A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Jn 11:19-27)
Jesus said to [Martha], “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 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.”
On the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, the Gospel according to John relates the story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. It also conveys the depth of his friendship with these three siblings. In other Gospel accounts, Martha is busy in the kitchen while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, listening to him. But in this passage, Martha approaches Jesus, expressing her faith in him: Martha goes out to meet Jesus after Lazarus’s death. She expresses her faith in Jesus by saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” She goes on to express even greater faith in Jesus as he asks if she believes he is the resurrection and the life. “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
God, through his death and resurrection, your Son offers me and all who believe in him the promise of eternal life. Help me today strengthen my faith in you by imitating Martha in going out to meet Jesus, who alone is the resurrection and the life. Just as Mary, Martha, and Lazarus welcomed Jesus into their home, let me learn from their example; grant me the grace of friendship with your Son, the one who is coming into the world to save us for eternal life. Jesus, I trust in you.
From the Gospel acclamation: “I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.” Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.