Listen

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you.”

Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.”

John 11:17-27

Think

Martha does not keep quiet. She doesn’t pretend that everything is all right. She tells Jesus directly, “If you had been here, this would not have happened.” There is pain in those words, but there is also fierce trust. Martha trusts Jesus enough to tell him the truth, even when that truth hurts and sounds like an accusation.

I want you to know something important: your faith does not have to be perfect to be real. You can believe in God and at the same time be angry, confused, hurt. You can love Jesus and also ask him, “Where were you?” That’s not lack of faith. That is honest faith. And Jesus doesn’t walk away from Martha when she tells him how she feels. He answers her with the most powerful statement in the gospel, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Not “I will be” in some distant future. I am. Right now. In the midst of your pain. In the midst of your questions. Jesus is life when everything seems like death.

Leila Ortiz

Question to Ponder:

Is there something you need to tell God honestly, even if you are afraid to say it out loud?

Pray

Jesus, you who are the resurrection and the life, thank you for not turning away when I come to you with questions and pain. Give me the courage of Martha to be honest with you and the faith to believe that you are greater than any difficulty I face. Amen.

Go

Renewed by the breath of God that lifts what has fallen and gives life to what seemed dead, go out into the world with courage and tenderness. Someone needs to hear today that hope has not ended.