5th Sunday in Lent/March 29, 2020

In this time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

Breathe on me, breath of God….fill me with life anew…

I would like to ask you, right now, to place your hand over your heart…and hold it there for a few moments…and think and pray on these words….Breathe on me, breath of God…fill me with life anew…

*play piano – (!982 Hymnal #508 - Breathe on me, Breath of God)

As you paused, listened, prayed, with your hand over your heart…Did you feel your heart beating? Could you feel it gradually slowing down? Were you able to let go for just a few moments, to rest, to be still, in the presence of God, and pray?

Our heartbeat reminds us, that we are of this world… …Our breathing, in and out with our lungs, and through our noses, also reminds us that we are of this world….but, when we take the time to stop, to rest, to be still, to pray.. we are reminded that we are not just people of the world…we have a spirit and a heart as well as a body that belongs to God.

With every breath that we take, with every heartbeat that we feel…we are reminded that we belong to God, not just for today…but for all our days ahead…in this life…and in the life yet to come…

Our bodies and our spirits belong to God: We need to take care of both.

In this time of the COVID 19 pandemic, I think we can all agree that our attention and diligence in finding ways to take care of both, body and spirit, is essential for our own well-being….but not just for our own health and wellness, but for our neighbors, for those we are called to love and care for, for the well-being of the whole community, and our neighbors beyond Sitka, and Alaska.

It’s not one or the other…body or spirit…it is both.

In the teachings of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus we are reminded of that.

In our gospel reading today, the raising of Jesus’ beloved friend, Lazarus, we are given a glimpse into a story that shows us not only the wide range of emotions that are experienced by those people whose loved ones are dying or have died…but we got a glimpse of Jesus, being fully human, who was deeply immersed in the lives of others. We see that he was not just a heavenly, spiritual being only…Jesus had skin, flesh and blood, and had deep connections and relationships with others. He experienced anger, discouragement, frustration, sadness…profound love for others…deep sorrow in his own heart…we were shown how he reached out with compassion, with empathy…and after a brief back and forth conversation with Martha and Mary, pouring out her heart over the loss of her brother, and seeing how she and the others were weeping and so deeply grieved…Jesus, too, began to weep. Jesus wept.

Weeping, crying, sobbing, tears…this is the most universal human response to what deeply grieves our hearts and unites us to Jesus and one another.

Jesus wept. We weep for our loved ones, and today, we weep for the entire world.

Jesus knows, what grieves our hearts, as human beings. People all around us are suffering, loved ones are dying… changes, and cancellations, and closures, and family separations…loss after loss after loss…sometimes leaves us with only tears…

But knowing Jesus, was fully human, and with him, sharing our sorrows… we are given a gift…a healing balm for our broken hearts and spirits, right in the midst of our thinking that death and sorrow would have the final say…

Jesus offers us hope, when he proclaims this good news:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

And then he asks the question: “Do you believe this?”

In our minds, from the vantage point of our being fully human…it may be hard to make sense of Jesus’ words or believe them. How can we be alive if we die, how can we never die? That’s not possible, we tell ourselves…we all know that all of us will die some day…because of illness, diseases, accidents, from our bodies growing tired and breaking down…

But, here is one reminder of why this is possible… We are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever.

On the day of our baptisms: We are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever.

We belong to God, Jesus reminds us of that.…Our bodies and our spirits belong to God. We need to take time to rest, to be still, to pray, to take care of our hearts and our spirits, as well as our bodies…. So, I ask you, once again… to place your hand over your heart right now…and listen to Jesus’ words of hope being poured out for your weary spirit today:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”

“Do you believe this?”

With our hands over our hearts… yes…we can believe this…

Our bodies and our spirits belong to God: We need to take care of both.

Breathe on us, breath of God….fill us with life anew…

Rev. Julie Platson, Rector

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Instrumental after sermon:

The Hymnal 1982 - #508 Breathe on me, Breath of God