Lazarus and Choosing Love Over Injustice

We Need Your Support

The cost of everything is on the rise and with that the cost of doing ministry is becoming more expensive, too.

To help Renewed Heart Ministries meet these rising costs, we are asking each of you to consider making a special one time donation to Renewed Heart Ministries, this month.

You get to decide what voices are heard in our faith communities. Your support enables us to be a life-giving, healing light and continue to be a voice for desperately needed change. Renewed Heart Ministries is a ministry on the margins that prioritizes the needs of marginalized people, especially those who have been the recipients of misinformed, faith-based harm.

The work of helping people find ways to heal and live out their faith through love, compassion, and justice are needed now more than ever.

You can make your one time give online by going to http://www.renewedheartministries.com and click “Donate.”

Or if you prefer to make your donation by mail, you can do so by mailing it to:

Renewed Heart Ministries

PO Box 1211

Lewisburg, WV 24901

Together we will continue being a source of healing, light, life, and change.

Thank you in advance for your support.

New Episode of Just Talking Available on YouTube

New Episode of “Just Talking” Now Online!

Season 1, Episode 7: John 11.1-45. Lectionary A, Lent Week 5.

Each week, we’ll be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it.

You can find the latest show on YouTube at https://youtu.be/dnPL7LiWO6E

 or (@herbandtoddjusttalking)

Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment

Thanks in advance for watching!

Lazarus and Choosing Love Over Injustice

Herb Montgomery | March 24, 2023

To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.

What this story can speak to, though, is the truth that is in this story: love is stronger than hate, justice can triumph over injustice, and when things look their darkest, the dawn may be just around the next bend. This is an ancient story of hope. Today, we still need hope that our best inclinations as human beings can win over our worst inclinations.

Our reading this week is from the gospel of John:

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Rabbi and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Rabbi, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jewish elites there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Rabbi, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many people of the Jewish community had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

“Rabbi,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Rabbi,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jewish community who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Rabbi, if you had been here, my brother would never have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jewish community who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Rabbi,” they replied.

Jesus wept.

Then the Jewish community 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?” Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Rabbi,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Therefore many of the Jewish community who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. (John 11:1-45, Most portions taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.)

The gospel of John is the pre-Gnostic, Johannine version of the Jesus story. It’s the last gospel in our scriptural canon to have been written, and it is strikingly different than all the other versions of the Jesus story in our sacred text.

One the biggest differences in John is why Jesus was arrested and executed. In the synoptic gospels his social justice protest and Temple demonstration strikes at the heart of the Temple State in Jerusalem. But in John’s gospel, this week’s story is the cause of Jesus’ arrest and execution. Here, unlike in the other gospels, it’s not Jesus’ protest against economic injustice that gets him executed, but that the people come too close to the knowledge (gnosis) he has to offer that stops death being the last word: “So from that day on, they plotted to take his life” (John 11:53).

I have a hunch that the oldest versions of this story had a more Jewish apocalyptic flavor because we can see elements of that apocalypticism at some key moments. Jewish apocalyptic teaching included the belief that at some future point, all injustice, violence, and oppression would be conquered even for those who had died. Those who subscribed to this worldview believed that this age would end in liberation and restoration that included bringing life those who had died. (This resurrection teaching is very different than the die-and-go-to-heaven view held by many Christians today.)

One example is from the book of Daniel:

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1)

Martha references this belief in our story:

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’”

I believe that these apocalyptic elements are from an older version of the story that remained in the Johannine community’s redaction or retelling. In this version, one does not have to wait for a future resurrection because Jesus can offer a path through death here and now. Later, Gnosticism would teach that by gaining secret knowledge or gnosis, death can be the moment when your immortal, good soul is liberated from its captivity to material imprisonment and suffering. To that, the Jesus of this story says you don’t have to wait for the resurrection at the end of the age, you can be assured of transitioning into eternal life now, through the knowledge he offers.

The language in this passage points to some of these implications.

“Martha’s statement to Jesus in John 11:21 is stonier than it has often been translated. Not ‘My brother would not have died,’ but ‘my brother would never have died.’ That same ‘never’ is included by Jesus in his response, ‘Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’ That speaks to me of death as portal to eternal life and not a permanent estate.” (Wilda C. Gafney, A Woman’s Lectionary For The Whole Church, Year W, p. 185)

Another possible redaction can be found in the Secret Gospel of Mark:

“And they come into Bethany. And a certain woman whose brother had died was there. And, coming, she prostrated herself before Jesus and says to him, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me.’ But the disciples rebuked her. And Jesus, being angered, went off with her into the garden where the tomb was, and straightway a great cry was heard from the tomb. And going near, Jesus rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. And straightaway, going in where the youth was, he stretched forth his hand and raised him, seizing his hand. But the youth, looking upon him, loved him and began to beseech him that he might be with him. And going out of the tomb, they came into the house of the youth, for he was rich. And after six days Jesus told him what to do, and in the evening the youth comes to him, wearing a linen cloth over his naked body. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus taught him the mystery of the Kingdom of God. And thence, arising, he returned to the other side of the Jordan.” (Secret Mark, translated by Morton Smith)

In The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version by Robert Joseph Miller, Stephen Patterson further writes:

“The story [Secret Mark] bears a striking resemblance to the raising of Lazarus in the Gospel of John (John 11:1-44). However, since it shows none of the typical marks of Johannine redaction which so strongly color the story about Lazarus, it is unlikely that the Secret Mark story is directly dependent upon its Johannine parallel. For its part, the version of the story from Secret Mark has its own peculiarities not found in John, such as the initiation of the young man into the ‘mystery of God’s domain.’ The basic story, however, probably derives from the common stock of miracle stories available to both Mark and John, or their sources.” (p. 409)

This story in the gospel of John is lost on many of us today. Many no longer believe in an afterlife at all, and, even among those who still do, precious few believe it’s possible for someone to come back to life after they’ve been dead three days.

What this story can speak to, though, is the truth that is in this story: love is stronger than hate, justice can triumph over injustice, and when things look their darkest, the dawn may be just around the next bend.

This is an ancient story of hope. Today, we still need hope that our best inclinations as human beings can win over our worst inclinations. In simple language, this means that we can embrace inclusion over exclusion and replace bigotry with embrace and celebration. We can choose an egalitarian equality, justice, and fairness over misogyny, patriarchy, racism, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, economic disparities, and privilege. Our differences don’t have to create a hierarchy of value. We can simply celebrate our differences as a testament of our shared and very diverse humanity. Life and those things that are life-giving can conquer and replace those things that are death-dealing. That’s what this story is a reminder for me.

Keep hoping. Don’t give up. Our present world is not fixed in stone. It can give way to something more beautiful. And we can choose those things, today.

HeartGroup Application

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.

2. How does the Lazarus story in John’s gospel speak into your justice work, today? Share with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

You can find Renewed Heart Ministries on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts. Also, if you enjoy listening to the Jesus for Everyone podcast, please like and subscribe to the JFE podcast through the podcast platform you use and consider taking some time to give us a review. This helps others find our podcast as well.

Also I want to share that we are partnering in a new weekly YouTube show called “Just Talking.” Each week, Todd Leonard and I will be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking. Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment.

And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

My new book, Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels is now also available at renewedheartministries.com

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

Now Available at Renewed Heart Ministries!

Herb’s new book Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels, is available at renewedheartministries.com.

Get your copy today at renewedheartministries.com

Are you receiving all of RHM’s free resources each week?

Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, action, and justice. Free Sign-Up HERE