Daily Gospel Reflection

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July 29, 2023

Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
Jn 11:19-27
Listen to the Audio Version

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“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.”

Reflection

Kristi Haas ’10, ’12, M.A., ’22, Ph.D.
Associate Director of M.A. Theology Program
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As Jesus draws near, he finds Martha heartbroken: Lazarus has died. Martha perceives that Jesus could have prevented this unspeakable loss. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Did he not cherish the stories, laughter, sorrows, and dreams they had shared together? Did Jesus not see what was at stake as he took his time?

I relate to Martha’s lament; our hearts break today, too, whether from the loss of beloved friends and family members, pain and disappointment in close relationships, violence against the vulnerable, endemic loneliness, or enormous forests burning in Canada.
Jesus, if you had been here, could all this have happened?

As we share Martha’s lament, perhaps we can admit that our divided hearts are more to blame than he. When we pray, “Thy kingdom come… on earth,” we include our own hearts. Still, with Martha, we can also hope: God will give whatever Jesus asks, and so our brother will live.

Yet what most amazes and consoles me is what follows. Jesus offers far more than a solution to this loss. He does not defer his action to the “last day” alone nor settle for divine action at a distance. Rather, Jesus offers Martha himself: “I am the resurrection and the life.” In these words, Jesus points to himself as the divine one in whom God has drawn near to death, making even death a place where our God, who is love, and who is our life, can be found.

Thus Jesus reaches underneath all of our particular losses, to the core of the human predicament, to give us a new beginning by making his divine life our own. Jesus drew near to Martha’s broken heart to give her his own heart, a heart made new, with which to love. He places himself precisely where there was no way forward so that we may hope, in him, for a total renewal in his love.

Let’s respond today, like Martha, entrusting ourselves to Jesus as our hope.

Prayer

Rev. Matthew Kuczora, C.S.C.

The sting of death is as sharp as it is crushing. We weep with Martha and Mary at the death of our loved ones, upon hearing of the horrors of war and of senseless violence. Through our tears we also profess with Martha, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Jesus, fill us with the hope that allowed Martha to make this powerful statement of faith. In you is our life and we believe in you, so that even if we die, we will live. Amen.