Reflection on the Gospel of Thursday In The Seventeenth Week In Ordinary Time
John 11:19-27
Martha, Lazarus and Mary had opened their home and hearts to Jesus. He was a frequent visitor to their homes. What must have started as a casual acquaintance, developed into firm ties of friendship, between them. And like the apostles, their first hand experience of Jesus attained for them a firm conviction about his role as the Messiah and also the conviction to the truth that his words carried. And Jesus wept at the loss of Lazarus because though divine, he like us is also human. Martha rushed to meet Jesus, knowing his sorrow was as great as hers, if not more. She expresses her own thoughts to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She called him Lord, and made known her acceptance that he has the power to save people from death. Now she needed to go to the next level of faith…, so Jesus tells her, “Your brother will rise again. I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” Jesus is saying a great many things in these two lines.
- Your brother will be brought back to life
- He Jesus is the source of all life
- Since he Lazarus believed in Jesus as Lord and Messiah,
- he will now become sign for others
- that they may also trust and believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
- Lazarus was dead in his sins,
- but his faith and belief in Jesus shall be awarded with life
- And this shall be true for everyone who believes in Jesus, and centres his/her life around Jesus
At some point in our life, we too have experienced untimely death of our dear ones and the people around have failed to understand the reason’s of this untimely death. Lazarus’ death was also untimely. This encounter of Martha with Jesus shows us a refreshing approach to a heart breaking situation. It teaches us hope in the hope of all humanity – Jesus the Christ – the Author of Life. In him there is no decay nor death but the well spring of life. Jesus is the Resurrection and the life… do you believe this?
Come Holy Spirit help us to stand firm and exercise the grace of faith and hope.
