John 11:32-44, Psalm 24, and Revelation 21:1-6a
In the church tradition, I grew up in, members celebrated Jesus Christ alone as a saint. However, as I encountered various traditions of the global church, I learned that they commemorate and remember the disciples of Christ and the leaders of different churches. Some churches celebrate All Saints Day, while others focus more on Jesus Christ in their worship. While meditating on this Weekly Lectionary Readings, I thought about new life beyond death.
First of all, I hope we all have faith in the resurrection. In today’s Gospel of John, Jesus visits Martha and Mary of Bethany. Furthermore, Lazarus had been dead for four days. In the ancient Near East, it was customary to hold a funeral immediately after death due to the risk of infection. So, the tomb or cave entrance was separated from the living area by rolling a large rock.
In Korea, funerals are held within 3 to 5 days after the death. Many bereaved families hold funerals within three days. During this period, there will be more than four prayer meetings and a Celebration of Life. Completing this entire process within 3 days makes it very difficult to sort out the sadness and pain of the breakup properly. Sometimes, officiating the funeral of a church member who died as a child or young adult is a great pain for a pastor.
Today, Jesus also goes to meet the death of Lazarus at a young age. Jesus is also in a challenging position. It is an upsetting and heartbreaking place. It is a place of frustration and heartache. So, as in verse 35, Jesus also wept. Some people criticize Jesus even in this situation. “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” It would be okay just to empathize and cry together. The shortcomings of human beings are also written in them.
When we meditate on the ministry of Jesus, we often read of the miracle of raising the dead. And today’s verse gives us that expectation as well. Jesus says. “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”(11), “Your brother will rise again.”(23), “Lazarus, come out!”(43). This is an authority we have never seen before. But Jesus proclaims, and God responds to Jesus’ request.
What kind of person is Jesus? If you read verses 25-26, you can meditate more deeply on Jesus. “25 I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” Yes, Jesus is the resurrection and the life. All of us who live and believe in Him will live even if we die. We will never die, even though our bodies will rot. So, I am afraid of death, but I am not scared. I think that through faith in Christ, we move to another place for a while. I moved from Korea to Vancouver and then to Red Deer, but I am still the same. Likewise, when I die, I will only move to God. So when I think about meeting my grandparents and grandparents-in-law who loved me, I also look forward to life in heaven. Of course, I don’t expect to see them right away tonight.
As we read the Word today, I think it would be good for all of us to have firm faith in the resurrection. We are not alive and experiencing miracles with Jesus, but the Word is with us. We confess Jesus Christ as the Word who became flesh. By believing in Jesus, the Logos, without seeing him, we believe we will live forever next to God.
Second, let us meet the Almighty God with clean hands and a pure heart. David confesses to God: “The Lord Almighty, he is the King of glory.” The Bible often compares hands to a person’s external actions. Therefore, clean hands mean that our lives outside the church should be holy. That life is about loving and serving our neighbors and revealing God’s presence. I think we would be very happy if we heard these words often in our lives. “When I look at you, I know you are a Christian. “I want to go to the church you go to too.” And furthermore, I would be extremely happy if I received this kind of praise from God. “You seek me. You seek my face, God of Jacob. You are holy.”
Dear everyone, Let’s meet the God who created Red Deer’s Wide Sky here. And I hope to be recognized and blessed by God, who created everything and is the owner of everything. And I pray that the same blessings will come to our descendants.
Finally, I hope that you will live in a new heaven and a new earth. People who believe in resurrection are different from non-religious people. People who have clean hands and a pure heart fear God. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to talk to people who work on satellites. At that time, I expected that there would be many scientists who denied the existence of God. Of course, there are also opposite cases. However, both the scientist I met at that time and the church member who sold satellite insurance said this to me. “The more I look at the Earth and the stars in the galaxy, the more I feel that God is alive.” Of course, God will evaluate the lives and hearts of these people. However, the important thing is what kind of heart we should live with. We confess that God lives. We live in a new world with that faith.
What kind of world is the new heaven and the new earth? It is the time and space where those who believe in God live. Theologians say this is where the kingdom of God will be. They expect that the final landscape of the current universe will be like this. They say that the Apostle John saw the final realization of human salvation through a vision and wrote Chapter 21. But why did God have Apostle John write the story of the end of time?
What is God’s purpose in giving us this lesson? Many people have misunderstood God’s intentions. So, due to misinterpretation of Revelation, numerous heresies were created throughout history and are still being created today. Many people have misunderstood this answer. They think that thinking about the end times through the cruel descriptions of the catastrophe and judgment ahead is scary and challenging to interpret. In other words, they thought that the Revelation, a record of the end times, would cause fear to the saints. And this thought has a huge impact on their attitude of faith. People who fall into this misunderstanding do not enjoy the freedom and joy of obtaining righteousness and holiness. Rather, they live a defensive life of faith in order to avoid being passively judged. When we raise children or pets, many guardians would be heartbroken if they could not enjoy freedom within discipline.
Likewise, God gives us the Word to enjoy freedom and joy. So, even though a life of faith may seem uncomfortable, it brings joy, happiness, and gratitude. I dare say that the world we live in by faith is the kingdom of God that we experience on this earth. The life we live by listening to and obeying the word may be uncomfortable, but it gives us greater freedom. Even if we lack wealth, we can praise God. Even if we do not have much wealth, we can help those in a much more difficult situation than anyone else. We can also support those who are economically and mentally cornered through policies. This generous heart is because the gospel is in us. The gift of generosity received from God illuminates the world.
God says, “I am making everything new!” (5) The One who makes all things new makes our eyes and values new.
The new faith given to Martha and Mary,
The life of resurrection given to Lazarus, the second chance,
The vision of a holy life granted to David,
The vision of the new heaven and new earth given to Apostle John, And a vision of a world where there is no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain.
Dear brothers and sisters, God, the Alpha and the Omega, invites us. He calls us to a new vision, a firm faith, and a pure life. Like Lazarus, who received a second chance to live through faith in our Savior Jesus Christ, we also hope to receive a new chance to live every morning. So, I hope to be able to present the gospel of the new heaven and new earth that I experienced to my family and friends. Amen.