Lent 5
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
-- John 11:5-6
Lazarus was ill. Jesus loved the entire family. When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he delayed going to him. What was going on? If, as John believed, Jesus was the Word of God incarnate, then are we not dealing with the seeming paradox of God's love for us? If God loves us, why is God not present to us when we are suffering? Jesus said of this illness, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Yet, from a purely human perspective, it clearly did lead to death. So we must look at it from the divine perspective that death does not have the final authority. Sometimes God allows us to experience tragedy, even death, for a higher purpose. It is important to recognize that, in time, Jesus did journey to Judea. God may delay in responding to our need for a greater purpose, but God does not forget us. God did respond. God permitted Lazarus' death for the purpose of helping his disciples believe in Jesus more fully.
When Jesus arrived, Martha met him on the way and told him of Lazarus' death. Martha proclaimed her faith in Jesus, and Jesus told her that death did not have the final say. "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." Mary came to meet Jesus and expressed the depth of sorrow that her brother's death has caused her. Jesus was deeply moved by her sorrow. "Jesus began to weep." In Jesus we see the sorrow of God that is created by human suffering. Some skeptics said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Jesus saw this incident as having a higher purpose than simply avoiding personal pain. Jesus came to the tomb and told them to remove the stone at the entrance. Martha, recognizing that dead people began to decay after three days in the tomb, protested, but Jesus insisted on the removal of the stone. Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" Lazarus came out of the tomb still wrapped in his grave cloths. God was not constrained by the power of death, and Jesus was the Son of God. While many came to believe because of what they had seen, this very demonstration of God's power working through Jesus convinced some of the religious leadership that he must be killed. The power of the presence of God does not always result in a response of faith. Sometimes it engenders fear.
-- John 11:5-6
Lazarus was ill. Jesus loved the entire family. When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he delayed going to him. What was going on? If, as John believed, Jesus was the Word of God incarnate, then are we not dealing with the seeming paradox of God's love for us? If God loves us, why is God not present to us when we are suffering? Jesus said of this illness, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Yet, from a purely human perspective, it clearly did lead to death. So we must look at it from the divine perspective that death does not have the final authority. Sometimes God allows us to experience tragedy, even death, for a higher purpose. It is important to recognize that, in time, Jesus did journey to Judea. God may delay in responding to our need for a greater purpose, but God does not forget us. God did respond. God permitted Lazarus' death for the purpose of helping his disciples believe in Jesus more fully.
When Jesus arrived, Martha met him on the way and told him of Lazarus' death. Martha proclaimed her faith in Jesus, and Jesus told her that death did not have the final say. "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." Mary came to meet Jesus and expressed the depth of sorrow that her brother's death has caused her. Jesus was deeply moved by her sorrow. "Jesus began to weep." In Jesus we see the sorrow of God that is created by human suffering. Some skeptics said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Jesus saw this incident as having a higher purpose than simply avoiding personal pain. Jesus came to the tomb and told them to remove the stone at the entrance. Martha, recognizing that dead people began to decay after three days in the tomb, protested, but Jesus insisted on the removal of the stone. Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" Lazarus came out of the tomb still wrapped in his grave cloths. God was not constrained by the power of death, and Jesus was the Son of God. While many came to believe because of what they had seen, this very demonstration of God's power working through Jesus convinced some of the religious leadership that he must be killed. The power of the presence of God does not always result in a response of faith. Sometimes it engenders fear.
