From Rev’d Caroline – 01285 712467 – carolinesymcox@googlemail.com
Readings for Sunday: Ezekiel 37.1-14; Romans 8.6-11; John 11.1-45
To hear Caroline’s sermon click on the arrow below
The following is taken from the Parish Newsletter for Sunday 22nd March 2026.
This Sunday marks a shift into the final stage of Lent, which the Church calls ‘Passiontide’. During this time we begin to think deeply about the nature of Christ’s suffering and death, and the reality and power of his final victory over sin and darkness. We do not celebrate that victory yet, because there are depths to be plumbed before we emerge into the brightness of that Easter morning, but we remind ourselves that this day is not unexpected. It has been prophesied and pointed towards, and Jesus himself gives a foretaste of that victory in the story we look at today: the raising of Lazarus.
We all know the problematic nature of social media, but every so often it can make me smile. Someone was recounting an exchange with a friend about the appropriateness of sharing emotions. “Real men don’t cry,” said the friend. “Interesting,” came the response. “Jesus wept. Are you arguing the Christological heresy that he wasn’t fully human?”
Theological jokes aside, the point is a real one. In this time of Passiontide we remember that Jesus suffered for, with, and alongside us as the Son of God, both fully human and fully God. We see in the account of the raising of Lazarus the realness of his humanity. He is disturbed by the death of his friend. He is hurt. He has compassion. He weeps, for his friend, and for the grief his death has caused his loved ones. Jesus is emotional, and to be emotional is to be human.
Jesus’ suffering does not come in the form of some kind of detached stoicism that washes off him like water from a duck’s back. It is real. It goes deep – physically, emotionally, spiritually. And he enters this suffering in order to bring life. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones is immensely powerful, and it gives us a cinematic visual of the life that Jesus came to bring and restore. Despair, cynicism and death are the domain of those dry bones. And into them, through the sacrifice and love of Christ, we see new life breathed, new bodies knit from nothing. The reality and depth of his passion offers movement, hope and strength, even to what might seem beyond hope.
This is the reality that we step into, this Passiontide. We allow ourselves to see clearly, once again, the up-close and personal nature of Jesus’ humanity and love, and draw closer to embracing the life he longs to share with us. May we take that step, this week.
Rev’d Caroline
Updated 23rd March 2026