On Sunday,
April 2, 2017, Dennis McDonald and Lindy Sanford, ARCWP led the Upper Room
Liturgical Celebration. Dennis' homily starter based on the Gospel reading of
the raising of Lazarus and Joyce Rupp’s poem, Dry Bones is printed below.
Dry Bones by Joyce Rupp, OSM
Tiredness
grounds me
Into a
quiet stupor
Of the
spirit.
I yearn to
be inspired,
To be
lifted up, set free
Beyond the
place of deadness.
The
struggle goes on,
However,
And you and
I, God,
We exist
together
With
seemingly
Little
communion.
Yet, in the
deepest part of me,
I believe
in you,
Perhaps
more strongly than ever.
I am
learning you
As a God of
silence,
Of
darkness, deep and strong.
I do not
wrestle anymore,
Only wait,
only wait,
For you to
bring my dry bones
Into
dancing once again.
Dennis
McDonald’s Homily Starter:
“I yearn to
be inspired,
To be
lifted up, set free
Beyond the
place of deadness.”
As I
reflected on the Gospel today, I was struck by these words of Joyce Rupp, and
began to apply them to Martha, Mary and Lazarus. That then led me to think
about the inspiration that, perhaps, we each yearn for in our lives, at one
time or another.
Martha and
Mary cannot understand why Jesus has not come when they send word that Lazarus
is dying. They struggle to understand
how a good, dear friend waits, not far away, until death takes Lazarus from
them.
When word
comes that Jesus is finally coming, Martha rushes to meet him and chastises
him. Lazarus would still be alive if he had come. Martha doesn’t wait for an invitation, she
goes in search of being lifted up and set free from her anger and hurt. Jesus calls her to examine her faith in him,
and it provides the author of this Gospel the opportunity for Martha to express
the belief of the Christian community that Jesus is the Christ, the
“resurrection and the life”. Belief in
the Christ will bring you new life, but not always in your timeframe.
Mary, on
the other hand, stays at home with the other mourners, and only approaches
Jesus when he has called her to him. She also chastises Jesus, but his response
this time is to ask where Lazarus is and to be taken to him. He is, in this instance, going to answer by
showing the power that he, through his relationship with the Source of Life,
has to bring forth new life.
Finally,
Lazarus lies in a tomb wrapped and bound. Some of those who have reflected on
this reading, speak of Lazarus not being physically dead, but being spiritually
dead. Either way, Jesus calls him forth from the tomb, and Lazarus responds to
the call and comes forth to be set free, unwrapped, and given new life in
Christ.
When have
you been in the position of Martha, Mary or Lazarus? We have all, I am sure at
one time or another struggled and questioned where God is, where Jesus is when
we are desperate for answers, when we seek a sign that we will be lifted up and
freed “beyond the place of deadness”.
And which
of them are you, are you Martha who is proactive and goes searching for the
answer and being reassured that there is life eternal? Or are you Mary who stays at home surrounded
by others, hoping that you will receive a message to go and discover the answer
by being shown the power of faith? Or
are you Lazarus, laying in the darkness, wrapped and bound, unable to move
forward, awaiting the call to come forth and live again, being set free from
that which binds you?
Joyce Rupp
provides us one answer on what to do during those times when our bones are dry,
when our faith is low:
“I do not
wrestle anymore,
Only wait,
only wait,
For you to
bring my dry bones
Into
dancing once again.”
What
message have you heard through today’s readings, how do they call you forth,
what will it cost you?
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