by Adam Fairchild, LYO Leader among Leaders
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. – John 11:1
A note from Bishop Gohl: Adam Fairchild, a member of Grace, Westminster and currently our synod Lutheran Youth Organization Leader among Leaders (that’s the equivalent of "Synod Luther League President" to those of us of a certain age) is a graduating senior and looking forward to attending University of Maryland – College Park in the autumn. As part of our LYO Transformers Middle School Leadership Retreat, Adam preached this, his first sermon. I am quite proud of Adam, his LYO peers and the tremendous leadership they bring to our Delaware-Maryland Synod. You can watch a video recording of Adam's sermon on our Facebook page.
What are you afraid of?
As young children, many of us have these crazy, irrational fears we can look back and laugh at now that we are older and wiser. For example, when I was a young (let me specify, very young) child there was particular scene in the Winnie the Pooh movie that I was absolutely terrified of. In the scene, there were bees that would come and loudly buzz on the screen. I was so afraid of the bees to the point that every time that scene came on my mother had to fast forward or else I would cry my eyes out. Just to clarify, I am not still afraid of those bees, or bees in general.
Our lives can quickly be dominated by a series of fears. What if I don’t make friends in high school, what if I fail that test, what if I don’t get into college? These fears stress us out, and can reach a point where we can’t focus on anything else except those fears.
There’s one fear; however, that seems to affect everyone, regardless of age. That is the fear of death, and our own mortality. Does anyone here have that fear? I know I certainly do. Why are we so afraid of death? Is it because we are afraid of how we’ll die? Is it because we don’t know what our legacies will be? Are we afraid we won’t be remembered?
We experience death in a variety of ways. The deaths of friendships, relationships, hopes and dreams, death will affect everyone's life to some degree. We may be afraid of this type of death just as much as we are afraid of our death. This fear comes out of the perception of death as the end, whether it be a relationship or life. The end of anything is always a time of uncertainty, about what life will be like after that "death." This uncertainty surrounding death is covered throughout this week's Gospel lesson.
Death is a common theme throughout the Bible, and Jesus' entire ministry is centered around the eventual necessity of death on the cross as a means of atoning for our sin. In Christ's ministry, one of the greatest and primary roles played is that of a healer. Jesus performs many miracles when healing others, from healing those with leprosy to the blind and the deaf. Christ's greatest act of healing; however, comes when he raises Lazarus from the dead.
In the story today, Lazarus goes from being sick under the care of his two sisters, Mary and Martha, to dying in front of them. Imagine the grief of the two sisters as Jesus is arriving to their home. Now when Jesus gets to their home, the first thing Jesus says is, "Your brother will rise again." In this moment, it seems that Jesus just doesn’t understand. However, Christ goes into this situation knowing that he will revive Lazarus and he will rise from the dead. Yet Jesus wept when he went to Lazarus' tomb. Why would Jesus weep if he knew Lazarus would rise from the dead? Weeping for Lazarus shows the human empathy Christ had for the sisters, and then Jesus turns the death into a teachable moment. Jesus knew there was more to the story, and that God's glory was to be shown in his action.
To the news her brother would live again, Martha says that sure, Lazarus will rise again in the resurrection of the last day. It is in Christ's response that he defines not only his role in death, but his role in the world. In verses 25-6, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
What does this mean? Well, Martha sums it up pretty well in her response, saying that Christ is the Messiah, the son of God. Jesus goes out, and shows the community that he is in fact the Messiah by raising Lazarus just a short while later.
This action sets the course for the rest of his ministry, and in God's glory being revealed through Jesus we find an important lesson. We are all doomed to the same fate of death, that's for certain. Our bodies will eventually die the same death that Lazarus dies, but through Christ we are assured that death isn't the end of the story. By the grace of God, we have nothing to fear in death because of Christ's assurance that those who live and believe in him shall never die.
As Paul describes the life in the Spirit in our text from Romans, we are reminded that Christ is with us in both death and life. Going even further than that, Paul's message to us is that the Holy Spirit will work through us as we help each other. Helping each other is glorifying God. Whether it be through community service, like the service projects we did earlier today, or just by listening to each other, caring for one another is the ultimate expression of Christ's love. As I help you and you help me, we are one with God. Being present for and with one another means helping our peers with those same fears mentioned earlier in the sermon. We are there for each other not necessarily because of whether or not we are "good people," but because of the amazing power of the Holy Spirit working through us.
In this message from Christ we see in the story of Lazarus and in Romans, we become free to live out our lives according to God's call. God's call is for us to each live out our lives as All-Stars, like the people we have studied in our small groups this weekend. Sometimes, by following God's call, we will be seen by others as losers. It is only without any concern over whether or not we are perceived as losers that we can live with the leadership of Moses or the bravery of Mary, the mother of Christ. But, our story doesn’t end at death. Because of God's grace, we are set free from all of our fears and concern of death. Instead, we can focus on giving thanks to God, and helping one another.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. – Romans 8:1-11
As young children, many of us have these crazy, irrational fears we can look back and laugh at now that we are older and wiser. For example, when I was a young (let me specify, very young) child there was particular scene in the Winnie the Pooh movie that I was absolutely terrified of. In the scene, there were bees that would come and loudly buzz on the screen. I was so afraid of the bees to the point that every time that scene came on my mother had to fast forward or else I would cry my eyes out. Just to clarify, I am not still afraid of those bees, or bees in general.
Our lives can quickly be dominated by a series of fears. What if I don’t make friends in high school, what if I fail that test, what if I don’t get into college? These fears stress us out, and can reach a point where we can’t focus on anything else except those fears.
There’s one fear; however, that seems to affect everyone, regardless of age. That is the fear of death, and our own mortality. Does anyone here have that fear? I know I certainly do. Why are we so afraid of death? Is it because we are afraid of how we’ll die? Is it because we don’t know what our legacies will be? Are we afraid we won’t be remembered?
We experience death in a variety of ways. The deaths of friendships, relationships, hopes and dreams, death will affect everyone's life to some degree. We may be afraid of this type of death just as much as we are afraid of our death. This fear comes out of the perception of death as the end, whether it be a relationship or life. The end of anything is always a time of uncertainty, about what life will be like after that "death." This uncertainty surrounding death is covered throughout this week's Gospel lesson.
Death is a common theme throughout the Bible, and Jesus' entire ministry is centered around the eventual necessity of death on the cross as a means of atoning for our sin. In Christ's ministry, one of the greatest and primary roles played is that of a healer. Jesus performs many miracles when healing others, from healing those with leprosy to the blind and the deaf. Christ's greatest act of healing; however, comes when he raises Lazarus from the dead.
In the story today, Lazarus goes from being sick under the care of his two sisters, Mary and Martha, to dying in front of them. Imagine the grief of the two sisters as Jesus is arriving to their home. Now when Jesus gets to their home, the first thing Jesus says is, "Your brother will rise again." In this moment, it seems that Jesus just doesn’t understand. However, Christ goes into this situation knowing that he will revive Lazarus and he will rise from the dead. Yet Jesus wept when he went to Lazarus' tomb. Why would Jesus weep if he knew Lazarus would rise from the dead? Weeping for Lazarus shows the human empathy Christ had for the sisters, and then Jesus turns the death into a teachable moment. Jesus knew there was more to the story, and that God's glory was to be shown in his action.
To the news her brother would live again, Martha says that sure, Lazarus will rise again in the resurrection of the last day. It is in Christ's response that he defines not only his role in death, but his role in the world. In verses 25-6, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
What does this mean? Well, Martha sums it up pretty well in her response, saying that Christ is the Messiah, the son of God. Jesus goes out, and shows the community that he is in fact the Messiah by raising Lazarus just a short while later.
This action sets the course for the rest of his ministry, and in God's glory being revealed through Jesus we find an important lesson. We are all doomed to the same fate of death, that's for certain. Our bodies will eventually die the same death that Lazarus dies, but through Christ we are assured that death isn't the end of the story. By the grace of God, we have nothing to fear in death because of Christ's assurance that those who live and believe in him shall never die.
As Paul describes the life in the Spirit in our text from Romans, we are reminded that Christ is with us in both death and life. Going even further than that, Paul's message to us is that the Holy Spirit will work through us as we help each other. Helping each other is glorifying God. Whether it be through community service, like the service projects we did earlier today, or just by listening to each other, caring for one another is the ultimate expression of Christ's love. As I help you and you help me, we are one with God. Being present for and with one another means helping our peers with those same fears mentioned earlier in the sermon. We are there for each other not necessarily because of whether or not we are "good people," but because of the amazing power of the Holy Spirit working through us.
In this message from Christ we see in the story of Lazarus and in Romans, we become free to live out our lives according to God's call. God's call is for us to each live out our lives as All-Stars, like the people we have studied in our small groups this weekend. Sometimes, by following God's call, we will be seen by others as losers. It is only without any concern over whether or not we are perceived as losers that we can live with the leadership of Moses or the bravery of Mary, the mother of Christ. But, our story doesn’t end at death. Because of God's grace, we are set free from all of our fears and concern of death. Instead, we can focus on giving thanks to God, and helping one another.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. – Romans 8:1-11