5th Sunday of Lent   Cycle A  March 21, 2010                                                
Ezekiel 37:12-14  Romans 8:8-11  John 11:1-
45                                                                                                                                
“Lazarus, come out!”                                                                                
“I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to
the land of Israel.”                                                                                                
“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the
one who raised Christ from the dead will raise your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in
you.”                                                                                        
“Lazarus, come out!” Come out, Lazarus, to the land of Israel. Raise your
mortal body. Be raised in the power of the
Spirit.                                                         
As we can see, not all death is bad. If I remember correctly, 2004 was the year
the Curse of the Bambino was killed, destroyed, annihilated, rid of, and died.
That was a good death. That was a very good death. And we’re glad Jesus
didn’t call the death of Bambino’s Curse back out of the tomb. Leave it in
there where it belongs. We suffered long enough, did we
not?                                                                                
You know, I’ve heard it said quite often about this Gospel that Lazarus,
despite being raised and given back to his sisters Martha and Mary, along
with his community in Bethany, that he had to die again. Which of course is
true. But Lazarus having to die again tends to be said in such a way where,
when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb on that day in Bethany, Jesus
wasn’t doing him any favors because at some point he had to got through
the dying process again at some point later in life. That Lazarus had to die
again. He had to die a second death.                                                                         
Honestly, when it comes to dying, once is enough. Once really is enough.
Who wants to go through the pain and suffering, the deterioration of the
body, the wrenching process of coming to terms with one’s mortality, twice?
You can bet Lazarus dealt with those very human thoughts and emotions on
his way out. Twice would seem like a curse. Except Jesus didn’t curse
Lazarus. Jesus rids us of curses, remember?                
Instead, Jesus gave Lazarus life…again. And it’s Lazarus’ second life that
lights a fire under the rest of us and says, “Don’t just live. BUT BE ALIVE!”
“Lazarus, come out and BE
ALIVE.”                                                                                         
It’s like Jesus was saying, “Lazarus, come out and go straight to your
house, and on this beautiful day, pick up your golf clubs Lazarus, and let’s
go golfing. Yes, let’s be alive!” Of course they had golf courses back then.
They played at the course just outside of Bethany called Hebrew National.
The same name the hot dog people stole from the golf people, which the golf
people forgot to copyright. “And Lazarus, while we’re playing golf at Hebrew
National, we’ll stop at the concession stand after nine holes and wolf down a
couple Hebrew Nationals. With mustard and onions.” Not quite Coney
Island, but a close second!                                                                         
“Lazarus, come out and BE ALIVE. Come back to the land of Israel, the land I
gave to your fathers, and kiss the ground you walk on. Yes, because one
day you will be buried in this ground again. But in the meantime, come out
and BE ALIVE.”                         
Why?                                                                                         
We want Lazarus to come out and be alive so that we may believe that Jesus
was sent by his Father. Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb not because he
didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to him before he died. But rather for a
much more important reason. A Godly reason. A reason of belief that
believes Jesus has power over the greatest evil known to man; namely
death. That’s what’s at stake with not just living, but BEING ALIVE. Because
when we are alive, and enjoy the many blessings bestowed upon us by our
loving God, we reflect in our lives the most fundamental theological
understanding about Jesus; that he is indeed the resurrection and the life.
And everyone who lives, and is alive and believes in him, will never
die.                                                                 
And how does that happen? What’s the theological recipe for BEING ALIVE?
“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then
the one who raised Christ from the dead will raise your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.” This is a loaded statement from Paul.
What Paul is saying in essence is, “Enjoy life now. Because we haven’t seen
anything yet. It only gets better.”                         
Lazarus’ second life. Lazarus’ second chance. It’s a life and a chance that
says to embrace the wholeness of life now. It’s a second life and a second
chance that says by embracing the wholeness of life, we come to know that
Jesus was sent by the Father, and that he truly is the resurrection and the
life. And that truth prepares us for Easter Sunday.                 
“Lazarus, come out! Come and BE ALIVE!”