Faith Amidst Grief

“She said to him,  

‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.’”

John 11:27

Memorial of St. Martha

When Jesus finally got to the village where Martha, Mary, and Lazarus lived, there was a cloud of grief and mourning for Lazarus had died just a few days earlier. Martha was probably feeling a multitude of emotions – relief and joy in seeing Jesus, disappointment that Jesus did not come sooner, sadness over the lost of her brother. Despite her sorrow, she went out to greet Jesus and she said to Him that if He had been here sooner, Lazarus would not have died but also that she knows whatever He asks God He will grant unto Him. Jesus then assured her that Lazarus will rise again. Martha understood and believed that her brother indeed will rise again on the Last Day. Little did she know what was going to happen.

Instead of telling Jesus off and giving Him grief about what kind of friend He was for not being there sooner, Martha affirmed her faith and belief in Jesus. I do not think Martha expected Jesus to bring her dead brother back from the dead, but she knew that he would rise again, but on the last day. Jesus was for Martha not a magician but her friend and her Savior. Martha believed in Jesus’s judgment and believed that all will work out for the good, and that her dead brother, who died a mortal man’s death will rise into eternal life. In her grief, she allowed her faith to move her to focus on what was most real, what was from above, and what was eternal. Her faith enabled her to see as God sees and think and God thinks. In her grief, Martha came to see that it was only through Christ would there be peace and life. May we ask the Father to deepen our faith so that we may seek what is above and what is most important.


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