A sermon preached at
St. James’ Episcopal Church
Leesburg, Virginia
The Reverend Mary
Davila
Fifth Sunday of Lent,
Year A, March 9, 2008
John 11:17-44
“Our Lazarus Life”
To the best of our knowledge, only two people in human history have died and come back to life. Jesus, and Lazarus. Jesus and Lazarus were both dead–Jesus for three days, and Lazarus for four–both were laid in tomb guarded by a stone. Neither was merely asleep; both were dead, and both were given new life by God.
But there is a big difference between Jesus and Lazarus. After rising to life, Jesus never died again. After walking the earth for 40 days, Jesus ascended to heaven, where he continues to live. But Lazarus is a different story. Lazarus came back to life, and eventually died again. But, the Bible tells us nothing, nothing about what happened to him after he came back to life. We have no idea what his first post-resurrection words were, we don’t know what Lazarus did next, we have no idea when or how he died the second time.
I am curious about what happened to Lazarus after he came back to life, but the Bible isn’t interested in telling us that part of the story.
But I want to know about Lazarus, how he lived differently in light of the fact that he had been given a second chance at life.
I imagine that when you have died and come back to life, you don’t just go about your days as if nothing significant has happened. When you’ve tasted death, in the face of death, most people live differently. Life takes on more meaning, the petty annoyances are just that--petty and not worth worrying about--relationships become central, long unspoken words are finally said.
In short, in the face of death, life becomes all the more valuable. Sometimes, often times, people who are dying are the most alive.
And the rest of us–those of us who not in the process of dying, at least not to our knowledge-- the rest of us wonder if it’s possible to live fully only when you know you’re dying.
I’ve wondered about this a lot.
Is death the only catalyst that inspires us to live fully in the Spirit?
I don’t think I’m alone in wondering about this. I know I’m not alone because several of you, and many of my friends, have sent me an email that address this very topic.
Back in September, there was a man who appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show. The man’s name is Randy Pausch, and he is a professor of computer science at Carnegie-Mellon. Professors at this institution have a tradition of giving a final lecture, a talk in which they share that which is most important to them about their discipline of study, or their life in general.
But Randy Pausch is different. He’s different because he really is dying. He’s in his 40s and has three young children, but he also has pancreatic cancer.
So the final lecture that he gave to his students wasn’t hypothetically final. It was his final lecture.
And the lecture was so moving that Oprah invited him to appear her show to give that lecture to all of us, a reflection from a dying man about how to live your life.
Dr. Pausch starts by talking about his childhood and his childhood dreams, and he then begins to address the fact that he’s dying by saying,
“look, I can’t control the cards that I’ve been dealt, but I can control the way I play the hand.
And in playing my hand, I have chosen to be a Tigger, and not an Eyeore. I enjoy life, I will not complain, I will play the game even harder.
And there are three things that I want you to know. The three most important things that you can do in life:
1) always tell the truth
2) when you make a mistake, apologize.
3) and finally, the third life lesson is this: if you wait long enough, people will show you their good side. Everybody has a good side. Wait, and give them a chance to show it to you.”[1]
Randy Pausch says that his lecture is not about death, but about how to live. And the reason why his speech is so powerful is that we sense that he is an authority on the subject of life, not because of any academic degree, but because in the face of death, he has made a point to reflect on life, and to share his convictions with us.
Randy Pausch’s convictions are convicting. And when you watch that video, the video of him on Oprah, you are convicted, and moved, and inspired to live differently.
But is it possible to live an inspired and convicted life only in the face of death? Do we wake up only when death is approaching, or like Lazarus, only when we’ve died and come back to life?
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I want to return to Lazarus. Remember that Scripture says nothing, nothing about what happened to him after he rose from the dead. Maybe, like Randy Pausch, Lazarus gave a final lecture about what’s most important in life. I don’t know, but I bet Lazarus lived differently having tasted death and come back to life.
And maybe there is a reason why Scripture doesn’t tell us what happened to Lazarus next.
Maybe it’s because the story isn’t really about Lazarus.
Maybe it’s a story about you and me.
You see, we are Lazarus.
We are the ones who have tasted death – the death of a lifeless life, a joyless life, a life without larger purpose – and yet, we are the ones who can die to that joyless life, leave it behind, and start living again.
This is our chance to hear God say, “COME OUT of that tomb and start living!”
This is our second chance–this world that we see around us, the life that we are leading here and now–this can be our Lazarus life.
So how are we going to live in the meantime, how are we going to live before we die? That is the question.
I’d suggest that Randy Pausch is off to a very good start in helping us think about how to live a good life.
1) Always tell the truth.
The truth matters to God. God knows when we’re being deceitful.
You know when you’re being deceitful.
Tell the truth.
2) When you make a mistake, apologize. And as Pausch says, there are three steps to an apology. The first is to say “I’m sorry.” The second is to say “it was my fault.” The third is to say “what can I do to make it right?” The second and third part, Dr. Pausch says, is the most important element of an apology. Take responsibility and ask, “What can I do to make this right?” because that indicates that your apology is sincere, that you are committed to making it right.
There is no better time than now–during Lent–to say, “I’m sorry, it was my fault, what can I do to make it right?”
When we apologize, we throw ourselves at the feet of someone else’s mercy; we are completely open, honest, and vulnerable. It’s somewhat difficult to say, “I’m sorry.” It’s harder to say, “It was my fault,” and it’s really hard to say, “what can I do to make it right?”
We tend to fear the worst–that our apologies will not be accepted. But you know what, the reality is that it’s hard work not to accept an apology. Most hearts melt, even angry hearts, most hearts melt when an honest apology is offered.
3) Finally, wait and people will show you their good side.
This is where I’d challenge Randy Pausch a little bit. In the Christian life, it’s not about sitting back and waiting for someone else’s good side to emerge. It’s about actively seeking the good side. Love your enemies. Love is an active verb, not a passive stance. Look for signs of goodness, consider explanations for bad behavior, be merciful. Show compassion. Love is not a waiting game; love is an active pursuit of the goodness in each of us.
This is our Lazarus life. And it’s our choice about how to live. We can be a Tigger or an Eyeore. We can complain about the cards we’ve been dealt, or we can accept the hand, and play it to the best of our abilities. We can tell the truth, or we can lie. We can apologize, or not. We can seek the goodness in others, or not.
It’s ultimately our choice.
The rest of the Lazarus story is ours to write.