There is no doubt that we are living in a very different world today than from even a few weeks ago. The impact of the corona virus is evident in our everyday life. Every day we hear of more infections, more deaths and more restrictions that are placed upon us in an effort to halt the spread of this virus and stop our health systems from being overburdened. As we see pictures of empty supermarket shelves in our media and worry about lack of medication it is only natural that we begin to feel anxious and unsettled, we feel concerned for our future.
You could therefore be forgiven for groaning when you see that our lectionary reading this week concerns death. But it comes in timely fashion as it demonstrates an important reminder to us. John recounts the story of a man who is known to Jesus called Lazarus who lives in Bethany. When Lazarus falls ill, his family send word to Jesus. They clearly have faith in the ability of Jesus to heal sickness. Yet by the time Jesus arrives in Bethany, He is told that Lazarus has been dead for four days. What happens next makes Lazarus famous throughout history, Jesus brings him back to life and Lazarus emerges from the tomb very much alive.
John tells us this as part of his aim to convince us who Jesus is, the Son of God. According to John, all Jesus says and does are signposts to His identity as the Messiah. In raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus demonstrates that death has no place in God’s kingdom and will not be the end we feared it was. Jesus made many promises in His time on earth, including this one, that God’s love for us does not end when we are ill, or even when we die. Jesus lived in a world where sickness and death were commonplace, where a common cold could prove fatal. And it was into this world that Jesus brought God’s love and God’s comfort to those who suffer. In the raising of Lazarus, we see that not even death can stop God loving or caring for us. We need to remember this in our current times. We may be anxious and afraid; we may be fearful of death. But throughout all, God is with us, comforting us and reassuring us of who God is and what God can do. May we temper our anxiety with our faith in God who cannot be stopped by death and is with us throughout our trials.