer book because all invited stop and pray

     7.      Why pray the Office

regularly pray,
            even one office day changes our rhythms and our priorities
re-orientates us to rhythms of God
            shifts priorities from our urgencies
                        God’s priorities
                        priority – stop
                                    be still
                                    l pray
                                    listen
in this reorientation we are unbound
            set free
            live resurrection now
in making this priority turned from mundane to divine
                        inward – what our needs are
                        outward – God in all creation
invites us to be honest with ourselves
            with God
            acknowledge raw human emotions find in today’s reading
            pray with psalmist – out of depths


     8.      Words

words office vehicle by which God invites us to come out
            gently unbound
words prayed 2,000 years
                        some much longer
            many, most – words found scripture
when pray them
            join all others who have prayed
            who will pray them this day
            join cascade Christians around world who with us pray without ceasing
when pray them
            words act on us like sandpaper
            hearts and mind gradually sanded
                        moulded
                        changed

     9.      Conclusion

Morning prayer is prayed Wednesday and Thursday  here at 9.30.
it is this prayer that holds church together
establishes our rhythm of life and community
invite you to join me
also invite you to pray office at home time that works for you
join cascade prayers around world


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