Dying and Living and Dinner

 

  

                                                        The Raising of Lazarus -- John Reilly

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[f] Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. John 11:20-26

Today the lectionary gospel reading begins with the rather matter of fact words "Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead." John 12:1

Wait, someone died and then was brought back to life by Jesus, and then they had dinner? This is yet another story about a meal, one of so many in the gospels, with the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, also in the picture. It is in the previous chapter that we read about Jesus being summoned to respond to Lazarus' life-threatening illness, only to arrive and finding everyone mourning. The sisters are in grief and Jesus is overwhelmed by emotion on hearing that his friend has died. They even scold him for not coming sooner. Jesus responds by having them open the grave, despite their misgivings, then bringing Lazarus back to life.

This is not the way it works for us, no matter how strong our faith. Caskets are not exhumed and the dead revived because we cajole Jesus with prayer. We must contend with the realities of death even in a society which isn't all that adept at doing so. 

For some reason this reminder of Lazarus brought to mind an interview with Dr. Stefanie Green who has been involved in medical assistance in dying (MAID) since it became legal. Green's role is to help people die, so she is direct with those who seek her assistance: "We're going to talk about death today. We're going to talk about dying. We're going to talk about your death. And we're going to talk about assisted dying." 

This seems fairly obvious to me, given the circumstances, but lots of families are reluctant to talk about death, even as it draws near. As a clergyperson who spent a lot of time with those who were dying I can say that denial was common, often on the part of younger family members who simply hadn't addressed the possibility for anyone they loved, and, yes, there was anger on occasion. Often the person who was dying was the most honest person in the room and some of the most meaningful moments in ministry were with those who were "preparing to meet their Maker." 

I am still trying to figure out how I feel about MAID, even though I think it was the right decision to make it legal.  Statistics Canada has recorded more than 21,000 medically assisted deaths between 2016 and 2020. There are were about 1,300 providers offering MAID across the country. About three quarters of requests have been granted. I do wonder about the pressure to ease some of the parameters and I appreciate the concerns of those who are most vulnerable in our society, particularly those living with disabilities. 

Even though Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in the story, and they had a meal together, we know that this is a foretaste of the Good Friday death of Jesus, before the Good News of resurrection on Easter morning.

We all die. Hundreds of times I began funerals and memorials with the words from John "“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." We will always be figuring out how and when this solemn reality and profound spiritual mystery takes place, and, for Christians, the meaning of our resurrection hope.