I’d like you to do something with me to help us get into the theme of the day. Stand up with me…you have to stand up, because you have to sit down at the end. Do you remember this old nursery rhyme? “Ring around the rosy, pockets full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down?” Sing with me…
Caves of Wonder: Cave of Joy
John 11
“Ring around the rosy...” Do you know what a rosary is?…a special set of beads to assist in praying. A rosary is created by taking the rose peddles from the grave of dearly departed. Then, a person rolls the peddles between the fingers to create a rose bead. The rose beads are strung together to create a necklace. When the necklace is worn, body heat warms the rose beads and releases a rose fragrance to remind the wearer of the dearly departed. The circle of beads is also called a rosary if a crucifix is attached. The rosary is a prayer assistant. The idea is that, going in a circle, as you move the beads through your fingers you say a certain prayer. As you get to the gaps between the beads, or to larger beads, then you say a different kind of prayer. To over simplify, when touching the large bead a person meditates on the mysteries and miracles of Jesus and then pray the Lord’s Prayer. When touching a small bead the person prayers a Hail Mary. When touching the crucifix, the person prays the Apostles’ Creed and the Hail, Holy Queen.
“Ring around the rosy” literally means praying your way around the rosary. “Pocket full of posies…” comes from the days when, after death posies were placed in pockets of the deceased to help offset the odor for the people attending the wake. “Ashes, ashes?” Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, earth to earth. These are part of the litany we use at funerals. This song is actually about the fact that everybody dies. This happy-sounding little nursery rhyme was written to help prepare kids for the reality of death during the time of the Black Plague in Europe.
The cave we are entering today is the Cave of Lazarus—or you could say the cave of woe or the cave of grief.
As we enter this cave of grief, Remember the five SpiritLunking principles to explore biblical caves:
1. Go with two or more people. “For where two or three gather together…” there is Jesus.
- Pack three light sources.Pack in your head, your hands and your heart the light of Christ.
- Keep three points of contact. “Touch me and see.”
- Wear protective clothing. “The belt of truth …the breastplate of righteousness …shoes of peace …the shield of faith …the helmet of salvation.”
- Take three times the water. “A spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’
I warn you. Do not enter this cave alone. Do not go without light sources. Do not go without keeping contact. Suit up before you show up. Be sure you are carrying plenty of the water of life. This is the most difficult cave we will explore. It is the cave in which Lazarus was buried.
When we go into caves, also remember that whatever happens inside a cave is exaggerated. A little sound becomes a big sound, a little motion turns into a big motion. In this story, there is a little spring of water that has eternal implications.
We enter Lazarus’ cave at street level. We descend into the darkness. When we experience grief…when we experience sorrow…when we experience woe…it is a descending from light into darkness. There’s a dimming that goes on in the mind. We experience a disconnection from the sun. Light collapses into a tunnel. We descend the steps into the cave.
For Jesus, his descent into this cave of grief starts in the North Country. Jesus and his disciples were in trouble in Jerusalem, threatened by the authorities to be stoned if they returned. They flee to the north county. While preaching in the north, he gets word that his friend Lazarus is deathly ill. Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was Jesus’ age. Some think Lazarus was the disciple who Jesus loved best. Who knows? We do know this person is very important to Jesus. When Jesus hears of Lazarus’ illness, he chooses to return to Judea against all advice. The disciples fear death if they go with him. Finally, those who go with him, resign themselves to die. Thomas delivers his great line, “Let us all go with him and die together.” Their journey gives us a sense of descending down the dark staircase into the cave of Lazarus.
As one steps down the twenty-four steps into that first chamber of the actual cave, signs showing that people have been worshipping here for hundreds and hundreds of years may be noted. Persons have chiseled at the walls inside the cave to open little niches. The niches may have held memorabilia from loved ones or candles to provide aid. There are parts of Lazarus’ story that chisel at my mind. Parts that hurt to consider yet hold memory and light for my spirit. Why in the world did Jesus not respond to the plea to come quickly and help Lazarus? Why didn’t he come right away when he was told this very dear friend was sick? Why didn’t he just drop everything and go, since he was going to go anyway? Why the delay? Why does God delay when we pray for him to help us in our own times of need? You find yourself in this cave if your loved one was not healed, if God did not answer your prayer or even show up at the hour of your need.
Martha and Mary question Jesus. Not so much a question as an accusation, “Lord if you had been here, he wouldn’t have died!” We say that too, don’t we? When we have tragedy in our own lives and loved ones pass away? “God, if you had been here Margaret wouldn’t have died! Why did you let Fred die? Why didn’t you show up?” And we are left in the cavernous place, with these niches—like eye sockets that are empty and staring, questioning our faith.
When one descends another level through the floor of the cave, it requires crawling on hands and knees. You have to humble yourself to get into these caves. To get down into the chamber of Lazarus, which is down below the initial small chapel area, you have to bow down to be able to enter into and stand in the lower chamber. Here is the body of Lazarus. Here is our beloved. Here is hard evidence against God’s grace. Here is the body. Here is no hope. Here is our grave. Here is our pain.
Jesus may have not come when Mary and Martha wanted, but Jesus comes. Jesus goes with them in their pain. Jesus goes with them down into that chamber, down into the lowest place. Here we have the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11: 35. Two words: “Jesus wept.”
Why in the world did Jesus weep? Why in the world would Jesus cry at the death of Lazarus? Jesus could have saved his life, right? Jesus was the one who delayed, right? So why cry? Jesus knows the resurrection that is to come. Jesus knows that death does not have the final say in this life. In fact, didn’t he just say, “I am the resurrection and the life?” And yet he weeps.
In the King James Version we are told he sheds tears and groans with agony. This just isn’t Jesus shedding a sentimental tear. No…Jesus weeps with a heaving chest. Tears roll down his cheeks.
Remember Jesus said that the water he gives is the water of life, and whoever drinks of that water shall know eternal life. I wonder if Jesus is talking about his tears? Because when Jesus weeps something happens. He takes death and gives life. Jesus says, “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus comes out of the cave. I can’t imagine the scene. Again, that causes me to wonder, “Why cry when you know you are going to bring this guy back to life? Why weep so heavily when you experience the pain of the family? When you experience the pain of Mary and Martha? What is this?
I haven’t been traveling alone during the time of preparation for these sermons. I’ve been traveling with a group of 20-somethings who are connecting with me every week to spend some time talking about these scriptures. They tell me, “This story is about Jesus weeping.” I asked them, “What about that? What is happening? What’s going on here? Why is it that we can identify so much with Mary and Martha when our loved ones die and we call on the name of Jesus, but there isn’t a resurrection for us?” Here’s what we discover down in that lower chamber: Jesus takes our grief from us. He enters into the grief that we have and shares the pain of our heart. His tears become springs of living water. In taking that pain from us, he then gives us something. That which he gives us is life. Jesus was all about teaching what happens spiritually, and then showing it in the physical reality so you would know there is a spiritual reality at work that may or may not be reflected fully in the physical reality. The resurrection of Lazarus--or should we say the resuscitation—was a demonstration so that people would know power and life after the experience of grief and death.
Let’s go back to Thomas for example. At the resurrection of Jesus, Thomas said what? He said, “I won’t believe he is resurrected until I put my finger in his hands and a hand in his side. I don’t believe it!” Jesus came to him and, says, “Okay, put your fingers here and your hand here. You’re blessed because you’ve seen and you believe.” But then he said, “Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe.”
Jesus is pointing to the spiritual reality. But he gives evidence physically so we can fully know it spiritually. Remember, Jesus does not have to resurrect every person in this life because there is the resurrection to come for all. In that time we will truly be renewed as Mary and Martha were renewed. We come to the time of knowing that there is life after this life. We aren’t left by Jesus to sit down in the lower chamber of the cave. Instead we can emerge and ascend those steps into a new and regenerated life.
Jesus enters into our sorrow so that we may enter into his joy and into his life to come; the cave of grief--the cave of woe—becomes the cave of joy. Amen.
