V Lent A Notes
John 11:1-45 is about Jesus' power over life and death. Jesus weeps not because he is sad, but almost as an element of physical exertion. It's tough work making the dead come to life. "Disturbed in spirit and deeply moved" makes me thinkg of a weightlifter, lifting the power of death over his shoulder.
Note the gnostic tendency: it is as if the world is full of vampires, sucking our energy. The disciples need to work in the light, in order to get the work done. Is this like a Stephen King novel? I do think plenty of people or objects in the world are vampiric. Like a blackberry or the internet or Scrabulous.
Some will want to interpret this passage literally - Jesus makes a mummy walk. This is not, I suspect, how the early church would have understood it. The symbolic imagery indicates to me that this is pure allegory - and it is heavy handed enough that there is a message within the story. Jesus is the power of love. Lazarus is dead - either to addiction, to depression, to melancholia. But Jesus' love is, finally, transformative. "Unbind him" reminds me of John Bunyan's burdens. Jesus is taking off all the burdens that had killed Lazarus. Lazarus is not merely alive. He is free.
The passage from Romans 8:6-11 demands some kind of examination into what is "flesh" and what is "spirit." As Paul is in the midst of empire, our understanding of "flesh" is probably related to the excesses of empire and emperor worship. He is probably alluding to the rivalry, the envy, and the factionalism of the early community. He is clear, in earlier parts of the letter, that our propensity to judge others, to place a greater value on rules and legalism rather than grace, is the root of our inability to see clearly and live in truth. Paul does give some indication that he believes in bodily resurrection - hope for those always surrounded by death.
I do not believe that human bodies are resurrected - but the hope itself has value. Just today someone was saying she had a dream of her former husband in a Blue coat, seemingly happy. The flesh is the root and cause of envy: the spirit helps us manage that envy.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 reminds me of the phrase "The glory of God is a Human Being Fully Alive." I wonder if there is good news for people who have athritis, who are always aware of their bones. Perhaps when we say we are "young at heart" we know of people who's spirit keeps the body moving, even when there is no reason for the body to keep moving at all. The will, the spirit, is almost a placebo effect that is effective.
It is also an allusion to the resurrection of a corporate body of people. Will our church become resurrected? Will we become a witness to the community? There is a sense in which the land is a good "fit" for the people. Can we claim an identity? What is our identity? How will God breathe life into this church, with members who are frail? What is the purpose of our life as a church? What are we to do?