Who the heck is Lazarus?!

If you don't know the story of Lazarus rising from the dead, here is a brief overview:

Lazarus sick.

Sisters ask Jesus for help.

Jesus is late.

Lazarus dies.

Jesus cries.

Jesus prays.

Miracle recovery is understatement of history.

This is an awesome story that I have been taught since I was knee high to a grasshopper and playing with the wooden blocks in Sunday School while spilling orange Raro juice down the front of my best clothes. If you were a church kid you know what I am talking about. In fact I am pretty sure there is a funny song that goes with this story but for the life of me I cannot remember how it goes.

As I grew in wisdom and understanding I realised that this story raises more questions than it answers. Firstly, why the heck did Jesus not take the time to go and see a dying friend? For someone who is all loving that seems a little harsh by my reckoning. Second, if Jesus had the power to raise Lazarus from the dead, why on earth was he crying about his death? If I knew I could bring him back I would be like "chill guys, I got this" but instead he acts like a mourner at a funeral (funnily enough).

Third, and perhaps the most perplexing for me, is that Jesus is NOT the first to be raised to life after dying. Now some of you may be thinking "well, duh" but lemme explain. 

Jesus, the God-man that he is, defeated death by coming back out of the grave. The consequences of sin is death so by defeating death he also defeated sin and the hold that it has on humanity. This means that not only are we forgiven, but we now can live in eternity in bodies that are all shiny and sparkly and never decay (Twilight anyone?). That is the briefest explanation in history of what happened on the cross, and the shallowest too, but what does it mean if there was someone who was risen BEFORE Christ?

Sayings like "firstborn among the dead" that are attributed to Jesus seem to be a little more confusing. I read this now and think "Hold on, but what about our good friend Laz?" Maybe Jesus was the first to take on a renewed body. But then old Lazzy was walking around in a body that had been dead for four days in the heat of the middle east! No amount of Lynx is gonna make woman come running to that smell. 

So how does Lazarus fit in with the whole resurrection thing? Thoughts?

You think I'm crazy?

I have been reading books by a dude called John Swinton recently. He is a professor at Aberdeen University and has written a lot about the need for christian friendship in the lives of those affected by mental problems. As someone who has struggled throughout the majority of my life with some medical mental condition or another I found his work hugely inspiring, thought-provoking and challenging.

Since reading his book "Resurrecting the Person" I have been struck by how many negative ideas about mental problems there are in the world around us. For example, when was the last time you exclaimed that someone was crazy for something they thought/did/said? I do it all the time! But crazy is a profoundly negative word that suggests that someone is not in their right mind. It's the same a using 'gay' as an insult; it just really shouldn't be done.

There is also the idea that somehow people with mental problems need 'fixing'. My sister just the other week told me how, when I was at the worst of my mental problems, she felt as if she had 'lost' me. Swinton points out that people are not a problem to be fixed and shouldn't be hidden by their illness (they are a schizophrenic, she's bipolar etc) but rather should be still treated as a person (that's cindy, she is an amazing artist who also struggles with mental problems).

It's actually a lot harder to do this than I initially thought. It is so easy to look at someone who is a little different in the way they act and react by trying to diagnose them in order to understand them better, rather than getting to know them as they are without a label. And I have had the labels! I know how destructive they are to a person, and yet I fall into this trap as well.

So what do we do about it? Really I don't know. It is one thing to say befriend people and see them for who they are not what is wrong with them, but to put that into reality is a lot harder. The best example there is is that of Jesus. He hung out with all sorts of people that were shunned and misunderstood by society and yet he saw them for who they were and treated them all as individuals. Think of the various women he talked to, seeing them for who they were not what they had done. Or going and having dinner with sinners and demanding nothing but their company. In my head I can see him sitting with the misunderstood person with mental heath problems and just listening to them talk and seeing them for who they are.

I would like to be like that. I would like to take the time to listen and sit and be friends with the people that, let's face it, can be damn difficult to befriend sometimes. I would like to bring life and love. The question now remains, will I?

Why Eschatology is so important

Now I know that as soon as some people read this title they are gonna have their guard up or perhaps not even read this. Eschatology, or our idea of the end times, is a hot subject in Christian circles. Much time is spent arguing whether or not their will be a rapture, whether one is a pre-, post-, or amillenialist. Our ideas of heaven and hell and how God will (or will not) judge people and who will be saved. All of these are, if not overtly, hotly contested issues within churches and some people will go to a church or not depending on the churches view on eschatology.

Others take a different approach. Many people, in reaction to the hype around these issues, believe that it is better to ignore them. If we don't argue about them then it is better, in fact no one really cares or needs to care about the end times; what happens will happen. While I agree with some of this I also think that, while we could definately argue less, I would say that our view on what happens after this life or at the end of the world shapes how we live today. Let me explain.

If you are an atheist and you believe there is nothing after this life expect worms and darkness, then this will affect how you live your life. You will probably need to find a reason for being on this planet for 80 odd years. Usually that involves fun, money, work, family etc. They become your purpose but there is no need to rack up 'brownie points' by living for anyone or anything other than what you want and what makes you happy. You may chose to help others and be a giving person but that would be out of your own desire not from any belief that a person is intrinsicly worth something or compassion and love is something that has a 'higher purpose'. Your belief in nothing after life will dictate how you feel about life and how you respond to others.

On the other hand if you believe that there is something after this life then that will have an impact to. Maybe you don't believe in bodily resurrection. If you don't then your attitude towards people with physically disabilities may be one of deep sorrow and very little hope for those people. They have been 'cursed' in a sense and will never know anything else. If you believe in bodily resurrection then you will have hope for their one day being able to run and walk and be healed. There is a reason to not despair. Your view on bodily resurrection after this life affects how you think and feel and act in this life.

If you believe that everyone will be saved then you may not evangelise as much as someone who believes passionately that there is a selection process that people go through. In fact religions that have a belief in life after death are much more evangelistic than those that don't. In other words our eschatological beliefs shape how we act towards others and how we think about the value of life.

I think that this is something we need to be aware of. We need to discover what we believe about life after death and the end times, and why we believe it, so that we can see how this impacts the way we view others and humanity. Many Christians never look at what they believe will happen and don't see the impact that it has on their actions. Churches are often so strong on eschatology or so anti teaching it that people can get quite an unbalanced view and never see how it impacts today! So think on your eschatology, don't avoid it, argue and debate and think and ponder and challenge yourself and others. Perhaps what you find out about yourself and how you think about others will shock and challenge you.

Eschatology is not your enemy, embrace the tension!