“Lazarus, come out!” Jesus says in today’s gospel (John 11:32-44). He is calling Lazarus

• out of darkness into light;
• out of death into life; and 
• out of the old into the new.

I hope you will hold onto those words. Let them sink into your heart and fall from your lips. “Lazarus, come out!”

They are the thread that runs through this All Saints’ Day and everything we will do and say. They are the thread that runs through our remembrance of the saints. And in a few moments we will see those words come to life in the baptism of Eleanor Jo and the renewal of our own baptismal vows. 

Jesus’ words aren’t limited to Lazarus. They’re for all of us. Today we are all Lazarus. So we’re going to do something a bit different and try something new. Some of you are probably thinking, “Oh no, what’s he up to now?” I’m just as anxious about this as you because I don’t know if it’s going to work. We’ll find out together. 

Let’s start with a few questions.

• What darkness do you need to come out of? Maybe it’s the darkness of doubt, despair, being stuck, confusion, fear, guilt. What new light do you need to step into today? “Lazarus, come out!”
• What are the places of death that you need to come out of? Maybe it’s self-criticism or self-hatred, addiction, anger or resentment, busyness and exhaustion. What new life do you need to step into today? “Lazarus, come out!”
• What has grown old in your life that you need to come out of? Maybe it’s old ways, patterns, behaviors, beliefs, attitudes. What do you need made new in your life today? “Lazarus, come out!”

Pick one thing you need to come out of. You got it, know what it is? Now say to yourself, “Lazarus, come out!” but substitute your name for Lazarus’. Now say it aloud. “____, come out!” One more time. 

So here’s the next part. Did you see what I did? I put my hand on someone’s shoulder, spoke her or his name, and said, “Come out.” Do that for the people around you. If you don’t know someone’s name, ask. Don’t leave anyone out. Make sure everyone is invited to come out. 

Here’s why I asked you to do all that. What if, in what we just did, we experienced All Saints’ Day and what it means to be knit together in one communion and fellowship?

It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done or left undone, what you believe or don’t believe; you are all always being invited to come out of darkness into light, out of death into life, and out of the old into the new. 

Imagine a world in which we stopped calling people out and instead we echoed Jesus’ words and invited one another to “come out.” Every day would be All Saints’ Day and every day we would hear the one seated on the throne saying, “See, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:1-6)

That’s a world I want to live in, don’t you? I want that for you and me, for those we love and for those who are difficult to love. I want that for Eleanor Jo and those who will come after us. I want that for Uvalde and the United States. 

Saints like us have a hand in bringing that world about. Here’s why I say that. 

Most of us, I suspect, think of the saints as the ones who always got it right. We often think they had more faith, stronger prayers, and better behavior than the rest of us. They’re sort of like God’s little overachievers. 

But what if saints are simply the ones who heard the invitation to come out, and they took a first step, and a second, and a third. What if saints are the ones who trust the invitation to come out more than they trust their past, what has happened to them, the voices in their heads, the judgments and opinions of others, or their own self-sufficiency? What if saints are the ones who take the risk of coming out into light, life, and the new?

We tend to think of saints as ones who have gone before us, ones who lived in the past. But what if they are the ones who go before us calling us to come out and beckoning us forward? You’ve had people like that in your life, right? Who has done that for you? Who is doing that for you today? And who are you inviting to come out today?

In just a few moments we will do that for Eleanor Jo. We will call her to come out. Look at her. She’s pretty darn cute. What are your best prayers and hopes for her? 

As cute and precious as she is I’m betting none of you want her to remain a four month old. My guess is that your prayers and hopes are that she would come out into an abundance of life and more life, to come out into her original beauty, to come out into the fullness of her truest and most authentic self, to come out into a life of love, joy meaning, discovery, and gratitude. 

In her baptism we will echo and enact Jesus’ words, “Eleanor Jo, come out.” When her parents and God-parents make vows on her behalf; “Eleanor Jo, come out.” When we offer our prayers for her and promise her our support; “Eleanor Jo, come out.” When water is poured over her head; “Eleanor Jo, come out.” When she is anointed with holy oil; “Eleanor Jo, come out.” When she, the newly baptized, is welcomed; “Eleanor Jo, come out.” 

The call to her is also the call to us. When we renew our baptismal vows; “Lazarus, come out!” When we are sprinkled with holy water; “Lazarus, come out!” 

The miracle in today’s gospel isn’t that Jesus calls Lazarus to come out. That’s happening all the time. The miracle happens when Lazarus takes his first step. That’s true for Eleanor Jo and it’s true for you and me. 

I wonder what her first step will be. I wonder what yours and mine will be. I wonder what miracle we will step into. 

____________________
Image Credit: Raising of Lazarus by Giotto, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons.