Lent
April 2, 2017
Scripture Reading: John 11:1-45
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’ –John 11:17-27
Martha first states her belief in a future resurrection acknowledging the coming of the Jewish Messiah who would follow in the footsteps of the most successful King in Hebrew history, David. The Messiah would be God fully revealed liken to the King of Paradise, the Creator of Life. In our scripture above, Jesus identifies himself as this anointed one who had power over death. In response to Jesus’ proclamation, Martha expresses her acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah. I really do not think we can comprehend how utterly profound her attestation was.
I also wonder if we are prepared for the fullness of God’s presence in our lives. We may long for some fantasy of a god with us, but when God shows up are we ready to engage with God or do we need to schedule God on our calendar at some future date and time? I rejoined the Y today at a physical therapist’s recommendation. I asked the Y staff when I could make an appointment to be reacquainted with the exercise machines when one of the staff said, “I can show you around right now.” Now I am not the athletic type. I must make myself take care of myself. It would not have bothered me if the Y staff had said that they could not work me in for some time in the distant future. I had done the bare minimum expected by the physical therapist, I joined. There this guy was saying let’s go, so I did.
The Lenten season is a good time to examine our spiritual well-being and to re-engage with God to make sure we are ready for our next adventure in faith so when God says “Let’s go!” We can and do.
Prayer: Lord help us keep our spirits, in shape as well as our bodies and minds so that when you need us we are ready and willing to serve. Amen.