This is a true church story – it is about a man who regularly came to Mass. The only problem was…when he walked in, the entire congregation suddenly became very aware of the gift of smell. They called him “Stinky George.” George was homeless. He slept outside or in shelters. He didn’t have a place to shower. His clothes were old and dirty. And when he came into church -people noticed the smell.
One Sunday he sat near a father and his little boy. The boy whispered loudly. “Dad – something stinks!” The father quietly slid down the pew a little bit. And then another family slid down the pew. And before long there was a whole section of empty space around George. Nobody was cruel to George. But nobody sat next to him. Nobody invited him to coffee. Nobody asked his story.
Later the pastor said something very honest. He said: “What really bothered us was not just George’s smell. What bothered us was that George reminded us of things we do not want to see – poverty, loneliness, addiction, brokenness – the parts of life that smell like death.
Today’s Gospel tells the story of Lazarus. When Jesus arrives at the tomb, Martha warns him: “Lord, there will be a stench. He has been dead four days.” In other words, “Jesus, this situation smells. It is too late. There is nothing that can be done.”
But Jesus does not walk away from the smell of death. Instead, he says, “Take away the stone.” And then he shouts, “Lazarus, come out!”
And when Lazarus emerges wrapped in burial cloths, Jesus says something especially important. “Untie him and let him go free.” Did you notice something? Jesus raises Lazurus. But the community must untie him. Someone must step forward. Someone must touch the grave clothes. Someone must get close.
That is where the story of Stinky George becomes the Gospel for us. The pastor later wondered: “What would have happened if someone had really sat with George?” What if someone had said: “George, want to get coffee?” “George, how can I help?” “George, tell me your story.” Maybe Geroge would have been untied. But the pastor realized something else. Maybe the people in the church would have changed too. Because sometimes the grave clothes that bind us are fear, or judgement or our comfort or the instinct to keep our distance. Jesus still stands before the tombs of our world: the tomb of addiction, the tomb of loneliness, the tomb of poverty, the tomb of broken families. And he still says: Take away the stone. Untie him – let her go.
The truth is every church has a Stinky George: it might be someone who smells. It might be someone who drinks too much. It might be someone who talks too loudly. It might be someone whose life is a mess. And Jesus says, “Untie him – untie her – let them go free.” Because when we help untie someone else – something amazing happens. We discover that God is untying us too. And the smell of death slowly gives way to the beautiful fragrance of life.
So, the real question of the Gospel today is not whether Jesus can raise the dead. The real question is this: When Lazarus – or Stinky George – walks out of the tomb, will we step forward to help untie him – or will we slide down the pew?