Lent 5

St. Matthew, Perkasie

Larry V. Smoose

Her name is Neema, before she was born, she was marked for death.  You see, Neema’s mother had AIDS, and Neema was born HIV positive.  Her mother, already weak and in poor health could not care properly for her, and drugs were too expensive.  Neema was under the shadow of death.

Agnes Mukasa had started a school for children, many of them orphaned, in the village near her son’s home in Uganda.  She wanted them to have the advantage of an education, knowing it would make their lives better.  Then one day, some rebels came into the village – to the school Agnes had started in her son’s garage.  They wanted money, but Agnes did not have money.  Then, without warning, they took a machete and cut Agnes’ hand, cutting all the tendons and nerves.  It was like she had died, without her right hand, Agnes could not write and teach, and she could not farm to feed her family and the school children.  Agnes was under the shadow of death.

It’s not just in Africa -- Not far from here, in one of our sister Lutheran churches, the violence of death claimed the life of the church secretary and the whole congregation is shattered, reeling, under the shadow of death.  There are all kinds of death.  And, when someone dies, they never die alone – always a piece of someone else dies with them, always others in the community are affected.  

“And the hand of the Eternal was laid upon me; he carried me off in the spirit and set me down in a valley.  It was full of bones;  . . . “Son of Man,” he said, “can these bones live?”

Martha (and later, Mary) said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died.”

Death – the ultimate enemy.  The ultimate conflict.  It casts its shadow over virtually every stage and dimension of life.  It’s agents are numerous and powerful.  Disease is the life-sapping work of the power of death and its manifestations are so frightful that even saying a word like “cancer” or AIDS causes us to tremble.  Violence in any from participates in death’s destructive work, wreaking havoc in cities and suburbs, in slums and stately McMansions, with guns and war or with abusive fists and sword-like words.  Famine, curling its bony hand around infants and elderly, the homeless and the impoverished, along city streets or in sub-Sahara villages, claiming victims in every continent.  The four horsemen of the apocalypse still ride in the world, spreading the shadow of death, and Neema, Agnes and Rhonda Smith are just some of the victims. 

The question asked of Ezekial haunts those of us who are spokespersons for God today.  ”Can these bones live?”  All over the world, as people experience the power of death, and grieve with those whose lives have been forever changed by the force of death and its destructive agents, they voice the words of Martha and Mary – “Lord if you had been here, our brother or sister would not have died – you feed the multitudes; you give sight to the blind; you are the rock, the source of living water, you heal the sick.”  

And Jesus, weeping for a friend he loved; weeping for Lazarus’ friends whom he loved; weeping for a world that he loved gave his life for Lazarus’ life.  Yes, that’s really what happened.  I know that our lesson stops are verse 45 – we are happy with happy endings.  Lazarus is raised, he comes out of the tomb, people believe – Alleluia.  But if you keep reading the next verses, you see that his decision to come back to Bethany, back  to Jerusalem and the authorities see him as a threat—and verse 53 tells us, “From that day on, their plan was to kill him.”  Jesus great power for giving life only raises the anger and power of those who want to take life.

They just don’t get it.  Those who oppose God’s love-affirming, live-prevailing power just don’t get it!  God has the power over death!  God can bring LIFE out of death!  In a couple of weeks Christians around the world will celebrate that great truth – but I wonder if we are truly able to fully understand and grasp the fullness of that truth.  Mary and Martha and Lazarus, who experienced it personally, understand it – do you think Lazarus’ life was changed; did he have new priorities and a new outlook on life?  Was each day brighter?

I wonder if we are able to fully understand and see the wonders of that truth – here, in this valley of dry bones called earth, where TV and radio broadcasts spew out news of the power of death in wars and violence, where tornadoes and floods wreak destruction and disease grasps us and those we love.  Can these bones live?  Jesus, if you had been here . . .

Jesus is here, with the power to breath life into the dry bones.  Neema, sick, frail, orphaned and only a few months old, is taken to Jesus’ home for children – Irente Home in Tanzania and she lives.  Agnes’ children called a friend in the United States, if we fly her over, do you know anyone who can help her?  That friend called another friend, who called me and I talked to a doctor in my congregation talked to his colleagues – and life-affirming people with wondrous gifts of God’s healing power restored her hand and her life’s purpose.  (you’ll hear more about how YOU helped them at SCS)

And at Trinity Lutheran, as Rhonda was entrusted to our Lord and his power to raise her to new life in the resurrection; our bishop, synod staff, nearby congregations and the community of life-affirming people came up out of the valley of bones, even now, we breath life into them by the power of the Spirit; surrounding and embracing Trinity as it grieves and heals and struggles to overcome the efforts of death’s destructive force to take away their hope and their life. 

We are a life-giving church, born out of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, raised by the power of God’s Holy Spirit to proclaim to all people, for all time that death no longer has power over us!  We are a life-affirming church – death’s destructive partners may knock us down, but they cannot knock us out.  They may cause grief through our nights of tragedy and loss, but joy will come with the morning.  Death’s shadow may have hung over the cross on Calvary, but it is the light of Easter’s dawn shining on a risen Lord that prevailed. 

We are a life-giving, life-affirming, life-restoring church, called by God to prophesy to the dry bones and destructive forces of our world – Hear the Word of the Lord, the eternal – receive the breath of the Spirit and live.  Hear the word of the Lord of life, and cry to those whose hope is gone, reach out to those who despair, seek out those who are lost, that they may live.  We are a life-giving church, created by a life-giving God -- give life – give life- give life.

Amen.