2023.03.26 | The Resurrection of Lazarus
“Life After Death”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Eden United Church of Christ
Hayward, California
March 26 2023
Twenty-first century theologian, Margo Heath—whom some of you may know—once asked me a couple of questions that relate to today’s scripture lesson. Her questions were these: “Is there life after death? If so, what’s it like?”
Margo asked these questions as we drove home from a book group meeting at the late Barbara Lee Jackson’s home.
I considered my response for a moment as we lingered at a stop light near the I-580 on-ramp near Walnut Creek. Theologians have written great tomes on the subject of the afterlife. I was pretty sure that Margo wasn’t interested in a survey of their thoughts. She just wanted to know what I thought, and I only had the drive back to Hayward to provide it for her.
After I collected my thoughts, I said something like this: Yes, Margo, I believe that there is life after death, but I don’t believe we can know exactly what that experience is like until we get there. The best knowledge we have of heaven, on this side of it, is metaphors and similes. Then, I asked Margo what she thought.
Margo said, “I’m not really sure if there is an afterlife, but I’m trying to believe in it, just in case that matters.”
I’m not sure what exactly prompted Margo’s questions on that particular day. Most people ponder these existential questions at one time or another in their lives. But my hunch is that Margo was trying to figure out whether I was a pastor who she could take seriously or not, and this was her test for me.
Regardless of whether Margo was testing me with her question about the afterlife or not, we all--clergy and “civilians”--have to grapple with these questions sooner or later. Sometimes those questions are prompted by the death of a loved one or their impending demise, and sometimes they are prompted by our own musings or our encounters with the limits of life this side of heaven.
One aspect of these existential questions that typically arises in my conversations with those who have experienced the death of someone very dear to them, such as a family member, is whether there is life after death in this life?
A common statement or question that I hear in the confines of my pastor’s office goes something like this: “Pastor, how am I supposed to go on without [fill in the blank of the loved one’s name]?” I feel so sad, lost, confused, etc.”
Today’s scripture reading provides a platform for exploring this very important question. Before we address the question it is helpful to know more about the context and the events described in John 11.
II
Lazarus lived and died in the early first century of the Common Era, which was 1500 years before the moveable-type printing press was invented. If there had been a newspaper with an obituary section, Lazarus’ obituary would have read something like this:
Lazarus, beloved brother of Mary and Martha, pillars of the church, and companion of Jesus, the famous healer, died suddenly of unknown causes, and was buried in a tomb near Bethany. In addition to his two sisters and best friend, Jesus, Lazarus is survived by a host of friends and family.
According to John, Jesus didn’t read about Lazarus’s death in a morning paper. He was told by some mutual friends who reported that Lazarus had been ill.
Jesus may have had time to return to Bethany before Lazarus’ death, but for whatever reason--John doesn’t say why--he did not arrive at Lazarus’ side before he was pronounced dead.
Martha, Lazarus’ sister, was upset about her brother’s death and about Jesus’ delayed arrival at the scene and explains: ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” (John 11:21)
Jesus’ response was anything but predictable. Rather than extending his sympathies or offering an explanation about his delayed arrival, Jesus simply said, “Your brother will rise again.” (John 11:23) Then, Jesus asked Martha if she believed what he had said. She replied, “I know that he will rise again on the last day.”
Then Jesus sent Martha to summon Mary from their home, where she had been sitting Shiva for their brother. The other mourners followed the sisters to greet Jesus. When Mary laid eyes on Jesus, she too wailed, “If you had been here Jesus, my brother would not have died.”
Rather than responding directly to the women’s comments, Jesus joined them in their grief. (The KJV of John 11:36 says, “Jesus wept.”) Then he moved on, and asked where Lazarus was buried and followed Lazarus’ friends to the cemetery.
When the group arrived at the tomb, Jesus asked that the stone in front of the tomb be rolled away. Mary and Martha protested the idea at first, reminding Jesus that Lazarus had been dead for four days and that there would be a stench. Jesus persisted, and encouraged the two to trust and believe. Meanwhile, the friends found levers and rolled away the stone from the entrance.
Once the stone was moved, Jesus offered thanks to God for answered prayer, and shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” According to John’s gospel, “The dead man came out [with his grave cloths still hanging from his body.]” And then Jesus said to his friends, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:44)
In subsequent verses, we read how news of Lazarus’ raising, and Jesus’ role in his resurrection, spread far and wide, and many came to believe that Jesus was the son of God, the Messiah.
Meanwhile, a few people in the crowd went to the Pharisees, and described the miracle that Jesus performed, and the impact that it had on those who learned about it, and from then on, the Pharisees set out to end “the Jesus movement,” by putting Lazarus to death, once and for all, and by turning the Roman authorities against Jesus.
III
The resurrection of Lazarus perplexes most progressive Protestants like us, because it doesn’t easily align with what we know about the laws of natural science.
So what are we to make of this story? Should we believe it just in case?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Eden Church isn’t the kind of church where you’re expected to check your brain at the door, or be required to espouse the same beliefs as one or more of the pastors. I will, however, tell you what I believe:
John believed that Lazarus was raised from the dead.
The Johannine community believed that Lazarus was raised from the dead.
Lazarus could have been raised from the dead.
We will never have scientific proof (one way or the other) as to whether Lazarus was raised from the dead.
Our faithfulness is not dependent upon whether we believe that Lazarus was literally raised from the dead.
Metaphorical resurrections can be as powerful and life-transforming as literal resurrections.
In sum, I believe that there is room for a wide range of interpretations of Lazarus’ death and resurrection. Which interpretation is most meaningful for any one of us may vary, depending on our respective circumstances at a given point in time and/or what we may have been raised to believe.
IV
Those of us who are not hovering at heaven’s gate today or who haven’t recently lost a loved one may find a metaphorical interpretation of today’s resurrection story most helpful. Rather than taking the story literally, we might interpret it metaphorically as having to do with the experience of new life after a loved one died.
One of the most difficult pieces of spiritual and theological work that any of us do in this life is to make sense of—and cope with—the death of a loved one. Spiritually speaking, it is possible for us to stay locked up in a metaphorical tomb of grief. Psychologists describe this phenomenon as “being emotionally stuck.”
One way to minimize “stuckness” in grief is to allow ourselves ample time to grieve.
The shortest verse in scripture and perhaps the most powerful is this: Jesus wept. It reminds us that it is human, even divine, to weep. We will never progress very far in our grief processes without attending to the whole range of other emotions that are a normative part of the grieving process—including anger, sadness, numbness, and maybe even relief. Movement through these emotions is vital to our ability to accept and integrate the loss of our loved one into our identity and personal stories so that we can move on with our lives in healthy ways.
One of the most important things that we can do for ourselves and those in our inner circles is to allow a space for grief by giving ourselves permission to grieve. We do this by allowing ourselves to feel however we feel, by permitting ourselves to have bad days as well as good days and to bow out of some activities if we’re not feeling up to them.
Likewise, one of the most important things that we can do for grieving loved ones is to give them space to grieve, show up for and with grievers, like Jesus did, and to weep with them. Once we allow some time for weeping, it becomes possible to move on.
Inviting a guide and/or seeking companions through the grief process, such as a professional therapist or a survivor’s support group can be very helpful to our healing process. It’s also important to get extra sleep, more exercise, lots of water, and practicing healthy eating habits during our recovery process.
When we tend to our own grief processes in healthy ways, and encourage others to attend to their own grief work, the hope of heaven becomes a reality--in this life and the life to come. Amen.