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“Just as Jesus has met us at our tombs so we must follow him now to his own.” Meda Stamper
Sometimes I hear people say, “Public speaking is my biggest fear. Most people would rather die than speak in front of a crowd, at least that’s what I read in a study!” As someone who spends a large chunk of time speaking in front of people, and as one who every once in a while finds his foot in his mouth, I tend to say there is not much to fear up here. What I receive in return for any blunders is mostly grace upon grace from those listening. Of course my perspective is limited to my own experience, so I began wondering, “Are people really more afraid of public speaking than death?” What I discovered is there is not much evidence that talking in front of a group is more terrifying than death.
(An old saying goes, “There are lies, there are damn lies, and there are statistics.”) The often misunderstood statistic about public speaking, death and their correlation with fear originates from a 1973 questionnaire circulated by Bruskin Associates. In this study the researchers asked respondents to list their fears. Researchers gave no choices of scary things to select. Instead, those surveyed wrote down whatever came to mind. “Public speaking” was the most common answer. A distant seventh on the list was death, just behind sickness and just ahead of flying. This study with a small sampling size and an open response has made a huge impact on us. Even though it does not say that public speaking is scarier than death. We still believe that speaking in front of groups (heights, insects and bugs, financial problems, deep water, and sickness) are more to be feared than death. Yet what this research shows is that when asked blankly “What do you fear?” we will respond with a commonplace, everyday fear (public speaking or spiders).
Yet the top six responses on this list all have one thing in common. They are preventable or curable. If you are afraid of speaking in public take speech lessons. The King’s Speech chronicles the life of King George VI who suffered from Glossophobia (fear of public speaking). King George overcame this fear to deliver comforting words to England during World War II. If you are fearful of heights, you can avoid them, or get over it by doing a high ropes adventure course. Scared of insects and bugs? Squash them or call Cook’s! Financial Problems? Dave Ramsey would love to help you with that. Deep water? I hear personal flotation devices or swim lessons work pretty well these days. Even sickness has become something that we can almost completely avoid. Yet, there is one thing that is unavoidable on this list… death.
There is a 100% chance everyone in this church will die. I hope that this is not shocking news to you. I love my life. I love my family. I love Kim. I love my friends. I love working at St. John’s Church. I do not want to face my mortal demise, but I know that one day I will meet the cold kiss of Death. Even though I can consciously comprehend this, I still find myself fearful of what lies in death and beyond.
I believe we are all, to some degree, afraid of death, even more than public speaking and spiders. Yet, what happens in Bethany, the place where Jesus’ friends live, (Just like the part of Camp McDowell that is going to be talked about today right after this service at a wonderful lunch!) tells us something very different about this undeniably fearful end that we all must face.
Martha and Mary were all followers of Christ. The sisters trusted in Jesus verbally in today’s gospel lesson. They believed in Resurrection through him. Still there is doubt expressed, “If you had been here, Lazarus would not be dead.” The word here is not just death like the body ceasing to produce breath and life, this dying is all encompassing. Their brother is physically dead, but he is also spiritually dead.
In the total of John’s gospel account we hear of many signs that point to Jesus being the one through whom all things were created, the Son of God, the one coming into the world! We can get so swept up in this that we miss that part of being Incarnate God meant that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. Death, even to God, is something that is tragic and depressing. When Jesus walks to the tomb of his friend Lazarus with the beloved Martha and Mary he cannot deny his humanity. Jesus weeps.
I have loved this verse since I was a child because it shows Jesus’ humanity. He is empathic for us human beings because he is one of us. He may know what is about to happen. He may know that everything will be okay. He may know that God will resurrect the Faithful. Still he weeps.
Then, in a way that only God can, he goes further than just empathizing with Lazarus and the bereaved. Jesus goes beyond our human understanding, he responds to this moment of deep sadness with an overabundant love that will remain a mystery to us on this side of the grave. Jesus goes to the entrance of the tomb, the place of a rotting corpse, the mouth of Death, and in this realm of reeking, dark nothingness he calls life. Jesus calls life from death.
Jesus, the God of the living, does not fear death. He walks into his friend’s tomb to be with him in the realm of that unknown mystery that awaits all of us. For those who believe and those, like Lazarus, who are spiritually dead Jesus is always present. He will go walk with us everywhere we go. He will journey with us when we are well, when we are scared of public speaking, and even into our tombs. He is our partner in life and death. As we approach Holy Week, let us respond to his partnership, his walking with us, and let us go with Jesus to his death and tomb. Amen.
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