A Matter of Presence: John 11:1-27 - First Sunday in Lent

If Jesus were alive today, would he own a smartphone?

I am very inclined to say no. I also don’t believe he’d own a flip-phone or a landline. He wouldn’t have a website or email, and the only social media he would use would be word-of-mouth. 

I don’t say this because I believe that Jesus is anti-technology, nor am I implying that owning a smartphone is sin (otherwise I’d need major repentance). 

My reason reflects the nature of relationships Jesus had with people during his ministry. 

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

No human being before Christ or since Christ loved people as much as he. To no surprise, lots of people loved him back. But many loved Jesus for what they hoped to get from him. After the five thousand loved ate their fill of fish and loaves, they were hungry for more. They even wanted to make him a king. But Jesus never allowed his love for people to take precedence over his obedience to God. 

This is why Jesus never stayed anywhere for very long. This is why he often escaped the crowds, unnoticed, so that he could pray and attend to his spiritual, mental, emotional, and bodily needs. And I’m sure there were plenty of times when Jesus left people behind who were hoping for a miracle. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is told by a messenger that his beloved friend, Lazarus, was deathly ill. John doesn’t tell us where he was or what he was doing, except that he said, “this illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory.” And he stayed where he was for two more days before making his way to Bethany. By the time he arrives, Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days. When Martha heard Jesus was coming, she went out and met him. She cried, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Her sister, Mary, will repeat these same anguished words when Martha returns with Jesus. 

When Jesus saw her weeping, together with all the mourners who accompanied her, he was overcome. This is the only time in all the Gospels when Jesus weeps.

At the tomb, the stench of death filled the air. Everybody knew that the body was far beyond the possibility of resuscitation. But Jesus said, Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

We all know what happens next. And yet, if Jesus had “been there” and prevented Lazarus from dying, which everyone believed Jesus could do, there is so much they would have missed. 

Jesus never needed to be with someone to heal them. When people asked Jesus to go to their homes and heal their loved ones, Jesus spoke the words. When those people went home, they found their loved ones alive, which is great. 

But this family’s friendship with Jesus opened the door to something more.

This was more than just a miracle. It was a ministry of presence. The sisters begged Jesus to come, and he did. Jesus received their anger and frustration. He shared in the pain of Lazarus’s death as fully as his sisters. He smelled the death at the tomb. And he showed them the glory of God. 

We know Jesus not as a savior who spares you from pain, but who shares in your pain. One who accompanies you on all the journeys you must take in life. But what’s that worth if you’ve distanced yourself from him? 

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus treasured their relationship with Jesus. Their relationship with him was one of friendship, love, and devotion. Being with Jesus mattered more to them than what they could get from Jesus. And Jesus treasured his relationship with them even more.

Too often, we treat Jesus as we do a spare tire, a fire extinguisher, or a first aid kit. We keep them in case we need them, but otherwise, we barely give them a second thought. But spare tires rot out in time. Fire extinguishers lose their charge. First aid kits expire. They become useless by neglect. A relationship with Jesus is a lot like that. When you need Jesus, he feels distant. When temptations come, you lose your way. When your prayers are not answered, you doubt. And doubt gives way to despair. 

And yet, one of the easiest ways to bring joy to Jesus is by turning your attention towards him—and not just when you need his help or guidance, but because you value your relationship with him. Think of it as like calling your mother and father or visiting a friend for no other reason than to just be with them. Shut off the television, put your phone away, and just be there. One of the best ways to practice being present to Jesus is by being present to the people God puts in your life, including restaurant servers and grocery clerks and the call center representatives. You’re treating them as more than just someone performing a service; you’re treating them as human beings. 

As devotion to Jesus becomes ingrained in your daily routines, as other people see how you prioritize your faith, you will have faith apart when trouble comes. That’s not to say that you won’t feel pain, just as Martha and Mary feel pain. But you will be able to say with Mary, “I know God will give you whatever you ask of him.” And you will hear with the sisters Jesus’s words of assurance, “if you believe, you will see the glory of God.”

John 11:1-27 (NRSVue)

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”