Jn 11:1-45 Open Up Your Grave

Fifth Sunday of Lent
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When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him...  Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died... Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise."  Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day."  Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live...  Do you believe this?"

The Lord gave sight to the blind.  Now, He is about to give life to the dead. 

Physical resurrection.  Christ did with great ease what hospitals do with great difficulty: raise people from the dead. 

I have always been fascinated with death.  Why?  Because it makes perfect sense in a supposedly senseless Universe.  I mean if the blind and random forces of nature could have concocted life, then they surely could have cooked up eternal life, or at least a life that lasted for centuries, right?   But these forces new better, and in the grand scheme of things, death provides a variety of benefits for the living, not all of which are so obvious. 

Death in all its splendor.  For something supposedly so random and so blind as life, it's remarkable the tremendous impact death has had on humanity.  If its sole purpose was merely ecological, then it would be remarkable.  But that is just the tip of the iceberg.  Death is political, and I find this to be astonishing.  For example, with regards to the human race, death not only leaves room for others to live and move, but it also leaves openings in leadership positions. It eliminates the possibility of eternal dictators, of everlasting strong men.  It solves the huge problem of overbearing and annoying people.  As a poor man in the movie Scrooge once sang: "Thank you very much.  Thank you very much.  It's the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me."  What a blessing it is to know that no man or woman - regardless of how strong or overwhelming they may physically and psychologically be - can have all the time in the world to subject others.  Thank God!

Death is not random.  It is highly intentional and it calls out to us.

Death provides a very real reminder to never take anyone or anything for granted.  Death as well as the dead deserve and demand our respect.  The clock ticks not only for Cinderella, but also for Prince Charming.  The clock ticks for thee. 

Before midnight strikes and we turn back to dust, we all have a certain amount of time to accomplish our life mission.  What makes death so dramatic is that it's final.  There is no turning back.
       
Lazarus' Resurrection.  The bodily resurrection of Lazarus was all for show.  It was a demonstration, a preview of things to come.  The Lord was giving his audience a real life death situation and what happens to all of us on the last day of the resurrection.  On that day, tombs shall be opened and bodies shall rise.  Life will have the last laugh.

If the curing of the blind man is the meat and potatoes of Amazing Grace: "I once was blind, but now I see", then today's gospel passage is the meat and potatoes behind the parable of the Prodigal Son:  "Your brother was dead, and is alive again."

He opens your grave.  Death is multilayered:  spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical.  Are your sins killing you?  Have you died to sin?   Then allow the Lord to open your grave and free you from your tomb!  Is your pride or vanity or sensuality sucking the life out of you?  Then learn to be humble and simple so as to arise from your slumber. 

O death, where is thy sting?  We do not need to fear death if we are spiritually alive and well. 

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." - Franklin Roosevelt.