‘Jesus wept.’ From today’s Gospel, John 11:1-45.
“The Lord who weeps is also the Lord who resurrects.” Debi Thomas, columnist.
There is so much that could be said about today’s Gospel, not least that Jesus’ words in verse 25 are traditionally used at funeral services as a message of hope and trust. “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” That profound question is one each of us must answer for ourselves as it challenges us across the centuries now as well as Martha and Mary then.
Also striking is the faith of the two sisters as Martha says that she knows that God will give Jesus whatever he asks without telling him what it is that she wants him to do. It’s also Martha who, in the midst of the loss of her brother, makes the powerful declaration “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God…”paralleling the confessions of Peter and Thomas. That’s followed by Mary, who weeps for Lazarus as she falls at Jesus’ feet. In prostrating herself as she comes to Jesus in this way, her trust and grief draws an astonishing response from Jesus in the shortest verse in the whole Bible: ‘Jesus wept.’ These remarkable sisters and the death of their brother cause Jesus not only to experience the pain of humanity but also to share in it. This is not some remote deity, but one who weeps with us, who experiences loss and grief yet brings also the means of hope within that devastation.
However, Jesus didn’t come to Bethany until two days after hearing that Lazarus was ill, by which time he had died. John suggests that this was so that God could be glorified through what was to happen, and Martha and Mary could have been deeply challenged by Jesus’ delay as they both tell him, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” In waiting so long for him to arrive, their faith may have been tested and yet what happens in the raising of Lazarus after his death is probably far more than they could have imagined. As we hear this story anew, it may be that perhaps we have also had a delay with prayers that have not been quickly answered and perhaps our faith or hopes have been dashed accordingly. If so, we can take heart from Mary, Martha and Lazarus: perhaps the delay may mean God has something far more than we can anticipate in store when the time is right. God answers prayer – just not always in the way or time we expect, as Martha and Mary discovered.
However, it’s Lazarus who experiences the greatest change, having been dead for four days and there being a stench in the tomb. Jesus issues two imperatives: “Take away the stone” and “Lazarus, come out!” That is then followed by a third: “Unbind him and let him go.” Jesus could perhaps have done this himself but, in telling those around him to do so, Martha, Mary and those present participate in enabling the miracle to happen as Lazarus is restored to life. Jesus could work alone, but chooses to involve them – and us, too, in the mission that still continues today.
Perhaps we know someone who has had painful experiences of loss and grief that deaden their response to Jesus’ call in their lives? Perhaps we ourselves have known this, too, or wept at the state of the world today with so much warfare and suffering evident in so many ways? Through our prayers, our words and our actions, we too can be involved with others in our communities in unbinding those caught up in so many deadening worries, issues and habits, discovering as we do that this is life giving not only for them but for us, too.
In the words of Debi Thomas, “We serve a God who calls us to life. Our journey is not to the grave but through it. The Lord who weeps is also the Lord who resurrects. So we mourn in hope.”
Amidst the weeping and mourning, where might the hope be?
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Priest Guardian.