All along though we have known that God loves us and will see us through.

Transcription

1 Witness to God s Consolation John 11:17-27 A Witness to God s Consolation I have enjoyed so hearing from a number of persons in our congregation giving witness to God s good work in their lives. The stories we have heard over the past nine weeks have been inspiring to say the least. Just so you know every one of the video witnesses will be posted on our website. I think they re all worth experiencing again. I encourage you to do just that. This morning we hear yet another witness. As you know, John Huang s mom recently died. Jane was a dear lady woman. All of us are better for having known Jane Huang. John shares today from the heart about things that really strike to the heart. Let s turn our attention to the video screens as John Huang gives witness to God s consolation. (Show Video) Our prayers are with John and the rest of his family. In fact, our prayers are with the many, many persons who have suffered the death of a loved one this past year. It s been quite a year on that front, hasn t it? We ve had quite a few to die this past year. In that regard it has been a year of struggle. At times it has not been easy. All along though we have known that God loves us and will see us through. Grief Very Much a Part of Life Grief is, quite simply, very much a part of life. In the same way that death is very much a part of life. The loss of a loved one touches us to the depth of where we live. There s really nothing that challenges us to adjust like the death of a loved one. The range of emotion is as broad as it is deep. Anger, denial, guilt, and sorrow all become a part of the mix. I have noticed that grief has a way of rearing hits head in the most surprising ways, at the most surprising times.

2 There s no timetable to working through grief. There s no magic formula. Everyone is different. In our grief we need to live day by day, looking to the one who is able to offer consolation like no other. A Story of Both Sorrow and Triumph Our passage for today is a story of sorrow. It is also a story of triumph. It s a real life story that speaks to this very day. As we have already said, death is very much a part of life. It is one of life s sure bets, if you will. Death comes to us all. The good news in the mix of this story of sorrow is that death is not the last word. Good things, miraculous things, take place. Our passage for today is couched in the triumphant story of the raising of Lazarus. What we read today references Christ s dialogue with Martha, who along with her family had given Jesus great support. Martha, if you will remember, was the one who at an earlier time groused about her sister, Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus while she slaved over a hot stove. Martha s brother Lazarus had died. The family had already opened their home for mourner s to come and pay their respects. The emotion was intense. Even Jesus wept upon seeing Lazarus. For the Jews of Christ s day, a full seven days were given over for such things. The first three of those days were set aside for weeping and crying. There was something healthy about those people intentionally expressing their grief. We ve come to know though that grief is not just a weeklong ordeal. For some its effect stretches for a lifetime. Upon hearing that Jesus was on his way, Martha went to meet him. True to her character she was much more satisfied doing something than just sitting around. Mary, of course, stayed at home. A Full Range of Emotions Martha greeted the Lord with a full range of emotion. Initially she was a bit short with Jesus. If only you d been here, my brother wouldn t have died.

3 She felt Jesus had tarried in his coming, which, in fact, he had done. For the Jews it was thought that after four days one s spirit was considered to have left the body. Jesus delayed his arrival so there would be no confusing his power over death. It s not uncommon to be a little angry in and around someone s death. I know I was a little off my game after Mary Webb s funeral last Saturday just ask Cheryl. I couldn t quite put my finger on it. I blamed it on U of L losing to Clemson. That didn t help matters, but what it was really going on was that I was so upset over Mary s death. To Martha s credit, even in her upset, she showed just how faithful she really was. It takes faith to say if only you d been here, my brother wouldn t have died. It certainly takes faith to say, God will give you whatever you ask of him or I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day or especially I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God the one coming into the world. In this passage from John 11, we find this interesting mix of upset and faith that so often happens upon the death of a loved one. Always on Our Way to Life Grief is the most human of responses. It elicits a full range of emotions, all of which we need to own. In the end though, we need to cling to faith above all else. We have every reason to do that because we believe in the very one who blazes the trail when it comes to life over death. Thomas a Kempis in his Imitation of Christ writes, Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. William Barclay all but says the same when he says, We journey not to sunset, but to sunrise. That s the way it is for those who profess faith in Jesus, the resurrection and the life. For those who profess their faith in Jesus we are always on our way to life. I like the story told of the evangelist who one night at a revival asked everyone to raise their hands if they wanted to go to heaven. Everyone in the crowd did so, except one elderly man near the front.

4 The preacher pointed his finger at him and said, Sir, do you mean to tell us that you don t want to go to heaven? Sure I do, he said, but the way you put the question, I figured you were getting up a busload for tonight? While we may cling to this life, we have hope for the next. As with Paul for us, to live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) We Are an Easter People In all our focus upon the here and now and what Jesus can do for us in this life, even to the point of the miraculous, resurrection is not a consolation prize. It s the very goal of our existence. We are an Easter people and should live as such. Easter is on April 5 next year. That s not all that early for Easter. So here we are on October 19 talking about Easter. Now that s early. We ll not really. We ought to be talking about Easter all the time. When we have resurrection on our minds and hearts, we just approach life differently. We certainly deal with our grief differently. The promise of eternal life is a deep, profound consolation. I have stood before countless numbers of people over the years who have suffered loss and I really wouldn t have had much of significance to tell them were it not for the promise of eternal life. The Apostle Paul himself said, And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. (I Corinthians 15:14) What Difference Is the Resurrection Making in Your Life? What difference is the resurrection making in your life? I ve been studying the Book of Ecclesiastes recently. The wisdom writer proclaims over and over again that it s all a chasing after wind. It is, if it were not for Christ, the one who makes eternal life possible. I have often wondered, as I know you have, how people who don t profess faith make it through their grief.

5 The same could be said of those who conveniently forget about resurrection or who live as if it never happened. It s all too easy to forget about Easter after the lilies have all died out and the Easter bonnets have been put away. The power of Easter and its import upon our lives ought to be on minds and hearts every day of our lives. We ought to be just excited on October 19 as we ll be on April 5 of next year. Christ is risen and paves the way for our own resurrection. What difference is the resurrection making in your life? Life, Not Death Is the Order of the Day Jesus said this about himself, 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. This is the good news about our Lord and it is the very thing that gives us hope, even in our grief, especially in our grief. He offered hope and promise to Mary and Martha upon the raising of their brother Lazarus, demonstrating to all his power even over death. The raising of Lazarus was no little thing. I call it a major league miracle. It is Christ s last miracle before his own death and resurrection. With it he was making a bold statement not only about what was to come for him, but for all those who so believe. I want to encourage you in your grief, if for no other reason that the very resurrection and the life stands to love you through your grief and give you hope. When it comes to Christ, life, not death is the order of the day Clinging to Christ, the Resurrection and the Life I understand that the home of Paul Laurence Dunbar, noted poet, and the namesake of Dunbar High School is open to the public in Dayton, Ohio.

6 When Dunbar died, his mother left his room exactly as it was on the day of his death. At his desk was his final poem, handwritten on a pad. After his mother died, her friends discovered that Dunbar s last poem had been lost forever. Because his mother had made his room into a shrine and had not moved anything, the sun had bleached the ink with which the poem had been written and made invisible. The poem was gone. If we stay in our mourning, we lose so much of life. But if we cling to Christ, the resurrected Lord, and keep our gaze on eternity, we will have a much easier time of making it through. It has been my honor to Witness to God s Consolation.