Dead Man Walking

John writes his gospel with the expressed purpose of relating the story of Jesus so that the reader might believe. By the time we get to John's account of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus has already fed five thousand people, walked on water, healed a man born blind and a man who couldn't walk. Over and over he describes himself as God's son. John of course has described him as God himself, the word made flesh.

One would wonder why John needs to add the story of Lazarus. It certainly is likely the most spectacular of Jesus' miracles. Raising a man who had been dead, (and lots of people knew he was dead) after he had been in the grave for four days, seems like overkill. Shouldn't the other stories have been enough? All through the passage though, there seems to be a background of skepticism, an underlying "but". Maybe raising someone from the dead is not enough to inspire belief.

This Sunday we will look at what Lazarus' raising means for us today.

Of Shepherds and Sheep

Have you ever noticed the way sheep are usually portrayed as being sort of stupid, bland, formless creatures, running away from the slightest noise or upset. Sheep are not creatures you would normally think about building a relationship with, loving even, and yet, shepherds seem to have a fairly strong reputation. They are seen to be caring, loving, brave, tender, the adjectives could go on. In fact, a good shepherd is reputed to be willing to lay down his life for his sheep, stupid and undesirable as they might be.

This fourth Sunday of Lent, we will look at the shepherd, the sheep, and the Good Shepherd who does lay down his life for us his sheep through the words of Psalm 23.

Conversation in the Dark

You have to feel a little sorry for Nicodemus as he is portrayed in John 3. He comes in the dark to have a conversation with Jesus and, it seems, leaves very much in the dark as well. Jesus makes statements which don't seem to have a lot to do with what Nicodemus wants to know. They just don't connect. It seems the trouble is that Nicodemus has his feet planted firmly on the ground while Jesus is on a whole different plane, a spiritual plane.

We sometimes do this with Jesus work as well. We want to pull it down to earth, to see it make some change in our lives, our physical challenges, right now. Jesus promises an eternal solution, which starts now, and extends into the spiritual realm. This Sunday, we will open God's word and study the passage which includes one of the most famous biblical texts: John 3:16.