What is the mission of the Church?
The mission of the Church is to restore all people to
unity with God and each other in Christ.
On this fifth Sunday in Lent we have our final story of
restoration. Two weeks ago we heard Jesus crossing boundaries to
restore the Samaritans and Jews to unity. Last week we heard the
restoration of sight to the blind man, as well as of how difficult
restoration can be. And today we have a life restored in the form of
Lazarus. This final restoration, however, becomes the basis for
having Jesus killed.
There is in these three gospel stories an overall arc of
restoration being presented to us.
This arc of restoration began two weeks ago with the
story of the woman at the well. In that story, I pointed out that
Jews and Samaritans were deeply divided by a variety of events
throughout history. The longer this went on, the more entrenched the
two sides became. It stayed that way until Jesus crossed that
uncrossable boundary and made the first move toward restoration and
reconciliation.
As followers of Christ, it is often up to us to step
into the gap or cross boundaries that are designed to keep us apart.
As followers of Christ, it is often up to us to begin the process of
restoration and reconciliation.
This process is rarely, if ever, easy, as we saw last
week. A blind man's sight was restored. Washing in a pool that
means “sent,” he was sent to proclaim Jesus as a man of God.
The first difficulty he encountered was in the general
disbelief of others that he had his sight restored. It can be
difficult to convince others that you have left your old ways behind
and now see things in a new way.
Another difficulty comes when you invite others to see
things in new and different ways. This was made explicitly clear
last week when he told the religious authorities about seeing a way
to restoration and reconciliation through the man called Jesus. The
people to whom he was sent preferred the blindness of what they knew
to the vision of what could be. That new vision was enough of a
threat to the way things had always been that the man was removed
from his religious home.
We are charged with moving toward restoration, but we
are also shown that making that move is rarely easy.
And today we have the ending of the restoration arc.
One question that comes up with today's story is, “Did
it really happen?” I don't know if it did or didn't. I think this
story offers us the chance to make a statement of faith: I believe
that God, through Christ, has power over life and death. This is a
story of life and death.
Jesus is told Lazarus is deathly ill, later becoming
aware that he has died. He makes his way to Bethany where, after
talking with Mary and Martha, he orders the stone rolled away and
calls for Lazarus to come out. Lazarus has been restored to life.
And if you read further on in this chapter, you will see that this
restoration becomes the catalyst for the religious leaders to hatch a
planned assassination.
Restoration is not only difficult, it can be dangerous.
You see, Lazarus is not only Lazarus, but Lazarus also
represents all people who are classified as Other by those in power.
The mission of the Church is to restore all people to
unity.
If we see Lazarus as a type of Other, then this idea of
restoration has far-reaching effects. Jesus restored Lazarus to
life. Jesus took him from a place of death, a place where he could
be conveniently ignored, and made him equal to those around him.
This is what restoration to unity looks like. And for his efforts,
those in power planned to have Jesus killed.
There are plenty of Lazaruses in the world today –
Others who are living in and around a figurative death, in places
where they can be conveniently ignored by those in power. Women
without access to proper care. Minorities with no clout or voice to
keep from being marginalized. Homeless veterans. Working poor who
can't pay for basic needs or medicines. The list goes on.
And when we as a people try to restore Lazarus to life,
we run into any number of obstacles designed to keep them in the
tomb. We also, depending on our position, may experience a type of
death resulting from planned attacks. Restoration of the Other can
be risky business – politically, socially, and economically.
But there is life beyond what we see or cling to here.
Christ lives in us when we work toward restoration. Those
marginalized or conveniently forgotten can be given a life of
equality should we choose to work for restoration.
Restoration, like justice, is a long arc. It begins
with us being willing to step across gaps and boundaries. It will
come up against walls of resistance. It will bring us face to face
with death.
But should people on the other side be willing to
listen, should people be willing to see in new ways, should people be
wiling to actually work for unity, the life we are promised will
allow us to live, even though we die.
Amen.
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