Daily Devotional • September 12
A Reading from John 11:17-29
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
28 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.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him.
Meditation
Everyone knows that death can never be overcome. There are several times when people sought from Jesus healing for someone they loved who was very sick, but slumped with despair when they were told that the person had died. In each case Jesus tells them, even then, not to give up.
That situation is movingly addressed in today’s lesson. Jesus’ delay in responding to the message Martha and Mary had sent him troubles them. The timing was such that had he come immediately, Lazarus would still have been dead. The brother had been in the tomb four days, but Jesus delayed only two days. The delay was surely deliberate — to show unquestioningly Jesus’ authority even over death.
Mary and Martha’s traditional roles in Luke are here reversed. It is Martha who is with Jesus while Mary is absent, surely out of complicated anger. The sisters’ anger is palpable, though not specifically described. Mary comes when called; but when she does, she confronts Jesus with the same words that Martha had used. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
The implication is clear: “You let my brother die.” Martha’s faith is strong but unfocused: “Even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” In addressing Martha’s grief and questioning, Jesus does not begin by saying, “I will raise him up”; he probes her belief. She answers with a creedal statement — true but not sufficient.
On that foundation, he continues: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are…” Only then does he proceed: “Show me where…” There is a subtle but startling, wild perception that things are not over yet.
David Baumann is a published writer of nonfiction, science fiction, and short stories. In his ministry as an Episcopal priest, he served congregations in Illinois and California.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Northern Indiana – The Episcopal Church
All Saints’, Beverly Hills, California