Good Morning Calvary on the Boulevard … I’m glad to be here, and I know that you are, too.
A man was getting a haircut prior to a trip to Rome. He mentioned the trip to his barber who responded, "Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's crowded and dirty and full of Italians. You're crazy to go to Rome.
So, how are you getting there?" "We're taking Alitalia," was the reply. "We got a great rate!" "Alitalia?" exclaimed the barber. "That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late.
So, where are you staying in Rome?" "We'll be at the downtown International Marriott." "That dump? That's the worst hotel in the city. The rooms are small, the service is surly and they're overpriced.
So, whatcha doing when you get there?" "We're going to go to see the Vatican and we hope to see the Pope." "That's rich," laughed the barber. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."
A month later, the man came in again for his regular haircut. The barber asked him about his trip to Rome." It was wonderful," explained the man, "not only were we on time in one of Alitalia's brand new planes, but it was overbooked and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and we had a beautiful 28-year old flight attendant who waited on us hand and foot. And the hotel-it was great! They'd just finished a $25 million remodeling job and now it's the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us the presidential suite at no extra charge!"
"Well," muttered the barber, "I know you didn't get to see the pope."
"Actually, we were quite lucky, for as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained that the pope likes to personally meet some of the visitors, and if we’d be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the pope would personally greet us.
Sure enough, five minutes later the pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down as he spoke a few words to me."
"Really?" asked the Barber. "What'd he say?"
He said, "Where'd you get the lousy haircut?
I bet that barber’s been giving lousy haircuts for a long time.
But it’s not too late to get another barber!
It’s never too late, for anyone or anything.
Because God is at work in all things, for good.
Our story this morning is a strange story, indeed.
Jesus, please come!
Lazarus is ill.
And you love him.
And we need you now.
Jesus says, Don’t worry about it.
This illness doesn’t lead to death.
And besides, there’s great purpose here.
Relax.
Take it easy!
So, Jesus dawdles for a few more days.
Ever feel as if God is dawdling?
We ask God for help.
And nothing happens.
“Where’s God?” we ask.
“I need you now, God.”
“I can’t wait God … please, please, help me now!”
And God dawdles.
God takes God’s good time.
No hurry at all.
After a few days of dawdling, Jesus says, Lazarus has fallen asleep.
Well, that’s okay.
He’s probably tired.
Jesus says, No, he’s not just tired. He’s dead!
“Whoa!”
“What do you mean, ‘He’s dead!’?”
“You said it wouldn’t end this way.”
“And we believed you.”
“We put our trust in you.”
“And now he’s dead.”
Let’s go there, says Jesus.
Where there’s death, I want to bring life.
Where there’s darkness, I want to bring light.
Where there’s sorrow, I want to bring joy.
The disciples are uneasy.
“Yeah? there’s danger there, ya’ know!
“Don’t you know, they’re out to kill you? They don’t like you. They don’t want you to preach any more. They’re ready to hurt you, hurt you real bad.”
But that’s where we have to go, says Jesus.
Into the storm.
Into the darkness.
And besides, my friend Lazarus is dead.
We can see the disciples standing there.
Looking at Jesus, scratching their heads.
Looking at one another.
We see the shrug of their shoulders.
We hear a deep sigh of resignation.
Thomas says:
“Okay, guys, let’s go with him.”
“If we die with him, well then, okay.”
“We’re not going to leave him now.”
And off they go.
When they get to Jerusalem, just two miles from Bethany, Jesus learns that Lazarus has already been in the tomb four days.
Word comes to Martha that Jesus has arrived, and Martha, being Martha, doesn’t wait … she puts on her hat and gloves and gets her purse, and storms off to find Jesus … because she’s gonna give him a good scolding.
“LORD, where were you when we needed you?”
“My brother wouldn’t be dead if you gotten here on time?”
“What were you doing?”
“Why didn’t you come when I needed you?”
Ever feel like scolding God?
Jesus says to her, It’ll be all right Martha. Your brother will rise again.
Jesus speaks tenderly to her.
Does she believe him?
She believes as best she can.
That’s true for all of us.
We believe as best we can.
We believe and then we can’t believe.
We trust, and then we don’t trust.
We know that God is at work in all things, and then we wonder where God is.
Oh, how we love God sometimes, and then sometimes, we just wanna give God a good scolding!
Martha goes back home.
Tells Mary about it.
So, Mary puts on her hat and gloves and grabs her purse, and out she goes, to meet the Teacher.
Now Mary has a few things on her mind, too.
But first she kneels.
And then she speaks:
“If you’d been here, LORD, my brother would not have died.”
Mary says the same thing that Martha said.
But there’s a difference.
Mary kneels.
The posture of humility … and learning.
To be at the feet of Jesus is the posture of a student.
In Luke’s Gospel, you remember, when Martha is fussing about in the kitchen, Mary sits at the feet of Jesus … Mary is a student of the Rabbi.
From him, she learns the words of life.
And we do, too!
They go to the tomb, and Jesus says, Take away the stone.
Martha, with her hat and gloves on and her purse ready, says, “LORD, ya’ know it’s gonna stink.”
Leave it to Martha … she speaks her mind, doesn’t she?
And that’s why she’s always missing the point.
She’s quick to speak, and slow to learn.
She’s fussy and edgy and bossy.
“LORD, ya’ know it’s gonna stink.”
Jesus says to her, Did I not tell that if you believed you’d see the glory of God?
And with that, Jesus turns to the tomb.
Leave Martha to Martha.
Jesus has work to do.
Someone to raise from the dead!
Jesus looks upward and offers a prayer of thanksgiving, and does some theology … he knows that his Father in heaven always hears … but he’s got to do something now for the sake of the people …
So he shouts, with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out!”
Loud enough to wake the dead?
And we have to ask, “Who are the dead?”
That day, by the tomb, who was really dead?
There’s a lot more to this death business than we might think.
Lots of people end up in the grave before they die.
All kinds of graves into which we voluntarily walk, and then lay down.
“Here, bury me with my junk.”
Crummy thoughts.
Selfishness.
Petty grievances and impatience.
An unforgiving spirit.
A grudge-holding heart.
A world-view too little and ideas too small.
Fear and jealousy.
Envy and irritation.
A quick tongue and a lazy brain.
Cowardice and bullying.
“Stinkin’ thinkin’” as Zig Ziglar puts it.
The junk of life.
The stuff that buries us.
The graves we dig for ourselves before we die.
And, yup, it all stinks.
That day, a whole lot of people were dead and buried.
That day, the stench of death hung heavy in the air, and it wasn’t just Lazarus.
We all need to be raised from the dead!
That day, when Lazarus came forth from the tomb, others decided to stay in the tombs, with dead thoughts and lifeless behavior … “No one’s gonna change my mind. Ah uh, I like my tomb, I’ve gotten used to the stink, and, ya’ know what, I kinda like my own stink!”
But no one is beyond the reach of God.
God changed the heart of Saul and Saul becomes Paul the Apostle.
God takes a few fishermen and turns them into disciples.
God takes a frightened group in the upper room and fills them with the Holy Spirit and go out and change the world.
It’s never too late.
It’s never too late for love.
I’ve had people ask me, “Shall I call my brother? The last time we talked, it ended a badly for both us. What shall I do?”
I always ask, “Do you love your brother?”
“Of course I love him.”
“Well, then, call him.”
And then I add, “Love might not help RIGHT NOW, but love won’t make it any worse.”
Love never makes anything worse.
But love given away might be the breakthrough everyone needs.
The breakthrough to get out of the grave … to blow away the stench of death, so that life can happen again.
Take the initiative.
Don’t wait for someone else to make the first move.
Don’t wait for them to apologize, or the write the letter.
God didn’t wait for us.
Thank God.
If it’s on our heart, let’s do something about it.
Make that call … write that letter … send that email, and if you gotta swallow some pride, but a little gospel-salt on it … it’ll go down just fine.
It’s never too late to say, “I’m sorry.”
We all mess up.
We’ve all been hurt by someone … and we’ve all returned the favor, haven’t we?
Like James says, this little tongue of mine is a fire.[1]
And we’ve burned our bridges and we’ve burned one another with this silly little tongue of ours.
And how do you put the fire out?
But with a bucket of clean water.
To simply say, “I’m sorry.”
Maybe you’re thinking right now, “Pastor, what if someone dies, and we never said to them, ‘I’m sorry’?”
“Is it too late?”
It’s never to late to say, “I’m sorry.”
If we didn’t say it when we had a chance, we can say it now.
We can say it in our heart.
And get it off our chest.
“LORD, I’m sorry! I’m sorry that I hurt my friend, my mother or my brother. Give them my love, I pray, and tell them I’m sorry!”
And God will do that.
God will pass it on.
To your brother or sister.
To your Mom or Dad.
It’s never too late douse the flames of regret that burn in our heart.
It’s never too late to say, “I’m sorry!”
It’s never too late to choose life.
To walk out of the tomb.
Because Jesus calls us out of death into life.
Paul the Apostle says it well:
It is God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do no exist.[2]
God says to the dry bones, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.[3]
Whatever it is, dear friends, Lazarus in the tomb, or Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones, it’s never too late for God, and it’s never too late for us.
It’s never too late.
It’s never too late.
Thank God Almighty, it’s never too late!
Amen and Amen!
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