Saints – The “In Spite Of” People

Posted by Priest on November 1, 2009 under Sermons |

Today’s biblical text from the Gospel according to John is one of my favourite texts. It is one of my favourite texts for a number of reasons.

First of all, today’s text proclaims and reveals that Jesus is not just a faith healer or a prophetic voice. Jesus is not just one of the many other itinerant preachers who were not uncommon in his day and age. No, Jesus is more than that: Jesus has power over life and death. In fact, Jesus is the Lord over life and death. Through him, and in him, and by him all is created and through him, and in him, and by him all finds its final destination.

Oh, I know!

That sounds awfully theologically and maybe even a bit dogmatic… So, let me give you my second reason why I really like this text. Yes, Jesus is revealed as Lord over life and death. But this is obviously also a story about Lazarus. Lazarus is raised from the dead and is restored to his place at the table and in the community. Through Jesus, Lazarus comes out of the tomb and finds life in new ways, in ways that honour who God created him to be. Thanks to Jesus, Lazarus is given a second chance to find and embrace the life that was intended for him…

But, quite honestly, this is still not the main reason why I really like the story. The story is one of my favourites, because of Martha and Mary.

What I like about these two women is that they are portrayed in a way that is genuine and honest. There is no hiding of feelings. There is no caching of what is going on with them. There is no attempt to make Martha and Mary seem “holier than thou.” No, Martha and Mary are real. Martha is suspicious. And Mary… Mary is angry.

And she has every right to be furious! Look at it! Jesus had been away when Lazarus had fallen ill. Jesus had been away when Lazarus had taken a turn for the worse. Jesus had been away when Lazarus had breathed his last. In fact, Martha and Mary had sent for Jesus to come, be he had had other things to do! Jesus was too late!

And the result was deadly for Lazarus. He is dead and wrapped in cloth. He is buried in a tomb – for ever.

I think many of us know the feeling that Mary and Martha experienced. Many, who have lost someone, have gone through all the feelings that we find in today’s text, which are so symptomatic for grief: denial, anger, frustration, fear, hopelessness, blame, suspicion. When we stand at the bedside of a beloved, who has died, it is as if our guts are ripped out and we stand in front of a void, ready to jump, believing that there is nobody to catch us, nobody to hold us, no ground to land on.

And Jesus seems late in our lives at times too. No wonder, we ask the same questions. Where, God, where were you when my child died, when my sister succumbed to cancer, when my partner was hit by a car, when my spouse was overcome by death? Where, God, were you? And some of you might have these very questions on your mind as we come together again today to remember and honour those we love, but see no more. And it is hard not just to walk away…

But the interesting part of the story in John is this: Martha and Mary didn’t turn away. In spite of what they are going through they are willing to meet Jesus. In spite of not understanding Jesus’ delay they are willing to talk with him. In spite of the darkness that seemed to have swallowed not just Lazarus but also Mary and Martha, they are willing to listen. In spite of not understanding the ways of Jesus, they do not give up on him. In spite of being let down, they are willing to engage. And yes, their interaction might have been confrontational or marked by suspicion, but they do not let go of their connection with Jesus, hoping against all hope that Jesus would not ignore their darkness, would not shy away from them.

And this is exactly what happened: Jesus met Martha and Mary in their anger and in their grief. Their pain became his pain. He mourned and grieved with them. Jesus did not deny the horror of the situation. But Jesus embraced Mary and Martha and entered the same void and darkness that had captured them. In spite of the seeming omnipotence of death, Jesus did not offer simple solutions or cheap comfort. In spite of the rough and harsh reality of the tomb, Jesus offered the gentle healing of tears and the soft breath of life.

“In spite of.” In the last few minutes, I have used these three simple words seven times. And this is no accident. So, don’t complain to the sermon-police about the repetitive use of certain phrases in my sermon. This is quite deliberate. It is deliberate, because I believe today’s story not only teaches us about the power of God’s love in Jesus the Christ. But today’s story also teaches us about sainthood. It teaches us what makes a saint of God:

First of all there is Lazarus, who dies to his old life so that he can come out of the tomb, so that he can be resurrected by Jesus to new life. Saints are those who are willing to be called out of the fake and complacent realities of the world to a life that is true and genuine and that is willing to join Jesus in building God’s reign of love and compassion, of righteousness and forgiveness, of justice and peace.

But there is another definition about sainthood in today’s text. It is a definition that is linked to Martha and Mary. I believe Saints are the “in spite of” people of God. Saints not only come out  to new life, but they bring out something unique, something unexpected, something surprising.

In spite of their own grief and mourning, Martha and Mary did not disconnect from God.

In spite of persecution and harassment, Peter and Paul did not abandon the life-giving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In spite of the misogyny of the time, Mary Magdalene became the first witness of the Resurrection and an apostolic leader in the church.

In spite of the mockery by society all around them, Francis and Clare of Assisi embraced lepers and the poor.

In spite of the horrors of the Thirty Years War, Paul Gerhard wrote beautiful hymns filled with wonderful worship of our triune God.

In spite of his own first failings, Thomas Cranmer stood faithful to the prophetic insights of the Reformation in the end.

In spite of the national euphoria, Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw and identified the sins within nationalism and patriotism.

In spite of hundreds of years of tradition, Florence Li Tim Oi embraced the priesthood as a woman.

In spite of the cultural oppression by the white ruling class in Canada, Sakucheweskum served the church as an ordained leader and elder.

In spite of his own, safe upbringing, Jonathan Daniels took to heart what he prayed at the Episcopal Divinity School and registered black voters in the U.S. South.

In spite of Christians advocating for institutionalised racism, Desmond Tutu rose to be one of God’s prophetic voices in our time.

In spite of the frustration and anger all around her, Hannah Ashrawi became an advocate of peace in the Middle East.

And these are just a few that we all know of, so-called famous people.

But there are more. All around us. Look around. And look into your own life. There are stories of God’s “in spite of” people all around. Saints are all around: saints who have not given up on God, on the church, or on the world; saints, who are willing

• to shed tears with others,
• to sing a song of hope in the midst of despair,
• to witness to the Gospel in word and deed,
• to embrace strangers and sinners alike,
• to advocate for peace and justice,
• to pray with and for those who cannot find words anymore,
• to offer their labour and help when others cannot be found, and give themselves as agents of God’s healing.

These are God’s “in spite of” people – and they are here. Sitting in these very pews.

And this is what we are here to celebrate: All saints. All of God’s “In spite of” people, those from the past, those from the present, and those yet to come. Because by celebrating God’s saints, we are in fact celebrating God, whose story among us is the great “in spite of” for our lives.

[The Reverend Markus Duenzkofer delivered this sermon on All Saints Day, November 1, 2009.]