Fate is a funny thing. Destiny is difficult for us to accept. Looking ahead, your life appears to be a blank page—the story is yours to write. But, looking back, we have to acknowledge the vague outline of a surprising plot, one we may not have noticed while it was unfolding. We’re amazed to see the role we played. We see miracles of coincidence—things that “fell into place” that would forever change our life. Plot twists that we could never have authored; some that delight us, and some that scar us forever. In short, we see Fate holding the pen.
I don’t think anyone understands this better than Gloria Dei! How many of you out there have a story that starts with you holding the pen, and ends years later with the clear understanding that something or someone else was guiding your hand. For many, it might be something like this: “Well, I came up to Alaska for a summer’s work, and here I am 26 years later.” Change the numbers around to fit your life, but that is one of the most common stories I’ve heard out in the Fireside Room.
Alaska transplants are the perfect examples of the balance between “our story” and “God’s story.” We all came up here with some plan, some story in mind. We pursued an opportunity or an adventure or maybe even a special someone. We thought we had everything under control, and then we learned that life lesson about “best laid plans.”
Maybe it’s helpful to think of this in terms of titles. So often, we think we know the title of our story. What was the title when you first came to Alaska? Maybe it was “Earn Some Money for a Year.” Maybe it was “A Great Opportunity in the Last Frontier.” Or—let’s be honest—for some of us, it could have been, “Well, I Got Nothing Better to do Right Now.”
And looking back, what was the actual title? what story were you actually in? You thought it was “Have a Quick Adventure,” and you were actually living out a story called “Making a Home in Alaska.” Don’t we have experiences like this?
Our Gospel lesson this morning is just dripping with ink from Fate’s pen. Jesus and his disciples are gathered just before Passover, in the presence of Lazarus, in a house filled with the scent of Myrrh. (Our Bibles say “perfume,” but in the Greek, it is actually the familiar word Myrrh. Does anyone remember another place Myrrh is famously mentioned?)
It’s so easy just to breeze right through this passage. There are no exclamation points in the text, nothing to give us a clue that we should slow down and take note. But, are you seeing the symbolism and foreshadowing here? This room is chock-full of clues. Do you think the disciples looked around the room during dinner and grasped the irony of the scene?
They are gathered just before Passover (the day when God’s Angel killed the eldest sons of Egypt), dining with Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha who died), in a house filled with the scent of myrrh (an oil used for embalming the dead).
The author of John is hanging a big neon arrow in this story pointing directly toward Good Friday, the death of God’s only Son. In fact, John is reminding us that Jesus’ entire life from his birth onward has been a fated journey to the Cross. Jesus’ story has always been about the death he will ultimately die.
A few short verses after this morning’s selected reading, John tells us, “At first his disciples did not understand all this.” What’s John telling us? He’s telling us that the disciples are just like us. They don’t see what story they’re in until after it’s over! And, how could they? How could anyone know what their story is about until it’s over?
Let’s take Pastor Scott, for example. Don’t worry, as an intern with no job security, I checked with him first. Pastor Scott and Carolyn came up to Alaska in the early 80’s expecting to be here for a year-long internship. And, well, that’s just what they got. They spent a valuable year up here before returning to Minnesota in 1983. End of story. Or was it?
The Fullers came back in the year 2000 and have been a part of this community ever since. How could the Fullers have known that what they thought was a conclusion was just a 17-year intermission? All these years later, it turns out the Holy Spirit was writing something awfully different than a mere one-year internship. And, the story still isn’t over.
I just happened to bring my Title for this year along. Should we take a look? Actually this is the title Mollie and I wrote before we even got up here. “Have an Adventure on Internship.” Now we’re just past half-way, and this title could already be changed to simply “A Good Internship.” Because you people have no idea how good this internship has been for us.
But, this story ain’t over! You guys will almost certainly have different titles in mind if I fall through this stained glass window sometime in the next few months. Maybe something like, “Idiot Intern Ruins Rare Treasure.”
We can’t know what story we’re in, until we know how it ends!
So, let’s check back in with our disciple friends in John 12: They’ve been marching along with this Jesus character who heals the sick, inspires huge crowds, and stands up to corrupt rulers. As far as they can see, Jesus must be the long-expected Grand Champion—someone who will ride into Jerusalem on a white stallion, destroy all evil, and place the loyal disciples in thrones of power. They have to think that the title of this story is “Invincible Jesus.”
That’s why they struggle so passionately against God’s actual story, “Jesus Gets Crucified.” God’s story doesn’t have Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a white stallion; it’s a humble donkey. God’s story doesn’t have Jesus leading the people to armed victory; it has the people calling for Jesus to be crucified. God’s story doesn’t have the disciples holding seats of power; it has them running for their lives to bring God’s Word to the World. John told us earlier that the disciples “at first didn’t understand.” Didn’t understand the Great Story God was writing in their lives. John goes on to say, “Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize…” Only at the story’s end, do they begin to realize what miracle had been unfolding around them.
So, what End is foreshadowed in that room from today’s lesson? We already noted all the death language. Passover, Lazarus, and Myrrh. Death, Death, Death…end of story. Or is it? We—and the disciples—are sometimes not very good at recognizing when the story’s over.
Passover—about the death of the Son AND the liberation of God’s chosen people from cruel masters! Lazarus—the man who died AND was raised! Myrrh—an ointment for corpses AND a gift brought to Christ at His birth!
Our stories don’t always end when we think they do! Let the Fuller’s life story make that clear! The many symbols from today’s lesson don’t point out the cross as the last chapter; they lead us through the cross and on to the empty tomb. On to new life in Christ. On to a greater meaning than anything we can piece together with our own pens.
We’ve been talking about titles. And, we’re not the only ones. How many of you have ever heard the question: “What will they put on your tombstone?” That’s just an attempt to figure out the right title when we’ve finally found the real end to the story.
But, today’s lesson—the entire lesson of Scripture—is that even our graves won’t signal the end of our story. Because “our story” isn’t our story; it’s God’s story, and Christ has taken the story beyond any endings.
God, we will continue to imagine ourselves as solo authors. Though any story we can write must and will come to an end, we thank you that you have brought us into your story through the Saving action of Christ. Amen
Intern Mark Dixon