38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." ⁴³ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

All Saints’ Day came at a very interesting time this year. Not that I didn’t know that it was just around the corner, but because of what has taken place in the days leading up to this morning. It actually started on Thursday morning, October 18^th, when Shari knocked on the door to the staff meeting and said, "there someone on the line from the Norton’s. Doug died this morning and they would like to talk with you." Obviously I took the call and about 20 minutes later I was holding his wife Harriet’s hand as she talked about how this was what Doug wanted: he wanted to die at home; he wanted it to be peaceful. He got what he wanted. And she was absolutely right, Doug had been declining in terms of the quality of his health for a long time, especially in the last few months and it was his choice to stop the dialysis treatments that, for all intensive purposes kept him alive. He knew that this phase of his life was coming to an end, and he was not willing to prolong the inevitable anymore.

That being said, even as Harriet, Doug’s wife for over 56 years, was expressing these sentiments, a tear welled up in her eye and proceeded to fall down her cheek. She was already missing him. After talking with Harriet’s children and the funeral home the funeral was set for Monday morning.

Last Sunday evening, just prior to the Christopher Williams concert being held, Steve Young mentioned to Beverly Kipp that Alice Bulkeley, a long time member and pillar of faith and work in this community, had died that morning. As soon as she heard that she drove over to meet with Peter, Alice’s husband for over 65 years, to see if there was any way that she might be of help. Peter, being the matter of fact man that he is, was grieving, but, like Harriet in regards to Doug, recognized that his spouse, who had struggled with the ravaging affects of Alzheimer’s for many years, was finally at peace and did not have to struggle any longer. Alice’s funeral was set for Thursday morning.

These two funerals ended up becoming the bookends for a class that I was teaching on funerals as being an opportunity to share the grace and love of God. This class took place on Monday night. It was at that class that seven individuals, six students and myself, shared our memories and reflections of funerals and death in general.

It is with these three experiences still very clear and fresh in my memory that I sat down at my computer on Thursday afternoon and began to listen to what God was saying through our passage this morning. What I ended up hearing, and becoming focused upon, were two things: first, the genuine pain and grief that Jesus exhibits. Twice it mentions how his spirit was greatly disturbed, and once that he wept. That’s the first thing. The second thing that kept leaning upon me were the last three words of the passage: "let him go".

This story, especially because it is so very familiar, is one where we tend to get hung up on the miraculous. After all, we have Jesus raising a man, his friend, from the dead. Lazarus was dead, and I’m sure that his body was already exhibiting all the signs of an individual who had not been embalmed. We read this passage like when we were in Sunday School and the resurrection is what we focus upon.

But in the midst of those two funerals and that course, the resurrection of Lazarus merely became the vehicle for the grief Jesus faced, and the relief that God through Jesus is able to offer.

So first things first: God grieves with us as we face loss. To hear how the Son of God had his spirit ‘greatly disturbed’ to the point that he wept, points, at least for me, to the reality that what we face in these days is not inconsequential to the Creator of all. There are a whole lot of people who live in the mentality that their problems, their pain, doesn’t rank when it comes to God. Even the language we use points to this understanding. How many of you have heard, or even said, "oh I’m fine. I don’t need to bother anybody, because there are other people with real problems out in the world."

In light of the passage we have just heard, this sort of understanding is completely out phase. Do not diminish the pain or grief that you are feeling. Are there others who are facing something more difficult? Yes, but that doesn’t mean that where you are spiritually and emotionally facing isn’t incredible trying and challenging. Jesus wept because his friend had died. Jesus wept and his spirit was disturbed within him because of the pain that he saw his friends facing in light of that death. God feels and understands the hurt and pain that you carry with you, maybe especially in regards to the death of a loved one. God feels that grief and if you have ever had that limiting mentality that your difficulty isn’t all that serious, I am here to say that if God feels your grief you should allow yourself to acknowledge what you are facing because when you do, you are able to begin to feel the support of the Almighty in a way that you could not otherwise. God grieves with you. That’s part one.

The second theme that leaned upon me this week were those last three words, "let him go". I know that in regards to the passage Jesus is specifically referring to the bands of cloth that were wrapped around Lazarus’ body. I know that.

In the same breath, as I visited with those two families this past week, the same is true in regards to their loved ones, and those loved ones were not saved from death. But they were freed.

One of the great truths of our faith is that Jesus came, lived, died, and was raised so that we might have the opportunity to receive the gift of life eternal. That is what our faith teaches us; that is what our faith implores us to know as true.

If this is what we believe, then death is not the ending, but a rather a new beginning where the person who has died has been freed of all the burdens that they have carried with them throughout their lives. Whether those burdens are emotional, physical, spiritual, psychological, whatever they may be, in Christ those who have ended this stage of life are made well; in Christ those who have concluded their days have been freed.

Yes, the Almighty does grieve with us for our loss. But, more importantly, through the actions of the Son of God, we are able to know that those whom we love so very dearly are freed from all of the burdens that they carried. Bandages bound Lazarus. What binds us may not be as visible, but just as Jesus called for his friend to be let go, so also does he call for each of our loved ones to be freed of all that this broken world had placed upon them.

It is in this being let go, that our loved ones are able to take their place in the eternal realm, watching over us, imploring to trust in the One who will ultimately free us of all that we carry.

All Saints’ Day is a moment when we can recognize that we are not alone as we grieve the loss of our loved ones (God grieves with us). In the same breath, All Saints’ Day is a moment when we can recognize that our loss is not for all time, for in God’s time, we will come to realize the freeing grace that those who have gone on before us already know.

As we continue to pray and worship during this All Saints’ Sunday, I hope that you know that you are not alone as you continue to grieve the death of a loved one. God grieves with you. In the same breath, that loved one is not alone for they wait with the Communion of Saints, that cloud of greater witnesses, for each one of us to ultimately understand the freeing love that is found in Jesus Christ. They have been made well, and in God, we too will be able to find that restorative balm.

Gracious Lord, we are so very grateful for how You continue to be with us as we mourn the loss of our loved ones. In the same breath, we praise Your holy name for how You have set our loved ones free of all the burdens of this world that they carried. God, thank You for how You will always be with us and our loved ones. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.