Gospel JN 11:19-27
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
Reflection:
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
The sisters, Mary and Martha, are a study between the Contemplative and the Active.
Upon the death of her brother, Lazarus, Mary sits. Perhaps she is contemplating the words of wisdom she has heard Jesus speak.
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
Martha, in faith, is moved to act. She runs to plead with Jesus to restore the life of her brother.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
(James 1:22)
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
I have often thought of Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, as the sister with the strongest faith. Yet, even though Martha does not understand why Jesus didn’t arrive in time to save her brother, her faith in Jesus remains steadfast.
If I stood at the casket of the one I loved the most in life, could I ask Jesus with such confidence to raise my loved one back to life?
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
This, of course, is the central question of our faith.
Do we accept in the core of our being that the key to everlasting life is belief in Jesus Christ?
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
When asked if she “believes,” Martha without hesitation, replies, “Yes. Lord.”
While Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, (Luke 10:39) Martha too had been listening.
For even as Jesus stood in front of her, Martha said, “You are the one
who is coming into the world.”
Is my faith still fresh like Martha’s? Do I still look for Him to come down in the clouds?
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. Saint Augustine