Trusting God's Plan

Our gospel lesson this morning, where we see Jesus having dinner with Lazarus and his two sisters, is really the end of a much longer story.

Today we hear how Martha served Jesus his supper and Mary anointed his feet, but what we don’t hear is the “why.”  Why did Lazarus invite Jesus over for dinner?  And what caused Mary & Martha to be so devoted to Jesus?

Well, immediately before this dinner, we hear the story of Lazarus’s death.  This very same Lazarus who’s eating dinner with Jesus in our lesson this morning had died not too long ago. 

And before he died, Mary and Martha had sent word to Jesus saying, “Your dear friend Lazarus is dying.  Come quickly and you can save him.”  But Jesus didn’t come.

In fact, when he got the message he waited several days before going.  And so by the time he got there Lazarus had already been dead for 4 days.

And Mary and Martha were both upset.  They told Jesus, “If you’d been here our brother wouldn’t have died.  If you’d just come when we called you everything would’ve worked out fine.”

But Jesus hadn’t come when they called, and so they were left wondering how could he have ignored our plea for help?  How could Jesus abandon our brother like that?  What kind of person does that?  What kind of God does that?

Now obviously, Lazarus didn’t stay dead.  When Jesus got there, he went to the tomb where Lazarus was buried and told the people to roll the stone away.

And then in a commanding voice he cried, “Lazarus come out!”  And sure enough, out he came; alive and well.

And that’s where our story for today picks up.  It’s right after this amazing miracle.  After God’s plan for this family had been fulfilled.

Just a few short hours since Mary and Martha had been so upset and confused and distraught.

Just a few hours since they’d been struggling to understand why Jesus had ignored them and abandoned them in their hour of need.

But now here they are at this dinner, and all that’s faded away.  To paraphrase our lesson from Isaiah, they no longer remembered the former things, for Christ had done a new thing.  He’d made a way in their wilderness and a river in their desert.  He’d raised their brother from the dead.

And if you look at the first couple verses of our Psalm for today you can almost imagine these as Mary and Martha’s words.  “When the Lord restored the life of our brother, we were like those who dream.  Then our mouths were filled with laughter and our tongues with shouts of joy.”

And I think the lesson for us in all this can probably best be summed up in God’s words from the book of Isaiah, where he says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways.”  And we might add to that, “My plans are not your plans.”

The story of Mary and Martha is a perfect example of what happens when God’s plans don’t match up with our plans and expectations.

When Lazarus got sick, Mary and Martha came up with a plan.  They sent for Jesus and had certain expectations of what he should and would do.  “We want Jesus to come heal our brother.  We need to get Jesus here to fix this.”

But then Jesus didn’t come.  He didn’t do what they wanted.  He didn’t follow their plan.  And so they were confused, and disappointed, and perhaps even a little angry.

And I don’t know about you, but there’ve been times in my life when I wanted God to do something for me.  I’ve had a plan I want him to follow, and he hasn’t followed it.

And like Mary and Martha, when that happens, I sometimes get confused or disappointed or even a little angry at God.

And then I hear God remind me, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways.  And my plan’s not always going to agree with your plan.”

And once I have the advantage of hindsight, I can see how much better God’s plan ultimately is.  But in the moment it’s difficult.

In the moment when Lazarus died, and before Jesus had arrived, it was almost impossible for Mary & Martha to conceive that God had a good plan in mind for them.

And what made it double difficult for them was that Jesus was their friend.  In fact, he was one of their closest friends, and yet he didn’t make them his top priority.

And again, speaking only for myself, that’s where I run into problems when I try to tell God my plans.  I think I should be his top priority.

But in the story of Lazarus, we see that Jesus had a different priority; and that was to do the will of his Father in heaven.  His only goal was to serve his Father, and everything else took a back seat to that.

All Mary & Martha had wanted was for Lazarus to be healed, but God’s plan was so much greater.  He wanted Lazarus to be resurrected.  And that was the plan Jesus made his priority.

And that’s the difference between God and us: he has a much grander view than we do.  And our lesson today shows us that Mary and Martha had finally come to understand that.

They both lavish Jesus, their friend and their God, with the best they have to offer.  He’d given them back their brother, and so Martha offers him the finest meal she can muster and Mary anoints him with her most expensive perfume.

It was their way of thanking him, and honoring him, and worshiping him.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing here today.  Our worship this morning is our way of thanking God for all the blessings he’s given us.  

It’s our way of thanking God for fulfilling the plan he has for us, and for the promise he’s given us of the Resurrection.  For the promise that one day he will stand outside our tomb, and call our name, and tell us to come forth to eternal life.

And at the same time, our worship is also a time to be strengthened in our faith.

Some of you may be feeling the way Mary and Martha felt after Lazarus died but before Jesus raised him from the dead.  And so our worship is a time to be reminded that God does have a plan for us.

If you’ve been wondering why Jesus hasn’t answered your prayers or come to you when you’ve called him; if you’re confused by that, or disappointed, or even angry, then I’d encourage you to take heart from Mary & Martha.

Their story reminds us that no matter how dark things may seem, and no matter how distant Jesus may feel, he hasn’t forsaken you.  He is coming.  And he does have a plan for you.  It may not your plan, but it’s a plan you can definitely put your hope and trust in.

And it’s my prayer that God would use our worship this morning to remind you of his plan, and give you confidence in the promise that he will fulfill it.

• Isaiah 43:16-21  • 
 
• Psalm 126  • 
 
• Philippians 3:4b-14  • 
 
• John 12:1-8

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing (Pharisees)

Our gospel this morning begins with the phrase, “At that very time…”  And whenever one of our lessons begins with a phrase like that I like look back to see what very time is being referred to.

In this case, “that very time” is described in Luke 12, when a large crowd gathers around Jesus and he begins teaching them.  He tells them the parable of the rich fool, and encourages the flock not to be anxious.

Then right before our lesson this morning Jesus says to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’ and so it happens.  You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

And then he goes on to say, “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”

And so it’s at this very time, then, right after he had asked the crowds, “Why do you not know how to interpret the present time? And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”

It was at that very time that some of the folks in the crowd ask Jesus to interpret the times for them.  They tell him how Pilate had mingled the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices.

He responds by asking them to interpret the times and to judge for themselves what is right.  “Do you think these Galileans suffered like this because they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”

And then he brings up another example of eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them.  “Do you think that they were worse sinners than everyone else living in Jerusalem?” he asks

Of course not, he says.  “I tell you; unless you repent you will all perish as they did.”

So what are we to take from all of this?  What’s the lesson for us?

First off, let’s look at why the crowd was asking this question in the first place.

One of the beliefs that was common at that time, and it’s still common today, is the idea that God causes bad things to happen to people as punishment for their sins.  So if something bad happens to you, it must be because you sinned and God is punishing you.

And we can see examples of this kind of thinking throughout the bible.  For instance, in John’s gospel there’s the story man who’d been blind since birth.  And the people thought it was because one or both of his parents had been sinners.

Or, if we go back to the Old Testament book of Job, when all the terrible things happen to Job, his friends came and told him he needed to repent so that God would remove all these punishments from him.

But of course, in the book of Job we’re told quite clearly that these things didn’t happen to Job as a punishment for sin.  In fact, we hear God say that Job is the most righteous man on earth.

And in John’s gospel, Jesus makes it clear that the man’s blindness wasn’t caused by his parents’ sin or even his own sin.

And in today’s lesson, Jesus says quite plainly that the tower of Siloam didn’t fall on the 18 worst sinners in Jerusalem.  That’s not how God operates, Jesus tells us.

And yet, throughout the bible the crowd keeps thinking that God does operate that way.  And the question is why?

I mean, in both the Old and the New Testaments God had made it clear that that’s not how he operates. And yet the crowds continued to believe that if something bad happens to you it is because God’s punishing you for your sin.

So why did they keep believing it?

Well, again, coming back to that phrase, “At that very time.”  If we look back to see what else was happening at that very time, we see that right at the beginning of chapter 12 when Jesus starts teaching the crowds his first lesson for them is, “Beware of the teachings of the Pharisees because it is hypocrisy.”

It was the Pharisees who kept promoting this false teaching that bad things happen to bad people.  And the reason they were promoting it was because it helped them to retain their power, and maintain the illusion of righteous superiority that they had over the people.

They would point to those afflicted by illness or tragedy like the man born blind or the 18 who died in the tower of Siloam, and say that they were bad people who were being punished by God.

And, of course, what the Pharisees were also implying was that while these were the bad people the Pharisees and anyone who followed them were good people; the ones favored by God.

Of course, in today’s lesson, we hear Jesus’ response to this hypocrisy.  “No,” he says, “you’re no better than the people you point to and say are bad.  In fact, unless you repent, you’ll perish just like they did.”

And the fact of the matter is, this kind of hypocritical teaching is still alive and well today; from religious leaders to our politicians, we have plenty of folks eager to tell us who’s bad and who’s good, who’s right and who’s wrong, and whose side God is on.  And the reason they continue to teach this is because we continue to listen.

We like the feeling of being in the right, and knowing that others are wrong; that we’re good and they’re bad.  It feed our pride and ego, and gives us a sense of superiority.

And so Jesus warns us this morning, “Beware of such hypocrisy,” he says.  “No one is good, but God alone.” (Mark 10:18)  "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)  And we're in as much need of repentance as the worst among us.

So let us resist the temptation to such hypocrisy, and let us instead turn to Christ.  For only he can save us from the perils of this world and the sin which clings so close.

• Isaiah 55:1-9  • 
 
• Psalm 63:1-8  • 
 
• 1 Corinthians 10:1-13  • 
 
• Luke 13:1-9