Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
I don’t know about you… but if I had a choice… I would just skip over that “weeping” part and focus on the “Joy comes in the morning.” After all, as I like to remember, every Sunday is a little Easter.
But… as Mary and Martha could tell you… weeping comes first.
Mary and Martha wept when their brother died. They prayed, they called on Jesus to come to heal Lazarus. But their prayers were not answered in the way that they wanted. When Jesus did come, it was too late. Lazarus had already died. Mary said to Jesus, “IF ONLY… you had come.”
I’ve prayed prayers like that – both prayers begging for healing for people I loved and prayers asking Jesus why he wasn’t doing what I asked. But, like Mary and Martha, my prayers aren’t always answered in the way that I want. Maybe you too have prayed a prayer or two that Jesus hasn’t answered in the way that you want. If that’s the case, you probably know…. weeping may linger for the night.
There has been a lot of weeping in this past year around the world. 5 million people… 5 MILLION people have died because of the coronavirus…and we are not done. There has been weeping for lives lost, hopes shattered, plans derailed. Exhausted nurses and doctors and medical workers have quit - simply out of despair. Family members – cut off from their loved ones – have wept outside of hospital doors not even able to go inside and hug their loved one … one more time. Whether the tears have come from mourning one who died too soon or in compassion for a loved one who lingers in pain too long… weeping may linger for the night …and the night may be longer than one night.
Jesus wept too. Jesus wept at the hospital doors with the doctors, with the families, with those whose lives have been turned upside down. And Jesus wept with his friends Mary and Martha.
Our Gospel lesson only tells a part of the story. Earlier, when Jesus first returned, Martha saw him and, like Mary, she chided Jesus for not being there to heal Lazarus. Jesus didn’t argue. Instead, he said to her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” … And, when the crowd comes… Jesus shows her – and us – what that means…
Against the objections of Mary who was worried about the smell – and you can’t really blame her, right? It had been 4 days. Jesus asks the community that had gathered to take the stone away from the grave. Notice that he doesn’t call upon the holy angels to move the stone. Instead, Jesus asks the crowd – the community -- to lend a shoulder. And then just as a shepherd calls to a sheep, Jesus called to Lazarus, “Come out!” And Lazarus came out – bound up in graveclothes. Again, Jesus addresses the community, “Unbind him, and let him go!”
Weeping may linger for the night… but joy comes in the morning.
Joy certainly came to Mary and Martha and of course, to Lazarus on that morning. But joy also came to the community. They were the ones who rolled back the stone; They were the ones who unbound Lazarus from the graveclothes. They were a part of the story of new life for Lazarus. But the story goes beyond this community.
The story of Lazarus also foreshadows Jesus’ own death and resurrection. There are important differences. While Lazarus was returned to life for a time, Jesus was resurrected to eternal life – and with his resurrection comes the promise of everlasting life for Mary and Martha and Lazarus and all the saints who have come after. As we read in Revelation, the vision of the end times, God will wipe away EVERY tear and give us new life.
On this All Saints day, we remember those who have gone before us, those whom Jesus has called home. And sometimes, the memory is bittersweet – because we miss them. But the promise of eternal life with Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, is the joy that comes in the morning, on the last day when the weeping is done and the tears are wiped away. On that day, all that is left is joy.
This summer while hiking, I noticed an old tree in forest that had fallen down years ago. Along the trunk of the old tree, a sapling had sprouted. It’s roots were buried in the old tree’s trunk, receiving both nourishment and protection. I sometimes think of the faith of those who have gone before us as nourishing us and supporting us in our faith – like the tree supporting the young sapling. It was because of the witness of my grandmother reading me countless Bible stories, my grandfather serving as the gravedigger and the bell-ringer of his country church, the Sunday school teachers telling the story and making countless crafts and many more people in my life and in your life witnessing by their words and their deeds – this is how you and I have heard the story of Jesus. This is the joy that comes in the morning.
Because Jesus came – not only to give us hope for life after the grave but also on this side of the grave. Jesus brought Lazarus back to this life – and called on the community to remove the barriers, to take away the stone, to unbind the graveclothes so that Lazarus may live among them and share the story of Jesus.
We too have Lazarus moments in which we are called to share the story of Jesus. We too are called to remove barriers and unbind that which keeps people from hearing or seeing God’s good news.
The other day as I was walking along Minnehaha Creek, I saw an artist with his easel painting a beautiful bend in the creek. I stopped to look and was amazed at the way he captured the trees bent over the water and the leaves reflected in the river and added a bit of mystery, of wonder to the canvas. I was so impressed that I started asking him questions. He seemed to enjoy explaining his craft and so I stayed and watched as he chatted with me, and added a little more dimension to the painting. As he was painting, he said, “I must be the luckiest man alive. I just recovered from three kinds of cancer. I didn’t even know I had one kind of cancer… my wife calls it a miracle.” I told him, I do too. I don’t think you have luck. I think you have been blessed. You have a gift from God to share.
Joy comes in the morning. This man’s mission was to capture the beauty of the river to share with others in his painting. My mission, our mission, is to share Jesus who is life itself and is with us always, surrounding us and bringing us new life and joy. Weeping may linger for the night but JOY comes in the morning. Thanks be to God who makes it so. Amen.
WorkingPreacher.org Commentary on John 11:32-44 by Brian Peterson 2018, Jaime Clarke Soles 2012, Henry Langknect 2009