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