Jesus stayed two days longer in the place where he was after he
heard Lazarus was ill and the sisters know it. “If you had been here my brother
would not have died” is just a polite way of saying “why didn’t you come when
we called?” Mary, the one Jesus commended for choosing the better part, chooses
to stay in the house. Martha, the one Jesus said was worried and upset about
many things, comes out to see Jesus with one thing in mind. “I know even now
God will give you whatever you ask.” It is a bold statement of faith even if
she cannot imagine how her dead brother could be brought back to life until the
“roll is called up yonder.” But that might be beyond anyone’s ability to
comprehend even if you believe your friend really is the Messiah. When Jesus
calls for Mary it is Martha who goes to get her, no doubt with a few choice
words about proper etiquette. Mary runs, but not for joy, and certainly not
with the faith of her sister. She won’t look at Jesus but sobbing vents her
anger and her grief and her pain at the feet of her friend who neglected her in
the time of her greatest need. “If you had been here my brother would not have
died.” And Jesus knowing what she says is true, weeps. Known for being the
shortest verse in the Bible it may be the most powerful image of the God come
down and especially because it is found in John’s Gospel where Jesus is always
in control, even on the cross. But here the “in the beginning was the Word” is
faced with a friend’s frustration and anger and grief and pain because the
“Word made flesh” delaying two days allowed her brother to die. And even though
there is a happy ending to an otherwise sad tale I think the image of John’s
Jesus weeping is where the healing happens for the losses we experience. It
means our sorrow, our suffering, our loss and yes, even our anger does not fall
on deaf ears for when Jesus wept God was crying.
No comments:
Post a Comment