This Weeks Lesson / Office of Church Relations

Is This All There Is?

The voices in the scriptures and our daily newspapers speak of despair, God forsakenness, and death. In college it is easy to ignore the difficult voices that come from the world. Be it the Lute Dome or Camp Concordia (I went to one of the other ELCA schools but my wife assures me it is similar at PLU) one has to make a concerted effort to not become inward focused while at College. Maybe it has always been true, but I find that it is difficult not to become inward focused once you are out of school. Lent has a way of doing this to us also. We may be tempted today to turn inward to our comfort zone so we don’t have to face the gloom that can surround.

Today the Psalmist writes, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!! —Lord hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” Ezekiel proclaims: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost: we are completely cut off.” Jesus declares: “Lazarus is dead.” Our newspapers continue to report about the dead in Iraq, murders and rapes in our hometowns. The temptation may be to ask, “Is this all there is?”

Sorrow, despair and death are a truth that certainly isn’t popular and does not make pleasant conversation. Certainly most of us would be content to remain blind about certain things. It is the truth that acknowledges that not all is well in our world, our homes, our jobs, our schools, our relationship and our faith. There are more people in valleys of despair, God forsakenness and death than will admit it or that others will realize and acknowledge. We are all aware of the valleys of dry bones that exist in our lives. Some will identify closely with these valleys that come from the depths of death and discouragement. Others will say that they cannot relate.

The realities of brokenness are known to God and God has acted on our behalf. God has reached into the deepest pit of despair with the promise to redeem. God has walked into the valley of death breathing life into dust blown bones and God’s final command to all the mouth of our graves will be, “Come Out!”

Link to the Psalm

The psalmist begins, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice.” In the midst of despair, a great fear is that we will not be heard. So much despair is left in silence. There is a powerful cultural force out there that says my problems are my own. We wish not to be a burden on others. To make matters worse, as the world becomes “smaller” due to the communication highway we ironically are becoming more isolated and often more silent. The silence is not the truth for anyone and it is not the truth for Christians. Whether or not we feel it, realize it or acknowledge it; we are broken people living in a broken world in need of healing. Rejoice when you are happy, weep when you are sad; but at either end of the spectrum we all remain broken people in need of healing.

The voice of this psalm also speaks of the even greater truth about hope, life and the spirit of truth. I love the movement of this psalm. In eight short verses we move from despair to hope. Verses 7 and 8 say, “O Israel, hope is in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.”

Link to the First Reading

“Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost: we are completely cut off.” A great deal of time, money and energy is invested to cover-up and disguise the brokenness in our lives. People turn to destructive sources in attempts to cope; such as alcohol, drugs, food, and physical abuse. Some people dry up and decay slowly, quietly; while others have the life violently sucked out of them right in front of us. There seems to be a kind of pressure for Christians to walk through life with a permanent smile on their faces. Somehow the idea has prevailed that faithful people are those who are always happy, upbeat—praising God and so even in the church pain hides in the hearts of many. This silence is tragedy.

During the exile it would have been easy for Israel to lose all sense of hope. Silence could have easily become the mode of operation. But through the exile comes a new hope. Even away from Jerusalem God’s breath can bring life to that which is old and dried up. Ezekiel proclaims: “Thus says the Lord God, and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.”

Link to the Gospel

God has entered into this broken world in Jesus Christ breaking the bonds that bind us to death. God’s spirit moves, bringing life to the most unlikely places and the most seemingly hopeless situations; like dry bones and a man dead four days.

In this story too we start in the midst of despair. Lazarus is dead and Jesus weeps. The Gospel of John breaks through the silence of death and exposes some real emotions, even for the one who is the “resurrection and the life.” Through the despair is the hope for what life is like with Jesus. Death will not have the last word over the Messiah, the Son of God.

This Gospel reminds us that we should not be afraid to speak the truth about our own pain or the pain of others. Expose the wounds to Christ and invite the healing of gracious love and forgiveness that unbinds us. It is Christ that speaks the final truth in the face of despair and death. “Come out…unbind him and let him go.”

Questions for Discussion

How are you hiding your authentic self in order to “keep up appearances?”
How do you handle the despair of other people? Do you avoid it or confront it? As a Christian what is your sense of responsibility?
What do you think? Is the world getting better, worse or is it the same as it has always been?
How does your faith give you hope for the future? Is your hope for the here and now or just for after death?
Do you agree with the comment that as the world is getting smaller, we are getting more isolated?

Office of Church Relations