Sanhedrin – The Noontimes

John 11: Thoughts on the Raising of Lazarus

John 11: Thoughts on the Raising of Lazarus

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

When we come across the story of the raising of Lazarus we may be tempted to skim through it or even skip over it altogether; we are thinking that we have heard this one before and yes, we have. But if we set aside a quiet time and a quiet place to read this account of an event that took place two millennia ago, and when we pause to mediate on the meaning of the words beyond the story, we feel Christ’s presence through the questions that spring up from the pages. And we are given new gifts of wisdom. Here is one such gift I received this afternoon. You may want to offer up your own.

Verse 16: So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “let us also go to die with him.” Thomas knows that if Jesus and his followers return to Judea – they have heard the news of Lazarus’ death – they may very likely be stoned, we understand, because earlier the disciples caution Jesus saying: “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” Thomas is usually remembered in John 20 as the doubter, the one who refuses to believe that Jesus has returned from the dead until he has seen the crucifixion nail marks and has put his own hand in the wound in Jesus’ side. Perhaps John uses Thomas in this way to give us the opportunity to examine our own belief in the risen Christ. Do we demand signs or do we willingly follow, even when danger is imminent? Jesus has told us about the many ways in which he appears to us. Do we willingly follow with enthusiasm as Thomas hopes to do? Maybe we willingly respond as Thomas does when we realize that we have doubted Christ himself . . . My Lord and my God! Today we have the opportunity to think about our readiness to respond as Thomas does when we encounter Christ in any form. We are perhaps uncomfortable approaching the poor, the stranger, the needy and the imprisoned yet Jesus lives in them as he lives in us. He is not only present in those who look like us and behave as we do, but in diverse others as well. This gives us something to think about today. And it is an opportunity to draw nearer to Jesus.

There are other small places that call us to examine our way of perceiving Christ in others. We may want to explore the verses that describe Jesus’ encounter with Martha and Mary. Why does Martha tell Mary secretly that Jesus has arrived? Why does the writer describe Jesus as perturbed? What causes Jesus to cry? And what do we discover about ourselves when we read verse 48? When we arrive at the close of Chapter 11 we are told how dangerous it was to even know Jesus’ location; and we understand that members of the Sanhedrin clearly prefer land and nation over following and coming to know one who might be the Messiah. How do we react to these chilling words?

And so we read, we pause, we reflect . . . and then we pray: Good and faithful brother, we read this account of how you comforted your friends and called Lazarus back to this life. We also have read about your sadness and unease. We have understood the danger you were in, and that you know we are often in danger when we follow you. Yet we know that your words and your actions bring about the peace that all of us yearn to hold. We know that you are our wise teacher and loving shepherd.

We know that where you go there will be questions, yet we follow because we want answers.

We know that that where you go the old order will be questioned, yet we follow because with you we are unafraid.

We know that where you go there will be peace, and so we follow for this is also how we wish to live.

Guide us always, protect us always, be with us always for we are trying to follow you. Amen.

Image from: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017885479/

July 1, 2025

Martha, Mary, meditating on scripture, Sanhedrin, Thomas

Acts 4:5-12: Filled With the Holy Spirit

Acts 4:5-12: Filled With the Holy Spirit

Thursday, May 2, 2024

*Fra Angelico: Peter Before the Sanhedrin*

Peter and John heal a crippled beggar (Acts 3) and when the crowd erupts with wonder, they explain that the miracle takes place only through them, and not because of them. It is the Messiah, crucified earlier, who brings about this marvelous cure. (See yesterday’s Noontime.) The commotion brings attention from the authorities who arrest the pair. Peter and John find themselves in prison, and finally they stand before the Sanhedrin. The authorities ask, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, let it be known that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.

There is no doubt that these words shock his listeners, but Peter further explains, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

If we read more of this story, we find that this series of events brings more followers to this small community. If we reflect on this story, we discover the marvel of God’s love and the power of Christ’s authority. If we pray with this story, we discover that we too, are filled with the healing presence of the Holy Spirit. What miracles might we bring to others when we allow ourselves to be conduits of God’s love?

Tomorrow, Peter’s fourth sermon following Pentecost.

When we use the scripture link and drop-down menus to explore this sermon, we allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Image from: https://onegodworship.com/peters-christology-before-the-sanhedrin/

May 2, 2024

miracles, Peter and John, Sanhedrin

John 11: The Raising of Lazarus and the Retreat to Ephraim

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

John 11

The Raising of Lazarus and the Retreat to Ephraim

We hear and read this story so many times. It holds the brief verse, “Jesus wept”. It tells a story which holds so much hope. It is followed by the simple fact that “Many . . . believed in him. But some of them went away to tell the Pharisees, and told them the things that Jesus had done . . . So from that day forth their plan was to put him to death”.

We realize that because of this, “Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but withdrew to the district near the desert, to a town called Ephraim; and there he stayed with his disciples. . .”

We see that the chapter closes with these words, “the Pharisees had given orders that, if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, so that they might seize him”.

I am not thinking about the story in this chapter that we know so well, how Jesus calls Lazarus to stand erect and to come forth, which he does. No, I am thinking about the aftermath of the story, about how the structure plotted against this man who came to release people from bondage and to heal. When we peek into the next chapter we will see that the Sanhedrin also plans to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus. They must project their own need to plot and conspire upon these two friends. I want to focus on the hope-filled story of Lazarus; but I am thinking about how from time to time in my own life, I retreat with Jesus to Ephraim.

I finally came upon a reference to this small town in the HARPER COLLINS NRSV STUDY BIBLE. In the footnote we are told that its location is uncertain, and we are referred to 2 Samuel 13:23 and 1 Maccabees 11:34. It may be located near Bethel; it may be the town also known as Aphairema. Perhaps it is appropriate that we have no clear name and no clear latitude and longitude for this place; because within each of us there is an Ephraim. Each of us has a quiet place to which we retreat when we have tried to do something good or for which we know we will suffer. (Meeks)

Perhaps it is the instinct for survival in human beings that causes so much anger and jealousy. Perhaps it is an inborn desire to lay out territory or to strive for fame and wealth. The temple leaders did not like the fact that Jesus was drawing off revenue when believing Jews turned to him for what the priests could not provide. We will never truly know what was in the hearts of the men who connived against Jesus rather than offer themselves to him as open, honest and sincere men of God. We will never know if it was pride, fear, envy, or sloth, but what we do know is that Jesus went with his disciples to Ephraim to recover, to re-group, to regain before he began his pilgrimage into Jerusalem for the last Passover.

So let us come together when we mourn, let us gather to pray when we celebrate, let us set off to Ephraim to find respite with Jesus and the other disciples. Let us retreat for a while to gather resources before stepping again on the path of the pilgrims who journey to Jerusalem to atone, to repair and to give thanks and celebrate. Let us find refuge in Ephraim where we know there is safety in the Lord.

Meeks, Wayne A., Gen. Ed. HARPERCOLLINS STUDY BIBLE (NRSV). New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1989. Print.

Adapted from a reflection written on October 13, 2007.

To read about The Tribe of Ephraim, click on the image above or go to: http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/tribe-of-ephraim.html

To read about Ephraim in scripture, go to: http://topicalbible.org/e/ephraim’s.htm

June 30, 2020

1 Maccabees 11:34, 2 Samuel 13:23, Lazarus, retreat, Sanhedrin

Acts 6: Into the Maelstrom

Acts 6: Into the Maelstrom

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

This reading may strike home for many of us today. Our work is going well. So well, in fact, that it is clear that more workers are needed. The call goes out, workers are vetted and taken in . . . and then the grumbling begins. Camps and sides form quickly. The Old Guard feels the need to protect certain traditions and practices against the ideas of the Newcomers. The newest workers push against the reactions of the old timers. Protocols and policies change. There is discontent. We divide ourselves into factions or sects. We either protect what we know or we tear down what we believe to be stale. The story we read today teaches us how to behave when we enter the maelstrom.

Footnotes help us to understand the different factions. “The Hellenists were not necessarily Jews from the diaspora, but were more probably Palestinian Jews who spoke only Greek. The Hebrews were Palestinian Jews who spoke Hebrew or Aramaic and who may also have spoken Greek. Both groups belong to the Jerusalem Christian community. The conflict between them leads to a restructuring of the community that will better serve the community’s needs. The real purpose of the whole episode, however, is to introduce Stephen as a prominent figure in the community whose long speech and martyrdom will be recounted in ch. 7”. (Senior 193)

We notice almost immediately that jealousy brews against Stephen and commentary further helps us to understand the further implications of the conflict we hear today. “The charges that Stephen depreciated the importance of the temple and the Mosaic law and elevated Jesus to a stature above Moses (6, 13-14) were in fact true. Before the Sanhedrin, no defense against them was possible. With Stephen, who thus perceived the fuller implications of the teachings of Jesus, the differences between Judaism and Christianity began to appear. Luke’s account of Stephen’s martyrdom and its aftermath shows how the major impetus behind the Christian movement passed from Jerusalem, where the temple and law prevailed, to Antioch in Syria, where these influences were less pressing”. (Senior 193)

Verse 10 tells us all: They could not withstand the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke.

I am thinking of an article I read just last night of a similar conflict in the National Catholic reporter. Written by Tom Roberts and entitled, “Seismic shifts reshape US Catholicism,” it investigates the inevitability of change that happens when humans form a community. Liberals find that the change taking place is happening too slowly. Conservatives believe that the change they see happening must be halted. Moderates find themselves squeezed between these two inexorable forces. The conflict will ebb and flow with the natural social, political and fiscal movements and everyone begins to gather their own opinions in defense of a stance. Tensions ratchet upward. Wisdom and the Spirit – rather than clearing the air – are shoved into oblivion and the inevitable explosion takes place. As Christians, rather than succumb to the temptation to splinter into groups we must find a way to come together.

When we read this story in Acts we have the opportunity to look at ourselves to see how we fit into God’s plan for the world today. When we read the story in Acts we have the chance to examine how we witness to Jesus today. When we read the story in Acts we are called to examine how we allow Wisdom and the Spirit to influence our daily interactions with others.

When we are called to speak as Stephen speaks we must also be prepared to disappear into the maelstrom that will follow.

When we hear another speak as Stephen speaks we must be prepared to be open to the voice of Wisdom and the power of the Spirit.

When we enter the place where a conflict is raging we are called to witness as Christians must . . . with grace, and mercy, and wisdom . . . and always in the Spirit of God.

A re-post from January 22, 2012.

Image from: http://frbenedict.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.193. Print.

January 22, 2019

aramaic, conflict, hellenists, Mosaic Law, National Catholic Reporter, Sanhedrin, Spirit, Stephen, Temple, US Catholicism, wisdom, witnessing

Tag: Sanhedrin

John 11: Thoughts on the Raising of Lazarus

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Acts 4:5-12: Filled With the Holy Spirit

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John 11: The Raising of Lazarus and the Retreat to Ephraim

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Acts 6: Into the Maelstrom

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