Life Out of Death

The Fifth Sunday of Lent

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

John 11:1-45

Raising of Lazarus

Mid-12th Century

Cappella Palatina di Palermo

Palermo, Italy

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20140402484802246&code=ACT&RC=46168&Row=8

It is not more surprising to be born twice than once;

everything in nature is resurrection.

~ Voltaire

Every parting gives a foretaste of death;

every coming together again a foretaste of the resurrection.

~ Arthur Schopenhauer

Dine Around

Linda and Dale Lovin

entertained some lucky Rotarians in their lovely Golden home Sunday evening.

Dori Painter, Linda Lovin, Holly Brekke, and Carolyn’s waving shadow.

 Their view from downtown Golden, Colorado.

Such a delightful time!

Linda and Dale Lovin

Dale will be meeting with our Evening Book Club in May to discuss his novel,

The Mirror in the River.

Jeanne Gibbard and I saw “End of the Rainbow” at the Arvada Center.

The actress gave an excellent performance, but it was not a fun show to watch.

Another foot of the fluffy white stuff!

Robin, Kei, and Kiyokazu Sakamoto

Last week Kei started his first year at Tokyo Gakugei University amidst the cherry blossoms and rain.

Congratulations, Kei!!!

Memories in the Making

Debbie McClung and I hung LOTS of paintings on Friday!

These are all in the first floor hallway of the Life Care Center of Evergreen.

It was fun to hear the wonderful comments of the residents and the 

nursing staff as they walked past.

THE WALK

Those of us who walk along this road

do so reluctantly,

Lent is not our favorite time of year.

We’d rather be more active —

planning and scurrying around.

All this is too contemplative to suit us.

Besides we don’t know what to do

with piousness and prayer.

Perhaps we’re afraid to have time to think,

for thoughts come unbidden.

Perhaps we’re afraid to face our future

knowing our past.

Give us the courage, O God,

to hear your word

and to read our living into it.

Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven,

and give us the faith

to take up our lives and walk.

Ann Weems

Kneeling in Jerusalem

April 6, 2014 Fifth Sunday in Lent

Previous OPQs may be found at:
http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 130

Romans 8:6-11

John 11:1-45

There are seven signs or miracles that escalate in import and drama in John. They are:

· turning the water into wine (chp. 2)

· healing the Galilean official's son (chp. 4)

· healing the invalid at Bethzatha (chp. 5)

· feeding the 5,000 (chp. 6)

· walking on the sea (chp. 6)

· healing the blind beggar (chp. 9)

· raising Lazarus (chp. 11)

In addition to these seven signs, there are seven encounters with conflicted people and groups that escalate in drama and import.

· Nicodemus (chp. 3): a man struggling with loyalty to his upbringing versus a new loyalty, potentially to Jesus.

· The Samaritan Woman at the well (chp. 4): a woman sunk in her own isolation and low view of herself.

· The royal official (chp. 4): a man mired in grief at the prospect of the death of his son.

· The invalid at the pool (chp. 5): a man so in the habit of sickness he cannot even contemplate anything different

· The crowds (chps. 6-8): people yearning for Jesus' gifts, but unwilling to accept all that following him means.

· The man born blind (chp. 9): a man who receives a gift (sight) that he never thought to receive and realizes the source of that gift.

· Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (chp. 11): a man who has said goodbye to life and resigned himself to death who now walks forth from the tomb at the call of his name by Jesus.