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.”
Before Jesus said these words to Martha, she said to him: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” How else is Martha presented in the Gospel but as one who, while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, is anxious and worried about many things. Yet, after Lazarus dies, Mary sits at home, while it is Martha who heard that Jesus was coming and “went to meet him.” Here, as she mourns the death of her brother, her anxiety and grief are evident but brought to Jesus because she knows he is the Son of God. Help me understand, Lord, that you present me with many opportunities each day to test my faith. Rather than say, “If you had been here . . . ,” give me the grace to believe that with you, anything is possible.
Lord, let me rest in you as I try my best to make a worthy dwelling for you. Having received you in the Eucharist, let me come back throughout the day to find with complete trust that you are always present.
What Jesus said to Martha long ago, he says to all who would hear him today: “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?” Jesus is not satisfied to broadcast a public service announcement for all who wish to follow him. Just as Jesus came to meet Martha, he comes to meet each of us wherever we are. When I go out to meet him in the midst of the day, will I say “Lord, if you had been here . . .” or “You are the Christ, the Son of God.”