November 4, 2012 All Saints Sunday

John 11: 32-44

 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
 35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
 Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

“The Miracle Of Faith”

Miracles were a part of Jesus ministry.  He demonstrated the power and presence of the Kingdom of God through miracles.

Which miracle is the greatest?  All are great, but the greatest is the miracle of our faith!

 “It is nothing short of a miracle when you and I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as the One through whom we are permitted to see God in all his glory!” Anonymous

Faith is a gift of God.  It is nothing short of a miracle when mortals such as you and I accept it.

“For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH; and this is not your own doing (including the faith), it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph. 3:8,9

With Mary we would like to think that this gift of faith prevents bad things from happening. (“Lord if you had been here this would not have happened.")  It doesn’t!  Faith is not a preventative agent, protecting us from lives harsh realities.  Faith is a penetrating agent, permeating life in the midst of the harsh realities, causing all of life to be lifted up and turned into that which becomes a blessing.

P. T. Forsythe, “Faith is a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life.”

This is no small thing.  This is a miracle!

“See How He Loved Him”

Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  His tears at Lazarus grave express that love.

There is nothing phony about tears, when they are expressive of deep feelings within.
Not even our beliefs can stop them; nor should they.  For tears are one of our most human expressions which allow the inner most feels to come out.

It is not a sign of weakness to cry.  It is a sign of strength, love; faith; yes, even hope!
Jesus tears show us how human he was.  He who knew God’s will and who knew that something great was soon to happen - Lazarus would walk out of that tomb! - wept out of love for his friends and for all of us who are often lost in life’s terrible blows.

Then he did what only he could do.  He gave Lazarus back to them (for a while) as a sign of his own resurrection which would give us life not for a while, but for ever!