There’s a small town that shows up several times in the Gospels called Bethany. It’s just a couple miles outside of Jerusalem, and it’s where Jesus spent time with friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
In John 11, we’re told that Lazarus has become ill. Jesus hears the news, but waits two days before going to see him. It’s one of those strange details in the Bible that makes you stop and think. Why wait? Why delay?
When Jesus finally arrives, Lazarus is already gone and the house is filled with grief. Martha runs out to meet Jesus while he's still on the road and says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
I've begun to see this moment as a glimpse of truly honest prayer. Martha confesses her grief, and frustration to Jesus and what’s beautiful is that Jesus doesn’t scold her for her frustration. He listens and he weeps with her. Even though he knows resurrection is coming, he still enters the pain of the moment with Martha.
That’s what I love about this story. It reminds us that faith doesn’t mean pretending everything is okay. It means believing that God is present in both the tears and the tombs of our life.
Bethany was the place not only where Jesus cried but also the place where Jesus called new life out of the grave. Maybe that’s what the Church is meant to be too: a place where we can be honest about what hurts, and still trust that resurrection is possible.
In John 11, we’re told that Lazarus has become ill. Jesus hears the news, but waits two days before going to see him. It’s one of those strange details in the Bible that makes you stop and think. Why wait? Why delay?
When Jesus finally arrives, Lazarus is already gone and the house is filled with grief. Martha runs out to meet Jesus while he's still on the road and says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
I've begun to see this moment as a glimpse of truly honest prayer. Martha confesses her grief, and frustration to Jesus and what’s beautiful is that Jesus doesn’t scold her for her frustration. He listens and he weeps with her. Even though he knows resurrection is coming, he still enters the pain of the moment with Martha.
That’s what I love about this story. It reminds us that faith doesn’t mean pretending everything is okay. It means believing that God is present in both the tears and the tombs of our life.
Bethany was the place not only where Jesus cried but also the place where Jesus called new life out of the grave. Maybe that’s what the Church is meant to be too: a place where we can be honest about what hurts, and still trust that resurrection is possible.
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April
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May
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June
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