When Martha spoke to Jesus she told him that she accepted that her brother Lazarus had died and she would not see him again until all the saints rose in glory at the appointed time. In other words, she understood the rules. But Mary admonished Jesus. ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ And as Mary wept, so Jesus began to weep.
And then Jesus broke the rules. He reached into the stench of death, brought their brother out of the tomb and bid them to unbind him.
According to the rules of the new covenant, all those who follow Jesus are saints and will enjoy life with God in the new Jerusalem. But God does not reveal himself to humanity in a rulebook. He reveals himself in the person of Christ. We must, therefore, look to Christ. The Christ who weeps. The Christ who breaks the rules.
In Jesus Christ we see a God of power and a God of love. Power and love come together in God and are revealed to us in Jesus who had the power to bring Lazarus back from the dead and the love to want to do it.
I have recently become a member of the Union Club, and so I have been asking other people if they are a member as well. Some people I ask have said yes they are and I rejoice knowing that one day I will see them there,
And some people say that they are not a member. But that doesn’t matter. For a very reasonable £2 I can sign them in for an evening and it will still be cheaper than going to the Bubble Room.
Even though the Union Club is a club for members, anybody can come along and enjoy the fun. It’s great to be a member and know that you can bring anybody along.
The communion of saints is like that. It’s great to be a member. Many famous saints are members as well as many more ordinary ones. We are celebrating our membership of the communion of saints today and we look forward to welcoming everybody to the new Jerusalem, when God will be with us, every tear will be wiped away and death and mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for these things will have passed away. Amen. Alleluia!