St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church
3800 East Third Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47401
(812) 332-5252
Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (March 9, 2008)
Liturgical Color: Purple
Jeff Schacht, Diaconal Minister
Unbind Him and Let Him Go
It is that time of year again. Scores of people from seemingly every corner have marked this month and its special meaning on their calendars. For several weeks now even those who are not normally attentive to such things are busy making preparations, coordinating schedules, discussing the sacrifices they have made or are willing to make. It is one of the most cherished parts of my year. Together, we are ever so surely preparing the way for March Madness — celebrating the journey to the basketball championship.
The high school playoffs are in full swing and we will soon learn the official pairings for the NCAA basketball tournament. And most Hoosiers, both native and transient, know that is where it's at. The drama of Indiana high school basketball is most famously depicted in the movie Hoosiers. If you have committed the blasphemy of never having seen this film I invite you to repent(!) and rent it today! I say this to you today speaking not as a basketball junky (although I am), but on the merits of the powerful tale it tells of grace and redemption.
Hoosiers, as many of you know (or should know), is loosely based on the improbable run tiny Milan High School (enrollment 164) made to win the state championship in 1954. But at its core, this is not a simple retelling of an unlikely basketball title. It is, as screenwriter and Bloomington native Angelo Pizzo noted, a story about second chances. While many characters in this film carry out this theme, the most dramatic transformation is that of the man nicknamed Shooter. He is, we learn quickly, beset with all of the trappings of an alcoholic. Perpetually disheveled, living in squalor, and disconnected from the community, his life is a genuine mess. Through the course of the film he gets a chance to turn his life around and start anew. Most importantly for our story Coach Dale gives him a chance to help lead the team even after Shooter's son (a player on the team) protests that he does not deserve that chance. Many events later his healing process allows him to reconnect with his son. Eventually he learns to value his life enough that he agrees to seek treatment for his alcoholism. His life is transformed.
Shooter's conversion is a powerful reminder of the impact graceful acts can have on another's life. Yet even his dramatic story pales in comparison to the truly life altering events in our gospel lesson today. John's gospel text today is one of the better known stories of Jesus' ministry. It contains what are perhaps Jesus' most commonly referenced words. Herein Jesus proclaims, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." This powerful statement sets a foundation for our profession of faith. Full appreciation of it, however, comes when we look at the context in which Jesus says it.
And that context is rich. Jesus' proclamation comes just before prior to him performing the greatest miracle imaginable — bringing someone back from death. And make no mistake about the 'death' part. It is no accident we read that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. In Jesus' time there was a tradition that said the deceased one's soul hovered near the body for three days. If you are looking for a resurrection after four days, well I'm afraid you were out of luck. Lazarus was not just dead, he was really dead. So when Jesus looks into the tomb and shouts "Lazarus, come out!" it is truly a miracle to see this man appear.
But that is not, you may recall, the final order of business in this episode. After Lazarus appears from the tomb Jesus addresses the crowd that had gathered. "Unbind him," Jesus tells them "and let him go." This is not the first or only time we read that those observing the miracle are invited to be a part of the resurrection action. In the Hebrew Scriptures we learn about Elijah crying to God to breathe life into a dead child then returning him to his mother. In Mark's gospel, Jesus brings a young girl back to life then commands the disciples in his presence to go get her something to eat. Witnesses to the miracle do not get a chance to revel in what they have they have just seen. They are expected to take the newly alive back into family and community. God works a supernatural wonder then draws the community into the action. God calls us to join in the miracle — to help one another live into this new life.
And so, as Lazarus emerges from the tomb still captive in the bindings of death Jesus says "cut him loose so that he can go about the business of living." Those words: "Unbind him, and let him go." Those are the real challenging words of this passage. The premise is invigorating. Destroy the things that hold another back. Loosen attachment to the old and free yourself or others for a new lease on life. Who would not relish at the opportunity for a second chance?
Sadly, however, our hopes for a new future are all too often cut short before they have a chance to blossom as cynicism of the day gets in the way. Too often the call for realism or pragmatism keeps us from expending our energy helping another break the bonds to the things of this world. Too often are we swayed by the 'voices of experience' that we cannot break free...because "that is just the way things are." The voices that rule the day are all too often those of this world...not that of Jesus.
But that is not the way it has to be. Let's go back for a moment to Hoosiers. Instead of giving Shooter a second chance, it is just as likely (more realistic, you might say) that Coach Dale would have chosen to do nothing. In fact, he may have decided he was going to stay away from Shooter because "everybody knows" that he'll never change. That was not the path he chose. In a moment of grace, he reached out to Shooter and unwrapped one layer of the ties that bound him by giving him a chance to contribute to the team. Scenes like this are pervasive throughout the film. Each faulty, deeply unworthy, character is given a second chance by someone else who has faith in them. In each of those moments they heed Jesus' words. These agents of grace unbind the others and let them go.
While I am not faced with the same demons I find myself relating all too well with a character such as Shooter. Perhaps you do as well. We can all relate to a time or a situation when we simply felt stuck; unable to move forward. However, it is, hopefully, not all that difficult to recall a time when a kind word or a generous gesture helped loosen one of the ties that held you back. It is a great satisfaction to be welcomed, as an individual, as an outsider, into a community.
But today's gospel is not only about redemption for an individual. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead so that he can rejoin a community. Jesus said to them, the gathered community, "unbind him and let him go." Those words spoken so long ago ring through this very gathering. Together, as a community of faith, we heed this call. And in doing so it brings us closer to God and to one another.
For evidence that our church is committed to unbinding others and letting them go we need to look no further than the time in which we welcome a new member into the body of Christ. A child brought before this community to be baptized is not simply sent on her way after dampening her head. Before the candidate receives this new life in baptism, the gathering of the faithful promises to be accountable for each new brother or sister. "People of God," we are asked, "do you promise to support [the baptized] and pray for them in their new life in Christ?" In other words, do you promise to unbind them and let them go? In the years that follow, it is us, the fellowship of the faithful that stand here, accepting the responsibility to empower and equip each of our brothers and sisters in Christ to identify their God given gifts and live into a resurrected life.
Fellow saints and sinners, we are here to participate in God's work. From the cross, Jesus conquers death. In the empty tomb, God affirms that we are not alone. The resurrection is upon us. And whether we celebrate it in grand moments such as the baptism of a new child of God, or question it in quieter moments of self doubt Jesus calls us to be alive and part of community. God is working through us in our words and actions to loosen the ties that bind us, and others, to death. God is working through us in moments of grace to bind us more closely with another. God is working through us so that we may proclaim that Jesus is "the resurrection and the life." The one who lived, died, and was resurrected for the sake of the world.
Amen.
