Homily for 03/22/26

That's why our family service is a little different.

It's not really one of those Sundays that you can paraphrase very easily.

And so the children will be assisting me, and you will also get a full sermon.

Such is life.

Make your peace with it.

It's okay.

This Passion Sunday we begin with the reading from the prophet Ezekiel.

And the prophet Ezekiel gives us these startling words, or a question which comes really from the Holy Spirit of God.

Son of man, can these bones live?

And they strike you.

The rhetorical power of the words are astounding.

And we think, surely not.

However, the scriptures have painted for us a very different picture.

Resurrection has always been the intention of God.

The transfiguring of this life or the transition from one life to another life is not remarkable in the scriptures narrative.

Those of you who have been joining us for our weekly Lenten soup supper, we've been going through Bishop Jeremy Taylor's holy dying.

And Bishop Taylor in this book on death and preparing for a holy death begins with a discussion and investigation into death itself.

And he asks this Was Adam's life always supposed to give way to another life?

What do you think?

Before I call on people.

Yes! How do we know this?

Because Adam had not yet eaten from the tree of life.

And so he was perishable.

There was something which remained for Adam.

There was a glory still outside of his reach.

There was something that he could take possession of, that he could receive.

And this possession would make him, as the scripture said, like who?

God.

There remained a transition for the life of Adam.

Bishop Jeremy Taylor says, nature itself teaches us this.

Because if Adam had remained, immortal, without perishing, and procreating.

Because the command to procreate is found where?

In the garden, before the fall.

Presumably Adam and Eve would have beget children.

Now, if you're begetting children and nobody's dying, it's not very long until the world is overrun.

We will exhaust all our resources and very quickly.

Jeremy Taylor says, Nature itself teaches us that Adam was supposed to go from this life to another life, that there was a transfiguring and a change.

Therefore, change, stepping from one plane of existence into another, is not what death is.

This transition, this going from one life to another life, has always been the providential plan of God.

What death is is different.

It is the manner in which we go.

Therefore, that transition from a life of blessedness in the garden to a life of glory with God becomes corrupted.

This stepping from one life into a next is besought with sickness and pain and devastation, trepidation and loneliness.

Those who had known only community in the garden.

Adam says to his wife, Behold, bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, a radical unity, such as reflected of the Godhead, now utter isolation, for every man dies alone and with himself.

This is what death is, the manner and nature of that transition.

And this extends to all people, for even the Son of God, on the night that he was betrayed, handed over to suffering and death, sweat, and blood.

He who had known no sin experienced the natural fear, pain, worry, discomfort of death wrought for us by our first parents.

So there has always been another life.

We know this.

There has always been a resurrection.

And this is what the prophet Ezekiel is speaking of.

It is speaking within this vast, broad vein of scriptural literature, telling us that we know we will stand before God.

Job even says, I know that my Redeemer lives and will stand upon the earth.

And my eyes will behold him in my flesh and not another.

Even Job says, I know.

Job who is besought with boils and pain and the nearness of death.

Job who is encouraged to curse God and die.

Job knows that there is a resurrection.

Because we have all known that there is a resurrection, because even Adam expected a resurrection.

The second book of homilies has a sermon for funerals, and it says, All people fear death.

Again, even our Lord feared death.

And we fear death for the natural causes.

But if we're honest with ourselves, if we're introspective for just a moment, if we truly root down and go to the bottom drawers of our soul, we'll find another fear there.

And that is the fear of the judgment that we know that we will face.

The judgment where we will look God in the eye and we will give an account for every thought, word, and deed.

That the body we have received from him will return to him, and we must show him how we stewarded it.

So therefore, God the Holy Spirit speaks in the Holy Scriptures, and we are sure that there is a resurrection and there is a judgment.

Nature itself testifies to us there is a resurrection and there is a judgment.

Our own souls tell us in the fear and trepidation that we experience on our last day, there is a resurrection and there is a judgment.

This is essential because this paints the backdrop for what our Lord encounters in Bethany.

Jesus is told his friend Lazarus, the one whom he loves, dies.

Pop quiz Does Jesus love Lazarus?

Yes.

Jesus tells a parable about Lazarus.

Lazarus is so special, he gets a little feature in the Gospels.

Jesus says, let me tell you a story.

Let's call this guy Lazarus.

Why?

Because that's his buddy.

God makes Lazarus famous, and we're still talking about Lazarus to this day.

Because Jesus loves him.

So then, why?

Why does Christ wait the four days before coming to him?

Because he loves him.

This is what the text tells us.

He says, I was glad that I was not there.

And so our Lord, who loves Lazarus, is moved to grief and comes to Bethany.

And he meets with Martha and Mary.

And they say twice, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Interesting.

We always question the providence of God.

And then those around them begin to poke fun at Christ and say, He who healed others, surely he could have saved this man's life.

As if his goodness was not good enough already, begins to say, Well, he hasn't done X.

Sure he's done Y, but is he really good?

That is what this passage about.

Is Christ good?

Does he love?

That is what is up for debate right now.

And it is significant that the debate about the goodness and the love of God is centered around a funeral.

Because the goodness and love of God is shown chiefly in the reality of our deaths.

It is fitting.

And so he comes to the daughters, to the sisters, to his friends.

And he says, Lazarus will rise.

And they say, Lord, we know that you will rise because there is a resurrection.

Why do they think this?

Because there's a resurrection and everybody knows it.

But is this what Jesus is speaking of?

No.

What is he speaking of?

In a matter of moments, Lazarus will walk again.

In a matter of words, a single utterance, and Lazarus will come out of the grave.

This is what Jesus is speaking of.

Is he speaking of the general resurrection that the scriptures, that nature, that our own souls testify to?

No.

He's speaking of something different.

He's speaking of an encounter that all are about to see.

And know, one, Jesus is good.

Two, he loves.

So Jesus goes to the cave.

And we see some biblical foreshadowing.

In a matter of weeks, we will go to another cave.

The cave of our Lord.

In a matter of weeks, there will be another stone.

In a matter of weeks, there will be another resurrection.

In a matter of weeks, a different man will walk out of the tomb, having been bound in cloth, who has a different cloth placed over his face.

You feel how eerily similar it is.

You feel the foreshadowing.

Some really good biblical typology.

Holy Scripture, or God the Holy Spirit, is winking at you in this moment.

Can Christ triumph over the grave?

Yeah, he's about to.

But before that, the shortest passage in Holy Scripture, the shortest verse is what?

Jesus Christ.

Why?

Why?

No one is more certain of the resurrection than our Lord.

Nobody doubts less than our Lord.

Nobody is as convinced or as sure.

Because he is the way, the truth, and the life.

He who came to bring life and life abundantly.

Does he doubt that Lazarus will walk?

No, because in two seconds he will do it.

So why does he weep?

Because death is worth weeping over.

Love demands that we weep.

St.

Paul tells us the last enemy to be defeated is death.

Death is still an enemy.

And at no point do we ever have the scriptures endorsing death.

Jesus does not say, oh, death is good because now you will see the glory of God.

Instead, he weeps because his friend has experienced death.

That which was never our lot, that which was not meant to be our inheritance, that foreign peace of our existence, which was brought about by the disobedience of our first parents, and that wages of sin that St.

Paul speaks of, which has been getting nearer and nearer and nearer, that some of you might die tomorrow.

It is all around you.

Bishop Jeremy Taylor, in the same treatise on death, he says this.

Sure, there was an original sin.

There was that original transgression which took place in the garden, and we have all been languishing under the effects of that sin.

But every generation since has added their own original sin.

And every life ever since has added their own original sin.

The obstinate complacency of our lives in the first transgression of our parents.

Our father Adam lived to be nearly a thousand years old.

Pop quiz, will I live to be a thousand years old?

You sure?

I believe.

Why?

Why will I not live to be a thousand years old?

Because sin prolonged brings nearer death, and life is not prolonged.

The generation of Adam lived for many years.

Methuselah, a super long time.

Yet the generation after Noah, do they live as long?

No.

Why?

Because of the sin of the generation of Noah.

And after the flood, death is brought nearer.

And then there comes a point where God, the Holy Spirit, in the scripture says, I cannot abide with man forever.

And so there is a furthering of that degree of separation between God and man.

Not because of Adam's sin, but because of new sins.

Constant multiplying of sin.

And death, which is the wages of sin, gets nearer and nearer and nearer.

And life gets darker and darker and darker.

Where once upon a time we might say, I can live to X degrees.

Now the Scriptures promise us it will not happen.

And we know from our own experience it will not happen.

And so, sin, our ancient enemy, has brought us closer to become face to face with death.

To the point that the scriptures can say, tomorrow is promised to who?

No one.

You will die, and it could be tonight.

This is the one certainty in your life.

St.

Basil the Great says that no one who enters through the gate of life will be exempt from completing that course.

If you are born into this world, it is certain you will die.

This is a matter of fact.

And so Christ, who is the image of Adam.

Adam was made according to the image of God.

Who is the image of God?

Jesus.

And so Christ, who is the image of Adam and the image of Lazarus, laments and weeps the profanation and destruction of the image that he bears.

And he has now come face to face with that ancient enemy that he has come to defeat.

And the one that he loves, Lazarus, his friend, lies in the grave, dead.

And so he weeps.

Christianity is not utilitarian.

We do not deem something good simply because it has utility, and we do not deem something bad simply because it has negative effects.

Some things are bad, and some things are good.

And one of those things that is bad, believe it or not, is death.

And this is acknowledged even in the heart of God, which weeps for the dead sinners.

Holy Scripture says God does not rejoice in the destruction of the wicked.

Instead, what does he do?

He weeps.

Who are the wicked?

It's you.

And it's me.

Holy Scripture says if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and we call God a liar.

The wages of sin is death.

We are entitled to this, our one surety.

But God, in his mercy, his goodness, is not indifferent.

Instead, he weep.

Jesus wept.

Neither are Christian stoics.

I've probably told this story too many times.

But Seneca was a Stoic philosopher who said that it's silly to weep over death because it's natural.

And what does the emperor say to Seneca?

Well then kill yourself.

And what does Seneca do?

He says, okay.

And he does.

In the presence of the emperor and Seneca's wife.

And Seneca's wife is weeping because he's about to kill himself.

And his last words to his wife are this.

He turns to her and says, All of life is worth weeping over, and you choose now.

Not very romantic.

We are not stoic because there are things worth weeping over, because God's sacred heart weeps.

Jesus weeps.

And so we desire and need the resurrection.

In fact, this is what our psalm is about.

Psalm 130.

In Latin, this is called de profundis.

Everybody say de profundis.

Which means out of the deep.

De profundis orote.

I cry to you or I pray to you.

From the deep.

What is the deep?

It is the grave.

This is a prayer of the dead.

This is why it's traditionally said at the side of those who have died.

Jesus said, the only sign this generation will receive is the sign of Jonah.

He descended to the deep for three days.

Christ Jesus will descend to the deep of the dead for three days.

The deep in Scripture signifies the place of the dead.

And it is from this place of the dead that the psalmist cries unto God, Out of the deep have I called unto you, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice.

O let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

And what has caused this death our sins?

So the psalmist says this if you, Lord, were to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who could abide it?

If God counts our sins, could anyone be saved?

No.

But what does he do?

He weeps over our sins.

For there is mercy with you, and therefore you shall be feared.

I wait for the Lord.

My soul waits for him.

In his word is my trust.

This is the prayer of Lazarus, who sat in the deep, whose soul waited for four days to hear the voice of the Lord.

And does it come to him?

Yes.

The voice of the Lord that said, Son of man, can these bones live?

The word of God comes to the tomb and speaks the word to him.

Lazarus, come out.

And Lazarus, who has been praying this prayer, my soul waits for you.

His soul in the place of the dead hears the voice of God, the word of the Lord, speak the word, come out.

And he does.

But he comes out bound.

But what is he really bound by?

Is Lazarus bound by linen strips?

No.

There are greater chains.

Sure, he's covered in cloth.

But there is something else which has bound him.

Something else which has dragged him down to Hades.

Something else which has produced death in this life.

It is his sins.

So the psalmist concludes with this.

O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from what?

Their death?

Their sins.

Lazarus, like all of us, was bound not with linen strips, but with the chains he forged himself by his own sins.

The ones we have forged ourselves with our sins in complicency with all those who have gone before us, and we have dragged ourselves face to face with death by that chain.

But can we be liberated from it?

Yes.

This is what St.

Paul says in his epistle to the Romans this morning.

If you serve God, you'll be a slave of God.

If you serve sin, you will be a slave of sin.

One produces death, the other produces righteousness.

And so God the Son, God the Word, in a matter of weeks will descend to the same place that Lazarus' soul waited in.

And the word of God will wait on God.

And the word of God, instead of calling from the mouth of the grave, will speak life to those who are in the grave.

And that transition which has been promised to us from the beginning, that going from one life to the next, which was the promise of Adam, it will become pleasant for us.

Because Jesus Christ, by entering into Hades, breaks the bonds.

Of death, shatters the chains of sin.

And he makes death for us a means of salvation.

Christ Jesus has not returned us to Eden.

That is too simple of a task.

He has transcended Eden.

And what for our first Father was a transition from life to death becomes for us a transition from life to life, from glory to glory.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Let us confess our faith in the words of an Isaiah.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is visible and invisible.

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten God made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was imparted by the Holy Spirit, and a virginary and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under conscious heart.

He suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures.

He descended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to glory to judge the living and dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy Catholic and a solid church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, for the life of the world to come.

Let us pray for the church and for the world.

Almighty and ever living God, we are taught by your holy word to offer prayers and supplication to give thanks for all people.

We happily ask you mercifully to receive our prayer.

Inspire continually the universal church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord.

And grant that all who confess your holy name may agree in the truth of your holy word and live in unity and godly love.

Lord in your mercy.

Especially Donald, our president, that your people may enjoy the blessings of freedom and peace.

Grant that our leaders may impartially administer justice, uphold integrity and truth, restrain wickedness and vice, and protect true religion and virtue.

Lord in your mercy.

Give grace, Heavenly Father, to all bishops, priests, and deacons, and especially to your servants Steve, our Archbishop, Julian, our provincial dean, Eric our bishop, Brandon and Ed, our priests, and Daniel, our deacon, that by their life and teaching they may proclaim your true and life-giving word, and rightly and duly administer your holy sacraments, and to all your people give your heavenly grace, especially to this congregation, that with a reverent and obedient hearts we may hear and receive your holy word, and serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.

Especially St.

Andrew's in Chester, St.

John's in Arinda, St.

Peter's in Auburn, Holy Trinity in Marysville, St.

Francis's in Stockton, All Souls South Placer, All Saints Placerville, All Saints Sacramento, Horizon in Roseville, William Jessup in Rockland and Young Life in Loomis, and strengthen us to fulfill your great commission, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that you have commanded.

Lord, in your mercy.

We ask in your goodness, Alord, to comfort and sustain all who in this transitory life are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity, especially for Charlotte Phillips and all others who can no longer attend.

Ruth Bollard, Jenny Henstock, Andy Sinlick, Cynthia, Patrick Burke, Samus Fada, David Rudat, Hope Sammonson, Dr.

Lyle Dorset and Mary, Alexi, Audrey and David, Evelyn and Maggie, Gary Chandler, all those in our parish suffering, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, for the peace of the world and the health of the nation, and the guidance of our leadership, for those who face persecution for the Christian faith, for those who are unjustly oppressed, for those who are alone, and for those who do not know you.

Lord in your mercy.

We remember before you all your servants who have departed this life in your faith and fear, especially those who have perished due to persecution, to poverty, to warfare, to abortion, and those who have died this day, that your will for them may be fulfilled.

And we ask you to give us grace to follow the good examples, the ever-blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Mark, Saint Lazarus, and all your saints, that we may share with them in your heavenly kingdom.

Lord in your mercy.

Lord Jesus, you are the good shepherd who cares for his flock.

We ask you to bestow upon your church the gifts of the Holy Spirit in abundance, and to raise up from among us faithful and able persons called to the ministries of deacon, priest, and bishop.

Inspire them to spend and be sent for the sake of the gospel, and make them holy and loving servants and shepherds of the flock for whom you shed your most precious blood.

Lord in your mercy.

Guide and sanctify, we pray, those whom you call to follow you in poverty, chastity, and obedience, that by their prayer and service they may enrich your church, and by their life and worship may glorify your name.

Heavenly Father, grant these our prayers for the sake of Jesus Christ, our only mediator and advocate, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.

Dearly beloved in the Lord, if you intend to come to the Holy Communion of the body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, you must consider how St.

Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians exhorts us all diligently to examine ourselves before we presume to eat of that bread and drink of that cup.

For as the benefit is great, if we receive the holy sacrament with a truly penitent heart and lively faith, spiritually eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his blood, so that we might be made with Christ and be with us.

So also is the danger great, if we receive these gifts unworthily.

For then we become guilty of profane the body and blood of Christ our Savior, and we eat and drink to our own condemnation.

Therefore, judge yourselves lest you be judged by the Lord.

First examine your life by the rule of God's commandments.

Wherever you have offended, either by thought, word, or deed, confess your sins to Almighty God, with the full intention to amend your life.

Be ready to make restitution for all injuries and wrongs you have done to others, and also be ready to forgive others who have offended you.

For otherwise, if you unworthy receive Holy Communion, you will increase your own condemnation.

Therefore, repent of your sins, or else do not come to God's holy table.

If you have come here today with a troubled conscience and you need help and counsel, come to me or to some other priest and confess your sins.

That you may receive godly counsel, direction, and absolution.

To do so will both satisfy your conscience and remove any scruples or doubt.

Above all, each of us should give humble and hearty thanks to God for the redemption of the world by the death and passion of our Savior Jesus Christ.

He humbled himself even to death on a cross for us sinners who lay in darkness and in the shadow of death, that he might make us children of God and exalt us to everlasting life.

Because of his exceedingly great love for us, our Savior Jesus Christ has instituted and ordained these holy mysteries as pledges of his love and for continual remembrance of his death and passion to our great and endless country.

To him, therefore, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, let us give continual thanks, as is our duty and our joy, submitting ourselves entirely to his holy will, and striving to serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.

Amen.

Let us humbly confess our sins to Almighty God.

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker and judge of us all.

We acknowledge and lament our many sins and offenses which we have committed by God's word and deed against your divine majesty, provoking most justly and righteous anger against us.

We are deeply sorry for these our transgressions.

The burden of them is more than we can bear.

Have mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father, for your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ's sake.

Forgive us all that has passed, and grant that we may evermore serve and please you and give us life.

To be honored and glory of your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who in His great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and true faith turn to Him.

Have mercy upon you.

Pardon and deliver you from all your sins.

Confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Hear the word of God to all who truly turn to him.

Come to me all who labor and are heavy latent, and I will give you rest.

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin from anyone's sin.

We have an advocate with the Father.

Jesus Christ the righteous.

He is the propitiation for our sin, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.