"Stone Soup Saints"

John 11:32-44

This scripture is well known. It is the raising of Lazarus story. The story tells of of the brother of Mary and Martha who dies, even though the sisters have called for Jesus a few days earlier to please come and heal him. Jesus does not go right away, instead comes later.  But when he does arrive at the home of his dear friends, he cries over his death. Just like any of us would, or have, when a dear friend dies.
He also, among the tears, hears outrage and anger (also common emotions surrounding the death of a loved one). People wondering why Jesus didn't come sooner and try to heal Lazarus.

But then, Jesus being Jesus, he does in fact perform a miracle and raises Lazarus from the dead. He makes the point, as he did in last week's healing of blind Bartimaeus, that it is faith that heals us and makes us whole.

When we lose those we love, we do often have those moments of tears and outrage and anger when our emotions are too intense to have that deep faith and trust in God that times like these call for.  It takes a bit of space and distance from the reality of the loss. Eventually, though, we can see and feel the presence of God again in our lives, and perhaps even reflect back on the ways that God, indeed, held us during our outrage and anger.

Jesus, when he decides to resurrect Lazarus, suggests that Martha remove the stone from the tomb. Take the stone away, he says. She resists because of the stench of death, but he insists the stone be removed.

This week we take a look at stones that keep us away... the stones and stone-heartedness that tried to keep the miracle away in this story. But we also look at the stones that bring us together, as we learn about the story of stone soup, the great folk tale of two men who cooked stones over the fire and made a great soup because of what the neighborhood added to the broth.   We have both kinds of stones in our lives... those that become barriers to miracles and those that become miracles.

We must be willing to let die that which has died and embrace whatever new forms of new life come out of that death... that's what resurrection is.  It is as hard as pulling Lazarus back to life. It requires faith and courage. But it is also as easy as making a stone soup with the neighborhood village.

On All Saints Sunday, we remember the saints of our church and the lives that have gone before us. We remember fondly (like a stone rolled away) and with sadness (like a stone over a closed tomb), the person and what they contributed to our lives.  It is a sacred time, the time for honoring the saints of our past. And it is a time of coming together. The circle of life, the birth-life-death cycle is something that every single person in this place shares together.

As with the stone over the tomb, though, we mustn't hold too tightly to what came before.  And as with the simmer stones in the pot, we must savor with anticipation what lies ahead.  Grateful for the great cloud of witnesses and what they have meant to us, but eager to stir the soup of tomorrow's dreams.

As we come together to celebrate our Saints, to share our collective stone soup, and to celebrate the Holy Meal, what are you grateful for in the past, present and future of Niwot UMC?  Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.