Stinketh

The Bible I grew up with was the King James Version. I still have it, and I still hold it dear. It’s a little ragged and worn with many notes in it. Today’s Gospel lesson was about Jesus raising Lazarus. Mary told Jesus, almost as a warning, that when he said he wanted the tomb opened, it would stink, or stinketh, as the King James Version says.

What stinketh in your life? What has you hidden away and bound in a tomb because something stinketh in your life? In my life the thing that stinketh is that a family member is not talking to me, and I do not know why. It’s been 15 months. For one family I know it is a dearly loved 19 year old’s suicide that stinketh. For others it is pre-teen children not listening and doing what the parents know is best for them. That stinketh. For others being trapped at home and not being able to come to worship although they are very faithful online. Still it’s not quite the same as being with their community of believers. That stinketh. For some it is a spouse who has recently died. That stinketh.

The great, good news is that even though he stinketh, Jesus called loudly to Lazarus to come out, and he did and was unbound from the strips of cloths that held him. Jesus does the same for us. Jesus calls us out from what stinketh in our lives. Jesus had some people roll the stone away from Lazarus’ tomb and had others unbind him. Those others are important. Jesus could have done it himself, but he had others do it to show us, I believe, that we are needed to help others. We are to look at them with Jesus’ loving eyes, to hug them, to encourage them and to simply be there for them when life stinketh.

To do that we need to all be vulnerable and build relationships with each other. We need to share what stinketh in our lives so others may roll that stone away and unbind us. We need to befriend others and build relationships with them so they feel comfortable sharing with us what stinketh in their lives and then be Jesus to them. Easy? Nope. Commanded by Christ? Yes.

So, what stinketh in your life, and how can I roll that stone away for you? Feel free to email me at hopelmoran@yahoo.com to get that stone rolling.