Scripture
32When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34“Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Then Jesus wept. 36The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” 38Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
John 11:32-39
Observation
The darkest day for most of us is when we have to face the death of a loved one. This was not just a dark day for the sisters of Lazarus, but also for Jesus Himself. Lazarus was one of his best friends. It’s interesting to note the different ways Jesus responds to the sisters. It tells me that when people are grieving and mourning they don’t need a “one size fits all” treatment. Martha gets a theological teaching on the resurrection so Jesus is meeting her intellectually. Mary gets empathy and raw emotion meeting her at the heart level where she was barely holding it together. Jesus was deeply moved and the anger He felt in this moment was part of the grieving process we all go through. He was angry at what sin and death had stolen and this resurrection for Lazarus was a preview for what He was about to do for each and every person who believes. Jesus broke all the purity laws of a Jewish Rabbi to go near Lazarus. Jews believed by the fourth day people were completely dead with no chance of resurrection. Jesus will have us enter situations where everyone has given up hope. Whether resurrection in this life or the life to come we are to be a preview of heaven on earth.
Application
Today is the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year. I love the timing of God that this would be the passage I’d be reading as the sun lights up the morning sky with colors that draw my heart to hope. For our family we’ve been grieving the loss of our family dog since Sunday. We had our little Shitzu Terrier for 12 years in three states as our five boys grew up. There’s a little hole in our home and an ache in our heart. This pales in comparison to what many have lost in this time of year. A friend of ours has just lost her son who was fighting for our country oversees. Survey’s show 47% of American’s dread this time of year. Most likely because many of their once happy memories are seen the tint of blue that reminds them of what they once had in relationships, dreams, and home. It’s into this place that Jesus walks and speaks to us and cries with us and reminds us that death no longer has the last say because He conquered it on The Cross. My friend and pastor in Hawaii Alex Michel passed away two years ago around this time. His last sermon before passing from this life into the next was titled “Good Grief”. Ironically, he walked all us through how to grieve his death. He asked this question, “Why did God put tear ducts in our eyes and not in our feet? So those around could see we’re in pain”. We aren’t alone in our grief if we don’t want to be. I like what Annie Downs says about today:
December 21st. Winter solstice.
The darkest day of the year.
Every day of the fall has been getting darker towards today.
But tomorrow?
It starts getting lighter.
In tiny tiny increments.
But light is coming.
It doesn't get any darker than today.
Light is coming.
Prayer
Jesus you have felt everything we have felt and yet You didn’t sin. Depression and suicide go up at this time of year and I’m so thankful I have the power through You to combat the darkness, not just in me but on behalf of those around me. Help me to look beyond my own circumstances and reach out to those around me whose blue Christmas is about to drown them. Let me be a lifeline to them as You have sent so many to be that for us. Intimacy with You is the only way through.
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