Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, March 9, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Poor Lazarus has had a tough year. He had already died once. Jesus raised him from the dead, which was not something one sees every day. It seems that being brought back from the dead raises its own set of problems. When word spread that Lazarus had been raised, plots to kill him began to emerge. Religious leaders couldn’t have dead people popping back to life. It threw off everything they thought they knew about the laws of the universe,—even of their Lord. Sometimes it’s easier to dismiss that which we cannot understand than to embrace the unknown and the mystery of life.
The religious leaders weren’t having any of it. The only way to ensure that evidence of Lazarus’ resurrection didn’t turn more people toward Jesus was to get rid of the evidence. If Lazarus was dead, no one could prove he’d ever been raised.
Newness is a dangerous business. Progress is inevitable, but progress does not suit everyone. Some prefer to remain with stability. The pendulum tends to swing between progress and stability. In the states we have seen the pendulum swing too far toward progress, and it has severely unsettled the people who value stability. The trend to be more vocal about conservative values is likely the result of the arc of the pendulum getting uncomfortably close to the peak of progress, and it is now being pulled in the other direction.
For those of us who value progress over stability (particularly when progress means for us justice and equity), we need not panic about the state of things. The pendulum is swinging away, but even that will have its limit, and we will one day see it start to swing back.
For me, I will not stop fighting to keep progress—justice and equity—moving forward. I can also love my family and friends for whom this movement is a brief reprieve to give them time to catch their breath. Justice and equity will continue to improve. Compassion and patience can be our burden for now.
How can I honor those whose values are different from mine?