Lent 5 A John 11:1-45

Lord if you had been here Lazarus wouldn't have died. In our gospel lesson today this is the recurring lament. Jesus' close friend was sick and he died. And Jesus risks life and limb to go to Lazarus' family and his tomb. When Jesus gets there he is met by Martha with this Lament. If you had been here Lazarus my brother, your friend wouldn't have died. Again Mary comes out and meets Jesus with the same lament, Lord if you had been here this terrible thing wouldn't have happened.

Imagine the scene here. Lazarus is very sick. He is lying in bed and eventually it becomes clear that he isn't going to make it. And so his sisters, his only family begin the funeral arrangements because when he dies things will have to move quickly. They find fabric to wrap him in once he is dead. Strips of cloth to bind him up for the grave. Finally the illness takes it's final toll. He breathes his last and suddenly the house feels so empty. The sisters cry. They send word out to friends and loved ones. Into town so that people know to come mourn with them and then out to Jesus the young rabbi to whom they are all so close.

And then they start wrapping him up, getting him ready for the grave. First they cover his eyes. Next they bind his arms against him. With bandages, tight to his sides. Next they wrap his legs together. All the way down to his feet. All movement gone. Completely bound they place him in the grave and a roll a stone across the entrance. To block anyone from coming in and anyone from coming out.

Days go by, the shock wears off a little, Mary and Martha settle into mourning and then Jesus comes along asking about Lazarus. First the stone is rolled away and dim light shines in. Then Jesus calls. Lazarus, come out! The strips of cloth that are binding him slacken a little so that he can walk. He stands up and he follows the voice, a few strips fall away and he makes it out into the sunlight and Jesus commands all those standing around, Lazarus' community, unbind him. One by one the strips are pulled away and he is free. He has new life. He sees through new eyes, he has more focus more understanding. And all it took was a call from Jesus, Lazarus, come out.

Now imagine this scene if you will. Lying in a tomb wrapped in so many strips of cloth is the mission of the church of God. Eyes and face wrapped up in apathy by the overwhelming cares of the world. Arms wrapped up in fear by all of the violence that religion has provoked and been part of through the years. Legs wrapped up in forgetfulness as people are overrun by the flashes of money and material things all around them. Feet wrapped up in anger as people lose loved ones or are sick or hurt. The whole mission of the church bound by confusion with so many voices coming from so many places all around it.

And if only Jesus had been there. Each person Jesus encountered called to him...Jesus if you had been here Lazarus would not have died. Jesus disagreed. Jesus didn't deny that there is death in the world. He even weeps about it. He is genuinely sad that his friend has died and that a family that he loves is in mourning as I suspect he mourns when the mission of the church gets all bound up and lost. But he doesn't leave it at weeping. He hears the lament. If you had been here...If you had been here there wouldn't be death and pain, disease, war, anger, grieving, mourning. We would all be strong and healthy. The whole catholic church would be strong and healthy.

And when he hears it he says: I am here, right now I am the resurrection and the life. I am the power that overcomes death. I am what it means to be alive. focus on my call and you will live now, you people who are already alive even in the midst of illness and fear, pain and death. Focus on my call and you will have life abundantly. Focus on my call and you will be able to let go of the things that keep you from living. Focus on my call and you will be energized to bring healing to your community. Focus on my call and learn to care again about your neighbor. Focus on my call and you will be able to care for the stranger in your midst. Focus on my call and be unafraid in the midst of the world. Focus on my call and remember how much I love you. Focus on my call and all the other voices will fade into the background. Focus on my call and Come out.

In many ways this is our last regular service during Lent. Next week we begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday and we'll spend the week following Jesus through his last days in Jerusalem. So far we have spent time talking about Lenten disciplines with the urge from the church to recommit ourselves, to redefine our spiritual lives. To get them back in line with Christ. We use imagery for lent that involves a lot of darkness. We talk about it as a quiet time for meditation, we talk about seeds buried deep within the soil coming to life as they are watered and called by the sun of springtime. Today we are in a dark tomb with Lazarus and we hear the call. Dimly at first. We hear a crowd gathered around the outside of our tomb excited by the presence of the Lord and then all of sudden we hear our names. And the stone keeping us in the tomb is rolled away, we see a dim light and we hear a voice, _________ Come out. __________ come out. ____________ come out. Trinity, Come out! And we walk out sore and with eyes hurt by the light. then slowly, gently the grave clothes come off of us. We are unbound, strip by strip, worry by worry, restraint by restraint until we can see the light of the day and the new life we are promised.

The Lord is calling us out of our tombs but what is keeping us in them? What are your graves clothes? What are the grave clothes here in this place. What binds us up and keeps us from living?

Whatever it is it we can let it go and receive new life this Easter because we are being called with a loud voice, Trinity, People of God. COME OUT. Amen