²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”- John 11:21-27

People sometimes accuse the Bible of being too poetic, too fanciful, to be the authentic experience of real people. Yet there are fewer words more real, more painfully human than Martha’s, “Lord, if you had been here….” Even as a Pastor, the many illnesses and funerals at the scale of a church like Hope make it hard not to resonate with Martha’s words. For every joyous baptism welcoming children into the rebirth of the kingdom, there is a corresponding tragedy quietly unfolding. The cancer slowly wins. Soon, the oxygen isn’t enough. Beloved friends and family seem to slip suddenly into the night.

Perhaps we can’t help but find ourselves wishing God’s insertion into our lives looked like the miracle that extends our earthly life, but the lesson of Lazarus is that the miracle we need isn’t one that avoids or gets away from death. As odd as it may be to accept, the Christian pattern established by Christ himself is one not just marbled but marked with the tragedy of death. Nevertheless, it is also just as clearly shot through with a certainty of life. Jesus seems to say to Martha, that even though Lazarus has died he will live. Jesus doesn’t actually need to raise him, extend his temporary earthly life, for that to be true.

Jesus’ concern here isn’t for Lazarus at all. I think the simple implication is that Lazarus died trusting in Jesus. Even if he had remained in his tomb, he would be secure. It is Martha’s faith that needs to be reinforced, it is the living yet winding their way through the trials of life who are at risk of embracing doubt. It is you and I, thinking we need Jesus to do something more, when he’s already done the essential thing: grant us eternal life.

So, as we walk through this Easter season, I pray we begin to truly believe that the resurrection and the life has us secure. I hope in the midst of grief you can remember that Jesus doesn’t need to extend our earthly lives to be present in them, because he has a more profound life waiting for us beyond the gate of death.

Grieving yet trusting with you,

Pastor Devin