Fifth Sunday in Lent- Series A - Rom. 8.6-11 The Virility of Life

Did you see that post on Facebook?  that clip on YouTube?
Wasn't that amazing?

Well I can tell you this, it went viral!

It was shared thousands of times, had millions of hits; it had a message that hit home all over the world!  It was hard to understand exactly how or why, but in the world wide web of the internet, friend shared with friend and before you know it, it was trending on many search engines and applications.

It this story it doesn't much make any difference what the subject is, or what happened to the subject.  It doesn't even make much difference if I know what I'm talking about here.  I may not.

When it comes to pandemic diseases such as COVID-19, we are more and more ingrained with the language of social media to describe the way the virus moves around populations.  We are more acquainted with the randomness of transmission, in a brutally ironic twist we speak of "social distancing", now clarified as "physical distance". Ironic isn't it that the first pandemic of the social media age has as its main, if not only restraining factor, 2 m distance between people and the home sequestering of those exposed or symptomatic, and the "work at home" orders which largely self sabotage the market, especially in the service sector, the arts, and yes, the media, to say nothing of the demands and risks taken on by medical personnel.

According to dictionary.com, "virus" is related to the word for "slime" or "ooze".

Moving right along, earlier in my life one of the basics of describing the origin of life is the cosmos was something called "the primal ooze" out of which , or in which the microscopic life settled before becoming your Aunt Matilda.  Beginning with the first people of whom we spoke a few weeks ago, humankind oozed with a self centered existence.  In the cosmology of Paul of Tarsus, (writer of the letter to the Romans,) you had yourself and only yourself to rely on to get on the godly side of things, to do the things He requires (keeping Law for example,) maybe in daily life, as well as using event oriented activities (making sacrifices of fat beasts for stews and soups for the temple cafeteria.

In these ways, for the self interested in society and religion, these practices were good for your body and soul in society and maintaining your line for many generations to come.  Ones' self centre had a forward looking vision in a family centred way.  But there was little room for error in such as system, and likely, a person involved in such a system, spent a lot more energy worried about his/her mistakes instead of increased devotion to God.

But, let's face it folks; before we turn on our ancestors of ancient times for their primitive religious practises, let's be sure for ourselves to know that most of us learn the value of sacrifice.  Everyone, Paul of Tarsus would say, will have some "lord" ready to extract a pound of our flesh.  We may not call him/her chief priest, but we might call him/er, "boss," or "supervisor", or "emperor", but someone holds something over us.  Or should we turn to acknowledge a deity as our only lord, a god or a parent god, the fact remains that we are subject to an earned accountability from somewhere.  In our time of course, without the forced feeding of religion required for us, it's easier to bask in the illusion that we are our own cosmically self centred individual.  But because the illusion is more easily taken on, it doesn't follow that such an illusion is no longer an illusion.

So our self centre bungles along, tied up in the cynicism or super holiness of the inner circles of social power.  If that is the perception of Christianity in this early 21st century, it is our good fortune that for the most part, good fortune and Christianity have parted ways. A vital relationship with God the Creator has no bearing when one is trying to stay out of the way of what is trying to consume us. And even if we thought it did, such a path would be fraught with danger from bad cop accusers and good cop monitors waiting for what is sufficient and what is enough.  The uncertainty of sin, and the inevitability of death team up to strike a deadly blow.

This morning's gospel is a narrative that tells of Jesus taking death personally as He experienced the death of a friend.  As the viral disease of death worked its will on Lazarus, friend of Jesus, it was first thought to be a kind of sleeping sickness, so Jesus held off going to visit his friend until things seem to even out.  Finally, as His disciples pestered Him to make the trip, Jesus spoke plainly, "Lazarus has died!"  The disciples were about to see the penultimate sign of Jesus' triumph - the resurrection of the dead.

The sisters of Lazarus, also dear friends of Jesus, Mary and Martha, greeted Jesus with the words, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died."  In these words were probably the only "evidence" of something wonderful and powerful and life giving about to happen.  As Jesus was brought forward to the tomb and the stone rolled away, he began to cry out agitation and anger.
"Didn't I tell you that if you believe you will see the Father's glory?"  And at the word of Jesus, Lazarus staggered out of the tomb enshrouded in grave cloths.

For the most part, the raising of Lazarus from the tomb is seen to have agitated his enemies, the leaders of his own people, who seemed further "to know him not."  Or did they? Even his enemies were little restrained in prophesying the resurrection result.  But be that as it may, those who gathered around Lazarus' stinking tomb, saw a vision of the glory of God, whose Word had become flesh.  When Jesus was manifest as the Risen Messiah, He showed forth a new possibility for life not only for "his own people", but for all the world!

When it comes to God's involvement (Father, Son, and Spirit) in Jesus' being raised from the dead, the Spirit of Life declares His interiority replacing the interior rot of sin and death.  The One Who raised Jesus from the dead, the Father sends the Spirit of life, the power of Baptism enacted in the believer whose eyes are open to the glory of God.  Vitality for life, the ooze and slime of death are defeated and done.

Self at Centre cannot please God with its machinations of cynicism on the one hand and sliminess from the other.  In the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, water brings word inside the One who has God inside of him/her, "pitching his tent", we might say.  That baptism we proclaim isn't a rite to check off a salvation list kept somewhere.  The baptised, all of us, have the Spirit inside of us.  The list you've been put on isn't a mailing list or a "got saved" list.  It's nothing less then the knowledge that whatever kind of day you're having today, or whatever side of the bed your feet hit the floor, it has gone viral in the universe that you are a child of God and you have a power within you that has conquered death.

Your life now centres in Christ and in God.
"You belong to Christ, in whom you have been baptised."