Dear Friends,
This Sunday, the last before Palm Sunday, we come to the final reading of three from the Gospel of John that make up the heart of the Lenten readings this year—the woman at the well, the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus. This Sunday we see Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead and, even more important and before the miracle, Jesus meets with his friends Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s sisters. In those meetings, Jesus is confronted by their grief and, even reproach. Both say to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
In his conversation with Martha, Jesus reveals himself: “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?” In a true act of faith, Martha responds, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
Like Peter, Martha confesses faith in Jesus even before he has done what she wants, even before the miracle occurs. This in itself is miraculous.
Still, the miraculous does not erase grief. Jesus knows what he has come to do and, yet, when he faces the tomb, faces death itself, we are told starkly: “Jesus wept” (the NRSV version offers a clunkier translation: “Jesus began to weep”).
This is a reminder that even if we know, trust, that death is not the end, that sin and death have been defeated, grief is not unfaithful. Sorrow and mourning are the right response to death. Hope in the future does not mean we must be stoic and unfeeling or unbothered in the face of present sorrows. And it is a reminder that we follow the One who is with us in grief, who knows all our human concerns and worries and sorrows. Our God is not remote, unconcerned with us, but loving and present, compassionate and merciful.
Come, meet that One again this Sunday.
And, then, be open to say, in joy, in sorrow, “Yes, Lord, I believe.”
See you in church!
Faithfully, Suzanne+
P. S. We are offering childcare in Holy Week. If you would like to make use of this, please fill out this form and read more below in the newsletter.