Fifth Sunday of Lent: Sermon based on the Raising of Lazarus
There is a great saying in the bible. Well , I guess there are many great sayings and
verses in the bible, the saying I want to speak about is it’s right up there with some
of the best like John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten Son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life”
It’s right up there with Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me…” the saying I want to speak about this morning is “with God… all
things are possible.” It’s a great saying and we hear it quite regularly, with God… all
things are possible.
But do we really believe it? Do we trust that God holds all things in His hands and
that when we walk with God all things are possible? Can a camel really fit through
the eye of a needle… Jesus says with God all things are possible. Can a rich man
really be saved…. Jesus says that with God all things are possible. Can we take this
saying with us to the bank? Will it deliver for us?
Some of the folks who have gathered outside of Lazarus tomb—are having a hard
time believing it there friend has died- he’s stone cold dead. They are having a hard
time believing that with God all things are possible. Mary towards the end of the
passage runs up to Jesus- throws herself at his knees- if you had only you had been
here- Lazarus wouldn’t have died. Yes Jesus could have healed, but now that death
has come that’s too big a match for even Jesus, for even God to deal with.
The crowd that has followed Mary are scowling—“ certainly if he opened the eyes of
the man born blind --could he not have saved Lazarus from dying?
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But now that Lazarus is dead, now that the stone has been rolled in front of the
tomb- now that it’s been four days since his heart stopped beating-since—the door
has closed the door on any possibility.
Even Martha can’t believe it --- I had some hope for Martha early on in the passage–
Remember what she says --“Lord I know that anything you ask the Father will give
to you”--- but when the rubber hits the road- when Jesus says roll back the stone-Martha pauses for a moment, her faith waivers
“Uh, Uh Jesus its been four days and if we roll back the stone the stench is going to
be pretty bad”
Does she really believe that with God all things are possible?
But Jesus believes—with God all thing are possible. In a scene fit for HollywoodJesus in his deepest, most commanding voice orders Lazarus from the tomb- I
imagine that in his voice was embodied all the power all the belief that with God all
things are possible.
“Lazarus come out.”
The Prophet Ezekiel believes it- he prophesies over the valley of the dead and very
dry bones. As the word escape his lip God’s spirit sweeps into the valley and the
bones begin to rattle and shake- bone connects to bone, sinew upon sinew and God
raises these bones to new life.
With God all things are possible
But can we believe this? Are all things possible?
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Next Saturday, we are gathering our kids club to bake cookies, the cookies will then
be sold on Palm Sunday during Souper Sunday to support Flora Dorillas, the
orphan the church school sponsors through the Haiti Micah Project. As part of the
morning we are going to watch a ten minute documentary about life in Haiti. I am
hoping that by showing the kids this documentary they will have a better sense of
what life is like for Flora Dorillas.
The documentary we will show the kids revolves around the life of a woman named
Tea Rose. Tea Rose in her forties is raising six children in a rural mountain village in
Haiti. The picture that Tea paints is bleak with not a lot to celebrate- Tea tells of
not having enough food to feed her family- she say that most days they have but one
meal, she speaks about the spring where she goes with her buckets to get water- she
says that sometimes the spring becomes contaminated and her children get sick with
diarrhea. She talks about has no money to go to the doctor- And finally She tells
the sad story of how both her husband and one of her children dying because she
didn’t have any money for medical care.
The documentary speaks about life in Haiti being hard, cruel and unjust.
But then something amazing happens at the end of the documentary. Although Tea
has a life you and I could never imagine-- she speaks of the joy her children bring
and she speaks of the joy she has found in knowing Jesus.
And then she says it-- with a smile from ear to ear with God all things are possible.
It’s her anchor- its gets her through those tough days when all she can think about is
her gnawing pain her belly- it gets her through the days when she doesn’t have
medicine she needs to treat her children’s diarrhea.
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Here is a woman who has every reason to doubt, to be cynical to shake her fist at
God yet after all the hardship and tragedy she is still able to anchor herself to that
saying with God all things are possible.
Can we believe it though with all that is swirling around in our lives?
I think Jesus challenges us to believe it.
What would it look like if when we are challenged to do something outside our
comfort zones- we adopted the thought ---with God all things are possible.
What if when asked to do something that we don’t think we have the skills for we
adopted the thought t with God all things are possible.
What if when asked to love the un-loveable, to forgive the unforgivable --what if we
approached those situations with the thought I might not be able to do this under
my own volition, but with God all things are possible.
With God a camel can fit through the very eye of a needle. With God a woman in
the mountains of Haiti can face the suffering and tragedy of Poverty with joy.
I wonder what you and I, I wonder what God can do through us when we anchor
ourselves to that saying that with God all things are possible.
I don’t think that God is much for gambling- but today I think God is inviting us to
put all our chips down and Take a chance- believe it ---- because something amazing
just might happen- when the stone is rolled away- Lazarus just might come out.
With God all things are possible.
AMEN
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