Emmanuel

John 11:1-45

Preparing for this sermon I was pondering about clichés about not being present, and I thought about how it is important to train a new driver to change a tire.  It may not be as important now with mobile phones, but we do it because we realize that we will not be present when it happens to someone, and we learn the skill because we realize we will not have the teacher present.  So while I was pondering this example, I received an email from my wife that said her phone was not working.  She had tried to turn it off and back on, because it was not working correctly, and it would not restart.  On the rare occasion, this would occur she would hand the phone to me to deal with, but of course this time I was in the office.  I emailed back that she should take the battery out for a minute and it should work.  Forty-five seconds letter I received an email with just the word “how.”   I wanted to be there, or at least phone her, because trying to explain how to take the back cover off in written words escaped me.  I was just about to respond, it is the back cover and I will be home shortly, when the message “never mind I figured it out” arrived in my inbox.  Sometimes it is simply important to be there.

Paul wrote much of our New Testament, and all of it is in the form of epistles.  We have no record of his sermons or even straight theological writing, rather all of the writings we have are because Paul could not be there (wherever there was).  His letter to Philemon, Paul needed to convince Philemon to take back his slave, Onesimus, as a brother in Christ and not simply as a slave.  Paul had to make sure the churches he started did not get swayed by the Judaizers who came trying to have the churches follow the Torah as well as Jesus.  Paul simply could not be everywhere, Paul was limited by being a human like us.  It is interesting that all of our written records of his work are these letters he wrote because of that limitation.

In this story of Lazarus’ death, Jesus is not present.  It is also clear in this story that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.  His humanity is present by his physicality, in that He was not able to be there for His friend.  Jesus was delayed and needed time to travel when he was able, and there was the concern by His friends about those that wanted Him dead.  Yet Jesus knew He would “awaken” Lazarus, which only the Divine could know.  Jesus demonstrated great emotion as well.  Even knowing that Lazarus would walk again on earth, Jesus was moved by his feelings to cry.  This to me demonstrates His humanity, and reminds me of how He was angry in the temple and His passionate prayer to His Father in the garden prior to the cross.  And in this scripture Jesus tells us He is the resurrection and calls Lazarus out of the grave, fully divine. 

Martha went out to met  Jesus knowing he was coming to town and she greets him with this statement, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  Jesus responds that Lazarus will rise again, and Martha responds with a very good Jewish answer, and answer you would expect from a Pharisee, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”  The resurrection was believed by Jews, but it was something that would happen far off, on the last day.  Jesus turns that idea around, that it is something far off and distant, by stating, and her response in John 11: 25-27:

Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

Clearly, the resurrection is started on earth and does not wait for the end of all time.  Jesus has changed this idea of time.

Yet they still see Jesus as being only physically present.  That His healings and miracles needed His presence.  This is clear by Mary’s similar statement to Jesus, when she arrives and kneels at His feet, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  I do believe Jesus weeps because of the emotions of His own, and those around Him for the death of Lazarus, I cannot help and wonder if He is also sad that these friends do not understand.  They believe Jesus has to be present for God’s Glory to be present, and that does seem to be true until the Holy Spirit is sent to gather us as the church, the Body of Christ.

During the Christmas season we often hear of Mathew’s translation of Isaiah 7:14, in Mathew 1:23:

Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means, God is with us.

Emmanuel is the Hebrew words that mean God with us, and during Christmas we are always pointing out the importance of God’s incarnation as Jesus the baby.  This does not change, Jesus is the incarnation of God.  God with our physical limitations, such as not being able to be everywhere at all times.  God with emotions.  God incarnate.  John’s account of of Lazarus's resurrection reminds us that Jesus is both divine and human.

Paul talks about being untimely born because he was not able to meet the incarnate Jesus, but only the resurrected Christ.   I must admit that at first I feel the same way, for if I did have a time machine, I would want to go to Bethlehem when Jesus was born, hear His preaching, witness the miracles and healing, break bread with Him, mourn His tragic and violent death, be in the upper room when he comes to show himself to Thomas.  Then I do remember that I am part of the post Pentecost Church.  I am part of the Body of Christ, the Resurrection and the Life.  That we are doing the work of the Father who sent Jesus and gave us the Holy Spirit so that everyone will know God is with us.