St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
November 3, 2024
Year B: All Saints’ Sunday
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44
Removing the Trappings of Death
Today is All Saints' Sunday, when we celebrate the women and men throughout history recognized by the Church for their holiness: the apostles and martyrs, the “fools for Christ.”
And today we also recall the saints of our own lives – people unlikely to ever receive any official acknowledgment – but men and women whose sanctity has touched us and others in powerful and life-changing ways.
If you’ve been around here for a while and paying attention to my sermons, you’ve already met some of my personal saints:
There’s my grandmother Rita who faced her final illness with profound faith. Once, when I was sitting beside her hospital bed, she suddenly turned to me and said, “I know where I’ve come from, and I know where I am going.”
Whether she realized it or not, she was quoting Jesus in the Gospel of John.
And there’s Dave, who was the rector of our church in Jersey City. On our very first Sunday there, at the Exchange of Peace he made his way down the aisle to Sue and me, extended his hand and said, “I’m Dave. Welcome to St. Paul’s.”
His welcome changed our lives forever, beginning for me a journey from teacher to priest, a journey that eventually led Sue and me here with all of you.
And there’s Paula, a woman about my age, sick for a long time, dying of cancer. One time when I was sitting with her in the hospital she said to me, “When I first got sick, I asked ‘Why me?’ But now, having seen all these other sick people, I ask ‘Why not me?’”
And there’s Sister June, who for decades led St. Vincent Academy, an all-girls high school in Newark. Along with other remarkably dedicated and talented educators, she stayed in that struggling city, while many other institutions either closed or fled to the suburbs. When I interviewed for a job St. Vincent’s, she told me that my job wouldn’t just be teaching history, that the school’s work wasn’t only education. No, the school’s mission was doing our part in Christ’s ongoing redemption of the world.
These are some of my personal saints – not perfect people, of course - but their holiness and faithfulness are gifts that continue to inspire and challenge me, continue to shape my life.
I hope today you’ll recall your own personal saints and give thanks for their witness.
And today - with God’s help and with all humility - maybe we can aspire to be saints in our broken and frightened and angry world.
But how might we do that?
Well, let’s look at today’s gospel lesson, the raising of Lazarus.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus worked many miracles, performed many signs. We heard one of his greatest just last week: restoring the sight of the bind beggar, Bartimaeus.
But the raising of Lazarus is Jesus’ greatest sign, pointing to what his life and ministry are all about: defeating death and offering new life.
This can be hard for us to believe, especially when death seems to have the upper hand.
I mean, even Jesus’ friends Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, they trusted in Jesus, they believed that if Jesus had been present during their brother’s illness, he could have and would have healed his friend, just as he had healed so many others.
But even Mary and Martha, who knew and loved Jesus so well, even they couldn’t imagine that Jesus could and would offer new life to their dead brother.
After all, four days in the tomb is a long time.
Well, you just heard what happened next.
Jesus calls the dead man out of his tomb, and to the totally understandable shock of everyone present, Lazarus lives again.
I want to point out one easy-to-miss detail in this story.
When Lazarus came out of the tomb, he was still wrapped in his burial cloth.
Jesus says, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Jesus offers new life.
But, as my friend Sister June and so many other saints have understood, we have a role to play in this ongoing redemption.
Jesus offers us new life.
And Jesus calls us to unbind one another, to remove the trappings of death.
This is not easy work, because, especially today, the trappings of death in our world are very powerful and frightening – they’re heavy and they hold us tight.
The trappings of death poison so many of our hearts.
The trappings of death include:
Our refusal to give others the benefit of the doubt, refusing to even try to understand their points of view.
Our mistrust of people who are different, different in how they live, believe, love, think, and look.
Our tendency to use cruel or even violent language – our tendency to use cruelty and violence in the mistaken belief that somehow this will solve all our problems.
Our willingness to look away from the suffering of others, focusing only on our own needs and comforts, quick to blame others for their troubles, and conveniently letting ourselves off the hook.
Our fear and faithlessness, forgetting that just like God did not give up on Lazarus, just like God did not leave Jesus dead in the tomb, God will not give up on us, will not let go of us, no matter what.
I could go on, but these are some of the trappings of death that weigh us down.
And, yes, especially two days before Election Day, we can feel those binds, can’t we?
But Jesus offers us new life.
And Jesus calls us to unbind one another, to remove the trappings of death.
If you’ve been around for a while and paying attention to my sermons, not only do you already know some of my personal saints, but you’ve also heard me preaching a lot about the importance of community.
I’ve often preached about the gift - the special vocation - of this particular community.
St. Thomas’ is one of the few places around where we rub shoulders with, where we build relationships with, a diverse group of people, people who probably disagree with us about a whole lot.
I’ve never taken a poll, and I really don’t want to know, but I would guess that politically we’re about 50/50, Republican/Democrat.
Just like our country, more or less.
And yet.
And yet, we pray together, week after week.
We share a cup of coffee and a pastry together, week after week.
We welcome absolutely everyone who comes through our doors, week after week.
We offer loving service at Owings Mills Elementary School and the Community Crisis Center.
We’re about to fill Thanksgiving bags for people we’ll never meet, for people who can never thank us or do anything for us in return, people we don’t know anything about except that they’re hungry – and that’s all we need to know.
And when one of us is sick or in trouble or sorrowing, we offer hope and support, sending forth prayers to heaven, preparing meals, writing cards, making calls.
The world binds us with the trappings of death - with fear and anger and hate – but here, here, no matter our differences, we love one another.
Just like for Lazarus long ago, Jesus offers us new life.
And Jesus calls us to unbind one another, to remove the trappings of death.
With God’s help, this is our special vocation.
With God’s help, this is the work of the church.
With God’s help, this is the way to sainthood.
Amen.
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