John 11: 19-27
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."
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for the health of Melanie Pritchard and her baby.
I knew a man whose wife had stage four cancer. I had a chance to see him after they operated on his wife, and I talked to him as she endured chemotherapy. When I would see him, he would tell me that the suffering that he went through was unbearable; for him it was harder to see his wife suffer than if he had the cancer himself.
In these moments, we can be like Martha in today's reading.
She is known for telling Jesus that her sister Mary needed to be working, and Jesus told her that He would not for "she chose the greater." That moment, at least in my mind, always seems to overshadow today's great display of faith.
In your life, you may know someone who is suffering at this time. It could be someone who is in the hospital, or it could be someone who is trapped in addiction. It could be someone who is is going through a great "battle" or someone who is wrestling with finding their calling. Out of the love and concern you have for that person, God whispers, "do you believe this?" He calls you in the suffering of your neighbor, and Martha shows us our response: place our trust in Our Lord.
Now, let us declare and brothers and sisters in Christ, united in our suffering ... united in Christ's suffering ...
"Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God."
Amen!
Take care and God Bless.
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