Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him loose.”
John chapter 11, verse 44; from The Message (Msg)
Well, here I am again, thinking about Lazarus–again. Yesterday I was thinking about him; and today–well here I am again. But The Spirit has me thinking about something different this morning. It’s about how Lazarus looked AFTER Jesus called him out from the grave. I know, today when people are buried their loved ones want either their favorite clothes or something brand new. But that’s not the way they did it back then. It seems the Hebrews brought with them more than Egyptian gold. They brought back some of the Egyptian burial practices–you know–the one of wrapping the body.
I still remember watching as a child “The Mummy” staring Boris Karloff–not the pitiful and pathetic remakes of modern cinema. If it came on today, I might just watch it again. That was quite the scene when The Mummy came back to life. Even in black and white, it was something to see. And this is what got me to thinking–about our culture and the church today. Just as there are brain-dead Zombies walking among us–they are a lot of Mummies walking around in grave clothes, too.
In politics, the Democrats are all wrapped up with Trump. The Republicans are all wrapped up with Biden, Harris, and Pelosi. Some are all wrapped with with the past. And others are all wrapped up with entitlement. And the church? Well, I can only speak for the United Methodist Institution (UMI). The Progressives are all wrapped up with disdain for conservatives. And the Conservatives are all wrapped up with disdain and disgust for Progressives and disobedient Bishops. Wrapped up in how much some Conferences are demanding to release the property.
And the more we rant and rail against another–the more tightly those grave clothes become. And without even realizing it, we become “The Mummy”! All of this vociferation only adds more and more wraps of cloth around us–and it keeps us from being the person Jesus died on the cross for to make possible. Though I wish the Progressives of the UMI would listen to me and stop blaming us for the problems–I doubt they will. So, let me speak to my fellow Conservatives.
Please, please, pretty please! Stop ranting about those disobedient Bishops and Conferences! You’re only beating a dead horse and not accomplishing anything. I challenge you to remember that Jesus is calling us out of the grave. But Jesus doesn’t want us wearing those grave clothes. We need to be unwrapped so that we can be turned loose as followers and servants of Jesus. Remember, not only did Jesus call Lazarus FROM the grave. He also commanded the Lazarus be unwrapped and set loose! Unwrap yourself from all this mishmash and step into this Next Great Awakening! Besides, you just don’t look right wrapped tight as a mummy!
Kingdom Pastor 
Brother Randy, Yes! I love your phrase “the United Methodist Institution (UMI)” The reformers distinguished between the visible and invisible Church. The institutional Church is NOT synonymous with the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ or the household of faith. One is organic the other a creation of man. I personally pray that the next Great Awakening will result in not the creation of more divisions within Christ’s Church, but rather the gathering of all true Saints in a way that artificial walls that we construct begin to collapse. Who’s a “true Saint”? The ones who love Jesus and keep His commands. You will know them by their fruits.
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Yes, this is it. “Unwrap yourself from all this mishmash and step into this Next Great Awakening! Besides, you just don’t look right wrapped tight as a mummy!”
Shalom!
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