It could be said that all disappointment in life is due to unmet expectations. This kind of logic probably isn’t a comforting thought to those grieving the death of a loved one. Even so, it might be a helpful thought in lesser situations of disappointment.
Both Martha and Mary said the same thing to Jesus when he finally arrived in Bethany: Jesus…why didn’t you help?
God hears this kind of grieved question all the time. It’s part of the human experience to question the sky in the face of unrealized hopes and actualized fears.
We’ll see tomorrow that God in Christ is not immune to human grief. God is not some kind of unaffected stalwart who misses opportunities to fix things. The situation is always just bigger and deeper than we can possibly envision or imagine. This, of course, is not meant to dismiss our disappointment or grief, or even explain tragedy or death.
But it might help us along a bit more. Or help us to grieve or mourn properly. Maybe that’s a significant part of why Jesus even came (that we don’t often think about). Jesus came to be human to help us better be human. More on this tomorrow…
John 11:17-32
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you.”
Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.”
After she said this, she went and spoke privately to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here and he’s calling for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. He hadn’t entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave, they followed her. They assumed she was going to mourn at the tomb.
When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
Prayer
God,
Frankly, I resonate with Martha & Mary’s disappointment.
Members of my family are reeling from the death of a fifteen-year-old killed by a train in California a few days ago. God…what is that about? It’s just the latest on a long list of senseless tragedies that seem otherwise rather preventable. Honestly, I’m not mad at you, God. It’s just really hard as a pastor and uncle to be able to even talk about it and explain/comfort/encourage anyone about it all.
I know that words aren’t the best of healing strategies. And I’ve know this for years. Words aren’t remembered, but presence is, right? It’s not even that I’ve forgotten this. I guess it’s just so western-educated into me that we can fix all things with the right paragraph or scientific experiment. But I know the human experience is not so easily dismissed.
So help us, God: Help us to be present. Help us to grieve. Help us have the strength to sit in the compost for a while, death and dying doing it’s work before new life can or will come again.
And God, be with my family who is grieving right now.
By your spirit & in Christ, Amen.
Timely message. There's the hope that God will use the property still for his glory. But we have to be prepared for the property to go the same way as Northeast Maryland Nazarene campgrounds. Be turned into a bunch of condos. Be interesting to see if the historical nature of the property and the arboretum is sufficient to Restrict what happens to the property.