Seven times in John's gospel we hear stories in which the miraculous takes place. But John did not call them miracles - they were signs, they pointed beyond themselves. The purpose of the signs was to point to the light coming into the world. These seven signs of God's power and presence began at a wedding and end with a funeral. How fitting that being joined together in marriage and being torn apart by death are both held within the domain of the light of Christ. Joy and agony, gain beyond imaging and loss beyond words- all of this is held, and made holy, in the life, words and actions of Christ.

The first sign took place at a wedding in Cana - Jesus changed the water into wine. It was a quiet action that saved face for the groom and enabled the successful completion of the wedding. The disciples knew what Jesus had done, and they believed in him, but this first sign went unnoticed by most. Each successive sign, however, became more and more visible as though the power behind the light was being turned up by increments.

The second sign was the healing of a royal official's sick son. The official was not some Galilean peasant, but neither was he an important Jewish leader. He was a Gentile. But still the light was growing in power and the man and his whole household came to believe.

Isaiah had said that when the Son of man came, one of the signs would be that the lame would walk. When Jesus went to Jerusalem at the time of festival he found a man by the healing pool who could not move, "Do you want to be made well?" Jesus asked. Then he said "Pick up your mat and walk." It was the Sabbath, and the streets were full of people, including the man who had been made whole who rushed to tell everyone what had happened. The word and the light were spreading. But the darkness began to gather as well. The religious authorities were growing more and more upset and concerned.

The fourth sign was the feeding of five thousand people from a few loaves and a couple of fish. The fifth sign was walking on water. Jesus moved over the sea like the spirit moving over the chaos waters in the beginning of creation. Christ bridged the water and the dry land as though both were alike to him. The light moved in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.

Not even blindness could stand against the light of the world. The sixth sign was sight given to the man born blind. It was yet another healing on the Sabbath. It was yet another slap in the face to the religious authorities who could not see who it was standing right in front of them. Jesus was confounding. He clearly had more going on than John the Baptizer, and many thought John might be the Messiah. Who was this Jesus that healed the sick, made the lame walk, gave living water to the thirsty, food to hungry and sight to the blind? Who was this Jesus who claimed to do the work of God even as he broke the law given by God by working on the Sabbath? The leaders of the Temple were ready to stone Jesus already. What signs and outrages were left to perform? What would Jesus do - raise the dead next?

Yes. The seventh and final sign, was the raising of Lazarus. This action sealed Jesus' death warrant. Lazarus came out of the tomb still wrapped in burial clothes. Jesus said "unbind him, and let him go." In this act it was as though death leapt across space from Lazarus to Jesus and fixed its blind eyes on Jerusalem and the cross. But Jesus is the light of the world and even the darkness of death will not overshadow him.

There is an eighth event that takes place at the end of Holy Week. A sign to trump all signs. Jesus wrapped himself in a shroud of all the sin that would ever be; he took unto himself the reality of death. And then he rose, unbound, his face uncovered and our future made clean. He changed not water into wine or simply sickness into health, but death into life. This is the power, the sign and the promise that gives believers the strength to come out of the shadows and makes them worthy to stand in the light. If Christ can raise Lazarus, if Jesus himself can be raised from the dead, may we not hope to be raised from the things that corrupt and destroy us? Yes!

He began to use drugs when was sixteen. First it was one joint, offered by a friend. It felt good and they laughed a lot. But after a while nothing else seemed as interesting as getting high. He cared less and less about school and his circle of friends shrank. He was able to do reasonably well because he was bright but didn't do any better than that because he rarely studied. Then he began to experiment with other drugs. By the time he was twenty-five he couldn't imagine going a day without being stoned on something. His social life, his employment and his finances revolved around drugs. He tried to stop several times but always slipped back into using. It was like trying to climb out of a sandpit with one arm tied behind your back. When he became a Christian and began to pray in earnest, something started to shift. He wanted a different life. One afternoon he was kneeling in his living room and praying. A voice spoke softly, "If you want to grow spiritually, you'll have to stop using drugs. I will help you." The living room was full of light and a sense of peace like nothing he had ever known. He wanted to move into the light of Christ. That was the beginning of a clean and sober life that has extended over decades. The transition was not without struggle but the support was always there if he would reach for it. It was not hard for him to believe that Jesus could change water into wine, or multiply loaves and fish. He knew that Jesus could raise the dead because he was living proof of the matter.

She remembered the way in which it had all begun. It was an office party and one drink too many. It wasn't a long kiss, but she was married and the man she was kissing was not her husband. On the sales trip the following month her room was across the hall from the same man who had been at the office party. It was the last night of a four city sales effort. The campaign had been very successful and the night had ended in the bar. Everyone was buying rounds for everyone else. It was midnight by the time she got up and began to weave her way to the elevator. He stepped in with her just as the doors were closing. By the time they got to the right floor it was clear that they would end up in the same room. When she got home her drinking continued, as did her affair. Her husband could see that things were not right but he didn't know the extent of what had happened. He tried to get her to talk, to seek counseling, but nothing seemed to make any difference. The only thing he could think to do was pray. He prayed for her, for him and for their marriage. She drank more and more. He continued to pray. The affair finally ended when she lost her job. She was fired for being drunk at work. The deeper wake up call came when she crashed the car a block from the house. She walked the rest of the way home, losing one shoe in the process. He stood in the doorway bathed in light, waiting for her. She next morning she told the whole story. He sat without speaking. When she was done there were a few minutes of complete silence. Then he said simply "I love you with the love of Christ," and he put his arms around her. Their marriage is still intact. She no longer drinks. In addition to re-establishing herself in business, she is a sought after speaker in a nationwide business lunch group that meets to talk about the power of faith. I have changed some details to protect the person's identity but I know the details of this story because I was at one of those lunches at which she spoke in Towson a few years ago.

Some times we make poor choices that drag us down into the pit. Sometimes bad things happen to good people who have done nothing to deserve it. Faithful Christians experience challenge and even tragedy. Neither our good works nor the strength of our faith will keep us from experiencing death. But seven signs in the Gospel of John make and celebrate the claim that people who believe in Jesus find life. This is life of a different quality, it is life lived in a different light. Lazarus was dead and gone - four days in the tomb - but he was called to new life by the power of God in Christ. Are the challenges of our lives beyond redeeming? No! Let us turn over our lost causes. Let us lift up our failings. Let us offer our brokeness to the one who was broken for us, reaching in hope for wholeness. Let us live lives tuned to the words of Lucille Clifton's "Spring Song"

The green of Jesus
Is breaking the ground
And the sweet
Smell of delicious Jesus
Is opening the house and
The dance of Jesus music
Has hold of the air and
The world is turning
In the body of Jesus and
The future is possible