NOTES: 1] The raising of Lazarus is a sign of Jesus' own coming death & resurrection, & 'signs his death warrant' (v.46+).
2] "I am the resurrection, I am the life" are word-plays on God's name (EX 3:14). 4] To omit v.46 as the lectionary does is to miss the way this incident precipitates Our Lord's passion.

WARMING UP: Do we have any 'honorary members' in our family, as Jesus is in this family?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything this week?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:
1-7        How readily do we tell people close to us about serious illness, or other family issues? What about serious causes for celebration on the other hand?

8-16      Are there considerations that would cause us to hesitate before travelling to visit family, or extended family in need? Do we read Thomas' comment as: a) devotion to Jesus? b) alarm? c) a throw-away-line?

17-37    Do Mary & Martha's roles in this story confirm or question the way we usually stereotype them? Is stereotyping of people normally helpful? What do we understand Jesus to mean when he says, "I am the resurrection"? And, when he says, "I am life"? Is what he says as important to us as what he does? How would we spell out our own expectations of resurrection? Have we turned expressions like 'living in' / 'believing in' Jesus into pious tags rather than action agendas?

What is it about Jesus that marks him out as Anointed = Christ = Messiah for us? Are there any clues in this story as to what makes for healthy grieving? What does the fact that Jesus weeps for Lazarus tell us? What do we say to those today who ask, "If he could open a blind person's eyes, & raise someone from the dead, why doesn't / didn't he stop X from dying?"

38-44   Are we moved as much as Jesus (vv.35, 38) by what happens to people? Are there times when it's legitimate to pray aloud for the benefit of others in the sense that Jesus does here? How do we judge if our prayers are in the best interests of others / ourselves / God? Or doesn't it matter? Might the outcome be some sort of test in itself?
            Are there any things that wrap us around like 'grave cloths' & shut us in as if in a grave? Things that leave us 'dead' or 'dying'? Are there things we need Jesus to raise us from, unbind us from, if we're to be brought back to life?

45-46   How do we present Jesus most effectively to those who want to see before they believe, & / or just can't get their heads & hearts round Jesus? Do we aim too much at the heads, & not enough at the hearts? Are we praying enough for grace to be open to them?
 
 

NOTES: 1] 'Barnabas' literally means 'son of encouragement'. (I once called my dog 'Barnabas' because he was a great encouragement to me!) 2] In v.31, NRSV's 'comfort of the Holy Spirit' is to be understood as the Spirit being 'called to our side', (the literal meaning of 'Paraclete', the word used here). 3] Saul introduced, in v.32 we now go back to Peter & the 'old guard'.

WARMING UP: Are we naturally more inclined to open ourselves up to people, or keep them at arms length?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything that's happened this week?

EXPLORING ACTS:

23-25    How deeply do feelings have to run to want to hunt down & kill someone as the Jewish leaders want to kill Saul here? Do our own feelings ever run so deeply? What about current tensions in relationships, religious & political, between extremist Christians claiming right on their side, & extremist Muslims claiming right on theirs? Or between conservative churches & liberal ones? How much of any of this is because we can't or won't face up to living in the present, & accepting that faith is something that grows, develops, & maybe changes in the process (as Saul's does)? Or is that too much to bear?

26-31    Do we ever feel 'afraid' in some sense when a person who thinks / believes / acts differently from us joins our group or congregation? Are there even some we feel aren't fellow 'disciples'? How thick & high & deep is it legitimate to build our defences against people like that? Is what goes on in Acts here really evidence that control freaks & control mechanisms are as old as the hills & still alive & well? Do we have enough 'Barnabas'es in our congregation? Are we among them? If not, why not? How readily do we talk to others about our faith journey? 'Boldly'? Do we ever find ourselves having to argue the faith against enemies of any kind? From without or within? How protective - in the best sense - are we of our fellow disciples?
             Are we more likely to become complacent in our discipleship in peace-time? Is there enough 'building up' going on where we live out our discipleship? Do we ever feel there's too much 'fear of the Lord' around, & not enough of the Lord's love? Given N.2 above, are we more inclined to settle for 'comfort' in a modern sense, than feeling confirmed in our discipleship  by recognizing the Spirit's standing by us?

32-43   Do we ever think of ourselves as 'saints' (= set apart for God) the common NT word for disciples? Or are they best left in stained glass windows?
            Seeing Peter & other early Christians are confident in Christ's ability to heal through them, do we need to relearn that confidence, even if in a different way? Does it shock us / surprise us / confront us that the power not only to heal the sick & disabled, but even to raise the dead also passed from Jesus the Raised Christ to his followers? Where does that leave us?