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Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin,said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away,and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘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?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’ When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. (John 11:1-45)
John tells some long but powerful stories. This gospel reading is no exception. It is long and it is very powerful. And it can be very personal, too. Jesus here tackles the question of death. Death is a given and death can be very personal. Death comes to individuals but it disrupts families and even communities. Death does not ask permission. Death comes usually unannounced. And it came to a family of two sisters and one brother. The family was well known by Jesus and Jesus counted them as friends. Death came as an illness. The illness caused the sisters, Mary and Martha, known in the Bible for other things as quarreling about who should do what, and the anointing of perfume on Jesus; but this hits them just as vulnerable humans who a sick loved one. They knew they needed to call on Jesus for they knew Jesus love and power, and knew that if He came to see their brother, Lazarus, they would see him well and healed.
It didn't turn out that way. Jesus delayed traveling to Bethany telling His disciples that this would be for God's glory, and that the "Son of God may be glorified through it." The disciples ever without a clue talked about it and resolved to go with Him even if it meant death. Jesus arrives to both sisters asking the same question: "Where were you Jesus? If you have been here our bother would not have died!" Jesus speaks of Lazarus rising again. Martha repeats her Sunday school lessons and says, "Yes, I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day," referring to the common held belief that God would have a "last day" when all would rise up for their judgment. But Jesus is speaking of a resurrection then and there and he tells her, "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." And the key question to all of this passage is the one Jesus asks the sister: "Do you believe this?" Nothing else matters if she did not believe. And the same applies to us; whatever we believe about Jesus is that which gets us through the death of loved ones. A strong faith still will mourn and cry the death of a loved one, but it will grant us that peace that Jesus has this; Jesus has the last word on all things, especially death. Just as God raised Jesus from the dead in fulfillment of a promise, so are Jesus' promises to us true. All who believe in Him shall not die, but receive eternal life in Him. Just as the tomb of Lazarus could not hold him forever, and just as the tomb of Jesus could not hold Him forever, the tomb or grave in which they will place our loved ones and us, will not hold us forever, for we belong to God and God is a God of the living, not the dead.
Dear friend, whatever you may be going through as your loved one is ill or you fear dying, trust in Jesus. There is no one else in whom we can place eternal trust. If you still mourn the loss of a loved one, turn to Jesus and receive the comfort and peace that only He can give. Some days will be harder than others, but look for the good around you. In my case I miss my parents very much. My memory on FaceBook yesterday was that of an old picture of my mother and my grandmother going into church on a Sunday morning. I wept seeing that picture and get a bit teary eyed thinking about them now. But then I see the face of a grandchild and see in them my parents and grandparents, and I turn again to Jesus with gratitude. My loved ones rest in the Lord and my faith says that this life is not the only life there is. A better, eternal life awaits us all.
PRAYER: Loving God speak to the heart of *|FNAME|* and whatever they may be facing or thinking. Grant your comfort to them and strengthen them today. Remind us always of the promises of Jesus, for we will be champions in the end. It is in His precious and powerful name that we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
