Enough of waiting. They had sent word to Jesus while Lazarus was dying but still alive, and he did not come. Now Jesus is close to their home, and Martha does not wait for him to come to her but “went to meet him” (Jn 11:20). She went boldly, and most likely, did not hold back any of the full range of her hurt and pain.

Martha’s words expressed her anguish. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (Jn 11:21). She believed in Jesus, knew of his power to heal, but could not understand why he did not come. She could not understand because she could only see the loss of her brother which was right in front of her. He was dead and now in a tomb.

It is true that Jesus came too late to heal his friend, it is also true that he felt the pain of his friends. What Lazarus had to go through in his death and what Martha and Mary were experiencing in their grief. That is why he wept. But Jesus came with a purpose, and what he came to do was beyond their wildest imaginings. Jesus came to restore Lazarus to life.

What is so amazing is that as Martha speaks with Jesus, she is not aware of what Jesus is about to do. And when Jesus asks her if she believes that he is the “resurrection and the life” she says without missing a beat: “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Jn 11:27). Martha believed Jesus was the Christ before the raising of her brother and even while still experiencing the rawness of her grief.

Martha’s boldness and faith give us a model of how to face the challenges in our lives. We are to go to Jesus with them directly and believe that he is the Christ the Son of God. What may at first appear to be hopeless is not. Our loving God and Father will always bring about a greater good, even when it does not seem possible in the moment of our trials and tribulations. And even death, our own or of our loved ones, no longer has the final say, Jesus does. For those of us who die with Christ will rise with him because Jesus opened up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed.

Let us begin and continue our day ahead with the boldness and faith of Martha. We, like her, will not be free of the pain and suffering of life this side of heaven but we will not have to go through any of it alone as long as we believe in and turn to Jesus.

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Icon: Close up of Icon of St. Martha, Monastery Icons.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 29, 2024