Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 1-006 (Sermon)

FINDING HOPE IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD

by Rod Benson

John 11:1-44

A young couple, who wanted to serve God as Christian missionaries, decided to invite an older missionary couple to their home one night for dinner and a talk. During the meal the host couple kept mentioning that life was so 'uncertain' for them because the husband had multiple sclerosis. He could be immobilised in a hospital bed, live normally until death, or die unexpectedly at any moment.

After hearing the term "uncertain" several times, the missionary turned to them and said, "All our lives are uncertain; you happen to know it; most of us don't."

THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE

Life is uncertain; this morning's news is proof of that. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. Every day of our life is filled with unknowns, and at the end there is the "great unknown." Whether we like it or not, death catches up with all of us. None of us can evade it forever. It destroys social, religious and racial barriers; it is the universal leveller. Did you know that in wartime the death rate does not rise? It's still one death per person across the face of the earth.

In The Last Things We Talk About, Joseph Bayly tells how his 18-year-old son died after a sledding accident complicated by haemophilia, his five-year-old son died from leukemia, and a newborn son died after emergency surgery. He knew about death, and the sense of powerlessness and hopelessness that often comes with tragedy in our lives. And this is what he wrote:

"The hearse began its grievous journey many thousands of years ago, as a litter made of saplings. Litter, sled, wagon, Cadillac: the conveyance has changed, but the corpse it carries is still the same. Birth and death enclose man in a sort of parenthesis of the present. And the brackets at the beginning and end of life are still impenetrable.

"This frustrates us, especially in a time of scientific breakthrough and exploding knowledge, that we should be able to break out of earth's environment and yet be stopped cold by death's unyielding mystery . . . Dairy farmer and sales executive live in death's shadow, with Nobel prize winner and prostitute, mother, infant, teen, old man.

"The hearse stands waiting for the surgeon who transplants a heart as well as the hopeful recipient, for the funeral director as well as the corpse he manipulates. Death spares none."

A WINDOW ON THE FUTURE

Every day, life is uncertain; death is inevitable for us all. That' s the bad news. But listen to the good news: we're not alone, and death is not the end! The last three lines of that great summary of Christian faith, the Apostles' Creed, reads like this: "I believe . . . in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." The body may die, and be laid to rest in the grave, but the spirit lives on, and there will be a resurrection (not a reincarnation), and we shall all stand before our God to be judged, and then to enter "the life everlasting" - or its alternative.

That means two things: it means we have a responsibility to God, and we have a hope in God. At some point we all come to terms with the frailty of human existence, the uncertainty of life, and the pain and grief of loss. In the Gospel of John, two sisters Martha and Mary were in that situation when their brother Lazarus fell ill and died in just a matter of days. Good friends of Jesus, they called him to the bedside, knowing if anyone could help, it would be him. But he was delayed, he was too late, and Lazarus their brother was dead when Jesus eventually arrived at the little village of Bethany, just outside Jerusalem.

THE PRESENCE OF JESUS

What does Jesus do for this family in the midst of their grief and loss? First, he gives them his presence: he comes to them in their need and spends time with them. We stand, as it were, in the background, and see Martha greet Jesus, and speak to him, her words a mixture of sorrow at the loss, anger at the delay, and hope in the sovereign power of God (verses 21f). And Jesus speaks words of comfort and strength to her (verse 23).

Jesus will do the same for you today; he knows your weakness, he knows your need, and from his limitless resources he will pour into your broken and parched life the comfort and healing and spiritual strength you need.

THE PROMISES OF JESUS

Second, Jesus gives them his promises: not only that Lazarus would rise at the last day (which was a common belief among faithful Jews at the time), but the tremendous words of verses 25 and 26, the second last of the seven "I am" sayings of John's Gospel: "I am the resurrection and the life . . ."

These verses are often misunderstood and taken to mean things I believe Jesus would not have said. He makes two statements, and two promises:

"I am the resurrection" (promising future physical resurrection) "I am the life" (assuring present spiritual life)

Eternal life, especially in John's Gospel, starts here and now, the moment we put our faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and peace with God, not just when we die.

THE POWER OF JESUS

Third, Jesus imparts his power - the power of God himself. They arrived at the tomb, the stone was rolled away, Jesus prayed to his heavenly Father, and then he called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" (verse 43).

And an inexplicable, unnatural and miraculous event occurred: "The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face" (verse 44a). Lazarus, dead four days, is alive again!

Notice one last detail John gives us (verse 44b): Jesus does not do everything here: he asks the bystanders to roll away the stone, and instructs the family to take off the embalming fabric from the new Lazarus. We all have our small but essential part to play in the exercise of God's power.

Jesus gave that little family, as he gives to us, his presence, his promises, and his power to give us strength to overcome the burdens of life that crush us, and to instill in us the hope that comes from God's heart to our spirits: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (verses 25-26).

In verse 44 Martha and Mary unwrapped an unexpected gift that filled them with joy. Have you unwrapped the greatest gift Jesus has for you? John 5:24 says, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Accept God's wonderful gift of eternal life in Jesus, and share it with others. Be aware of the presence, promises and power of Jesus in your own life. Be aware of the grief and pain in others' lives, and invest time in them. Discover eternal life for yourself; then, as God guides you, use its power to help others.

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E004 Copyright (c) 2001 Rod Benson. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

You can contact Rev Rod Benson by email at <> or by ordinary mail at P.O. Box 104, BLAKEHURST 2221 AUSTRALIA