What does resurrection look like?
That’s a hard question to answer, isn’t it? We can see the results of resurrection: freedom, joy, and peace. But resurrection
itself… that’s more difficult to nail down. Most of us look for an answer to
that question in the story of Easter morning. When the women went to Jesus’
tomb, they found that the stone that closed the tomb had been rolled away, and
that the grave clothes that had once wrapped Jesus’ body were lying empty.
Those grave clothes looked like an old cocoon from which a butterfly had been
released. Jesus had been resurrected right through them! And all this had
happened without help from anyone except God. So… does God’s resurrection power
work the very same way now – without any human help? Is it like the magic in
the Harry Potter stories? When Harry wants to open a closed door, for example,
all he has to do is point his wand at that door and say, “alohomora,” and the
door opens all by itself. Is God’s resurrection power like that? Are we are
freed from everything that holds us back from living free, fulfilled lives when
God speaks the word? Well, yes… and no. Resurrection is certainly a miracle,
one that only God can bring about! Jesus’ resurrection was; and ours are, too.
But resurrections in this world are a little bit more complicated than Jesus’
resurrection was on Easter morning. I think that John has written the story of
the raising of Lazarus to tell us just that.
This morning’s scripture reading was
the end of that story (John 11:38-44). Here’s the beginning of the story in a
nutshell. Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died when Jesus was absent; and when Jesus
showed up in his hometown, Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha were grieving his
death. Jesus assured them that Lazarus would live again, but they thought that
he was talking about the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. Oh, they
believed that Jesus was the Messiah; but they didn’t see how he could help
Lazarus right then. Lazarus was as dead as a doornail; and their hope was as
dead as he was. That’s when John gives us a glimpse of the resurrection power
that will raise Jesus on Easter morning. It’s power that still works in our own
lives; and this story is a model for what happens when it does. First, Jesus
asked the friends of Lazarus who were gathered at his tomb to move the stone
that was closing the entrance to the tomb. Then, Jesus called to Lazarus:
“Lazarus, come out!” Finally, Lazarus stumbled out of the darkness of his tomb
into the light of day – from the realm of the dead back to the living – and Jesus
told the crowd of astonished onlookers, “Take off his grave clothes and let him
go.” Now, right in the middle of that scene we can see Jesus unleashing God’s
resurrection power. When Jesus called, “Lazarus, come out!” he did something
that none of us can possibly do: he summoned the dead back to life. But the
friends of Lazarus helped with that resurrection, too. Jesus could have called
to Lazarus all he wanted, but if the stone had not been rolled away from his
tomb, Lazarus would have been trapped in there forever. Even after Lazarus was
recalled to life, he was still restrained by the grave clothes that were
wrapped around him. Somebody else had to get rid of the stone and help to
unwrap the grave clothes. Jesus didn’t do that; he tells us to do those things.
Now, we’re not physically sealed up in caves behind half-ton stones; and most
of us aren’t wrapped up in straitjackets as we go through our lives. But in
real, practical ways, we are as trapped by tomb stones and as tied up in grave
clothes as Lazarus ever was! For resurrections to happen to us and to those
around us, we have to help one another.
Let’s take a look at
the stones that seal us in the dark. Tombstones in cemeteries display the name
of the one who is buried there. But the stones that trap us while we’re still
alive have other names on them. One of the biggest stones is labelled
“Ignorance.” If someone doesn’t have any idea that a life other than the one
they are living is possible, they’ll never even try to walk out of their tomb! Many
inner city children, for example, have never experienced a life without violence.
They live with drive-by shootings and drug deals on every corner. They don’t
know what it’s like to live in safety and security. And even if they did, the
stone labelled “Poverty” would keep them trapped where they are. It’s not only
inner city children who are trapped by the stones of Ignorance and Poverty.
Battered women, drug addicts, and the victims of human trafficking usually have
no way to escape their situation and no resources to use if they did. Yes, the
stones of ignorance and poverty that trap people in their tombs are very large
and heavy.
But even if the stones
are rolled away – and praise God, they sometimes are – we are still wrapped up
in grave clothes that other people have put on us. Those grave clothes have to
be peeled off very carefully, because we have been wearing some of them for a
very long time. They have labels on them, too. As we peel off the cloth strips one
by one, we can see some of those labels. Here’s one that says, “I don’t deserve
any better.” That keeps a lot of people trapped in a tomb, doesn’t it? The next
one says, “I don’t know any other way of doing things.” That one is wrapped
around a lot of people. If you don’t have the skills to live a resurrected
life, you’ll crawl back into your tomb. A cloth underneath it says, “I’m
afraid.” Fear keeps many people stuck in the dark. And here’s one that we’re
all familiar with: “I just can’t do this.” I’ll bet that you’ve said that at
one time or another. I know that I have. But all of these grave clothes are
lies! Other people have wrapped us in them. They’ve told us “You don’t deserve
any better… You’ll never be anything but a coward… You can’t do anything
right.” Those kinds of beliefs are the grave clothes that keep us from living a
resurrected life after God calls us out of our tombs!
Maybe the best way to
understand what resurrection in this world looks like is through a story. This
story is about a man named Bill. Bill was a drunk. He had battled alcoholism
his whole life. It ruined his career, his family, and his health. He finished
law school, but he didn’t graduate because he was too drunk to pick up his
diploma. He became a stock speculator, evaluating companies for potential
investors; but his drinking ruined his reputation. His doctor finally told him
that if he didn’t lay off the booze, it would kill him. Bill resolved to quit
cold turkey; and for a short time, he was successful. But one evening,
temptation was getting the better of him; so he phoned his friend, Bob, who was
also an alcoholic, for support. And it worked! Bill was able to resist the
temptation to take a drink. That event was his inspiration to begin a group for
alcoholics who stay sober by supporting one another. I’m sure that by now, you
know who I’m talking about. The name of that drunk was Bill Wilson; and the
group that he founded was Alcoholics Anonymous.
Addicts like alcoholics
are some of the people who are most in need of God’s resurrection power. But
even when God calls them out of their tombs, they still face many obstacles.
Bill rolled away the stone for many of them by offering AA as a source of help.
And the participants in AA meetings help one another to unwind the grave
clothes that are keeping them trapped. When someone says, “I don’t deserve any
better,” they answer, “Yes, you do! We love you, and you’re worth it!” When
someone says, “I don’t know any other way of doing things,” they offer ways to
resist temptation that have worked for them. They answer “I’m afraid” by
saying, “I am too, every single day.” And when someone says, “I just can’t do
this,” they reply confidently, “Yes, you can; because I did!” Bill Wilson once
commented, “No one can help a drunk except another drunk.” I’m not sure if
that’s true; but I do know that AA has helped millions of people in this
country and around the world to get sober, to stay sober, and to change their
lives for the better! Resurrection power comes in many forms; and we, as
Christians, are called to help with it.
Is there someone that
you can help after God’s resurrection power calls them out of their tomb? Even
helping to push away the stone or unwinding one little piece of their grave
clothes is important. And if you are
struggling to free yourself from some old grave clothes, let others help you. Our
tombs don’t have to be endings; they can be beginnings! God wants to free us
for joy, and love, and peace; and God asks us to help with that process! We are
called to be part of a miracle! What a blessing! Thanks be to God!
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