From David Bowie, "Lazarus" We Are Not Alone

April 2, 2017 | The Rez

Good morning everyone, and welcome.

Over the last number of weeks, we’ve been journeying through the season Lent together. We’ve had a theme: “Broken is the beginning.” And we’ve been exploring that theme in John’s gospel. I’ve loved going back to the familiar stories. We began with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman in the opening chapters of the gospel. We then turned to Jesus’ healing of the man born blind. Today, we’re looking at the story of Lazarus.

As we’ve journeyed together, there’s one thing that’s stood out for me. It’s not all that interesting or profound. In fact it’ll likely seem trivial.

Have you noticed that these stories are really long?

It’s true, right? I usually realize it half way through the reading while we’re standing for the gospel. My mind drifts a little and I snap back. “My gosh, this is long.” And then I’m scrambling to figure out where we are. Yes, even pastors do this.

So here’s a question: Why do you think this is? Why are these stories so long?

Consider our reading today. The raising of Lazarus. The miracle seems to be the most important thing in the story. But we have all this extra detail about the news of Lazarus’ sickness, about waiting two extra days for Lazarus to die, about the decision to return to Bethany, about Jesus’ interaction with Mary and Martha, about the length of time that Lazarus has been in the tomb, about Jesus’ emotional state when he arrives to the tomb, etc.

Is all of this necessary? Couldn’t the story be told in half the length? What’s John up to?