Sweet Mystery of Life—and Death

Martha cried out, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” What had she been thinking and discussing with  Mary during the days of her brother’s illness and now after his death? Surrounded by friends, she did not find the one friend that she was looking for—he who had the ability to help. She may have whispered, “Jesus, where are you? Where are you right now when  Mary and Lazarus and I so need you?” 

Have you ever been in a situation in which someone who could have chosen to help you would not? Someone who is in a position of authority—who you thought had your back and did not? The betrayal cuts deeply, causing anguish, high blood pressure, anger, grief, hurt, and sleepless nights—in short, a crisis of trust in the one who could have helped, but did not. Where was he/she when I  needed him/her? 

We don’t always know why things work out as they do. Human beings let us down. Sometimes it feels as though God lets us down— our prayers are not answered as we expect. These are our personal crucifixion moments. We may later see clearly why things happened and God is glorified: these are resurrection moments. Sometimes we never know why and life and death remain a mystery. 

In today’s story, the Lord did finally show up. Then he quaked with grief. Jesus wept. For the sake of his friends, he called Lazarus out of the tomb. It was personally perilous for him to do so. But out of love, he revealed his power. At the same time, he was about to take the pains of the world upon himself. When he saw his friends’  grief, did that reveal how much they would suffer from his upcoming death? No wonder he trembled. 

Consider/Discuss 

• Every person has foretastes of death and resurrection in this life. In difficult  moments, how have you (or have you not) identified with Martha’s  whisper, “Where are you, Lord?” 
• In bleak moments, we may be tempted to give ourselves (and others)  glib answers that do not satisfy or are suspect or hollow, shallow answers like “God wanted another angel in heaven” or “Well, it was God’s will” or . . . How does that artificial certainty belittle the mystery dimension of  God and life? How else could we respond more truly to the puzzlement of betrayal and/or grief? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Lord, I hope you don’t mind the honesty, but sometimes it feels as though you aren’t showing up. We need you. We believe that you are the resurrection and the life; help our unbelief. Give us the strength to  cling tightly to your steadfast love when life bears down hard. Most  of all, thank you for taking our pains upon yourself. Ezekiel’s dry  bones give us hope in this parched valley. We look forward to the day  when you bring us to a new and fresh life, good and gracious God.