Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Teacher (10/26/06)
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TITLE: Rabboni | Previous Challenge Entry
By Angeline oppenheimer
11/01/06 -
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“The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”
Martha had to haul her sister aside. The crowd gathered to form a bubble of solace for the two sisters, recently bereaved. In their cacophony of sympathy, the noise level moved with the ebb of emotions. Mary was sequestered, sitting in the midst of well-wishers, wishing that Jesus could have been here.
Lazarus wouldn’t have died.
As soon as Mary heard Martha, she ran, bolted out of the door, searching the seas of faces for the familiar face of her Rabboni. The One who tore down her ideas of her worth…women born to be baby-producers, family cooks, dutiful wives and more valued if they’re ignorant of the higher calling of learning. Was it not the general consensus of the learned male that learning was wasted on women. Well, this Rabboni not only taught the law with authority, he taught them to women and children too. Mary learned that with this teacher, she can sit at his feet, if she wanted to.
With tears meandering down her face, her hair out of sorts, spilling out of her dark veil, she met Jesus with a slight reproach, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Lazarus would have lived.
Not now, Lord, it’s too late. Lazarus had been embalmed, laid in the tomb for four whole days. He was as dead as dead can be. Gone, forever.
In her heart, a nagging voice intoned, “Where were you, Lord, when we needed you. Where were you when we sent word for you. You were within walking distance, so why did you hurry? Didn’t you say that all things are possible, but how is this possible now?”
Just you wait and see! The Teacher has an object lesson to show, faith or no faith.
“Take away the stone.” Jesus said.
No way, the people must have thought. The stench, the rot…gross! Martha even had the audacity to voice it on behalf of the people.
The people participated, an afterthought …after all, they’ve seen him heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, turned water into wine, feed thousands with just a boy’s lunch, subdue the devil, and against all conventions, elevated the status of women and children.
The teacher called, “Lazarus, come out!”
The crowd was suspended on a string of silence. Sure, this Teacher had done miracles before but this one…this one called for more power than that. Can Lazarus come forth?. Just like that?
Just like that, Lazarus astounded the crowded when he hopped out with all his grave clothes. He even managed to find his way with his face covered. Like a grand finale in a movie, where everything becomes deliberate, in slow motion to achieve the effect, the mourners turned wild, cheering. . They would have clapped and jumped for joy, if not for the fact that they were all busy trying to help Lazarus peeled the pus-stained grave clothes.
An object lesson right before their eyes. The Teacher is also the Giver of Life. He can raise the dead, no matter how mummified they are. Mary wanted to retract her reproach, her doubt….her brother had come forth..
An object lessons for the M’s sisters…”This sickness will not end in death…it’s for God’s glory…” God may seem impervious at times when He doesn’t answer us in our time-line but God is never late or nothing is ever too late for Him. The Rabboni is always right.
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