3/11/2024 0 Comments All saints day and lazarus![]() More precisely, they point to someone else. Instead, they are revelations, signs that point beyond the astounding event itself to something else. In this Gospel, the astounding things Jesus does are not “miracles,” not simply places where the general patterns of the world swerve wildly. ![]() Though not specifically labelled as such, the raising of Lazarus is the climactic “sign” within Jesus’ ministry in John. Such things are not overcome by Spock-like lack of emotion that is not how God’s glory will appear. Whatever the precise trigger, it is worth noticing that Jesus does not remain unmoved in the presence of this death and grief. Unfortunately, John doesn’t seem interested in clarifying the reasons for Jesus’ emotions here. What is all this about? Is it an indication of human grief felt by Jesus? Is he upset because the crowd’s grief is hypocritical? Is he angry at people’s continued inability to believe (this weeping as a Johannine version of the Synoptic Jesus weeping over Jerusalem)? Is he upset because his own death and tomb are approaching?Ĭommentators are intrigued by this emotional Jesus, and all of these suggestions have some plausibility within John’s narrative. He is “deeply moved” (verse 33) he weeps (verse 35). He is “greatly disturbed” in John 11:33 and 38, a word that commonly signifies indignation or anger. Perhaps such reactions prompt what may be the most exegetically puzzling aspect of this text: the profound emotional responses of Jesus. Jesus ensures freedom for Lazarus in verse 44, but the following verses note that although some believe because of what they saw (verse 45), others begin to plan how to kill both Jesus (verse 53) and Lazarus (John 12:10), and thus stop the outrageous behavior of one who calls the dead back to life, and of the dead who have the temerity to obey. The reaction is no less divided (but it is more deadly) after Lazarus stumbles his way back into the light of the living. Some affirm his love others criticize him for not doing more for sadly dead Lazarus. In John11:36-37, the people at the funeral are divided about Jesus. Surely such a miracle is where the glory of God blazes forth.Įxcept this expectation doesn’t seem to play out in the text. We’ve been given plenty of indication earlier in John 11 about what will happen, but we may still be startled by the man shuffling out of the tomb, unexpectedly alive. ![]() It would be difficult to imagine a more unlikely sentence. We know from experience how death, with all its daily minions, stinks. Yet we may also wonder just where we see God’s glory in a procession that always ends up at a death. On this All Saints Sunday, we remember the long line of the faithful who have come before us, whom we honor and treasure. We know what it is to long for a glimpse of that glory, perhaps especially at times reflected in the scenes of John 11. In that unlikely setting, Jesus tells Martha that she will see the glory of God (John 11:40). Today’s text gathers us around a newly occupied tomb, surrounded by the typical mix of grief and loss, accusation and anger. ![]()
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