Today's gospel reading contains part of the raising of Lazarus story. Jesus, who has delayed coming when he hears that Lazarus is ill, arrives after Lazarus is 4 days in the tomb. And when Martha - one of Lazarus' sisters - comes out to meet Jesus she says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." She goes on to say that "even now," she knows that God will do whatever Jesus asks, but I found myself lingering at her opening complaint.I know that this story has a "happy ending," but I keep hearing Martha's first words, "Lord, if you had been here..." I have to confess that I often go about my daily tasks as though Jesus were not here, as though my difficulties and struggles occur, in part, because God isn't present, because Jesus has tarried somewhere and left me alone.
I think a lot of mainline, Protestant congregations can feel the same way. They remember glory days from the 50s or 60s, and wonder what happened. Where is God now? Lord, if you had been here, things wouldn't have gone like this.
Jesus' response to Martha is often heard at funerals, but Jesus' words aren't really about hoping for resurrection after death. They are about God's power for new life that is present now. Jesus tells Martha that resurrection is not about a far off hope, but about a present reality. Perhaps I need to pay more attention to see where the power of resurrection is present and at work in my life and in the life of this congregation.
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