I am the resurrection and the life

 

 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You as of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

 

- John 11:17-29 

 

On Saturday, we read that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

 

  So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  We remember from our previous reading on Saturday (see above) that Jesus had delayed His trip to Bethany after hearing the news that Lazarus was very ill.  John the Evangelist tells us that Jesus loved Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus, and so this delay is intentional, "that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (again, see Saturday's reading, above).  My study Bible says that there was a rabbinical opinion that the soul lingered about the body for three days, but after four days resuscitation would be impossible.  

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  My study Bible tells us that mourning began on the day of a person's death.  Weeping and wailing lasted three days; lamentation lasted one week, and general mourning lasted 30 days.  Here we are told that many from the temple in Jerusalem, likely from the religious Council (John's Gospel frequently uses the term "the Jews" to indicate members of the religious leadership, especially those among them hostile to Christ), came to comfort Martha and Mary and to mourn with them.  Therefore they will be witnesses to the sign that is to come.  From this passage we can possibly understand that Martha and Mary and their brother were from a prominent family, certainly known to many.

Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  My study Bible comments that, not unlike the incident of Luke 10:38-42, the two sisters react differently to Christ's arrival.  Martha, who is inclined to active service, rushes out to Meet Jesus, while Mary is in mourning until she is called by Christ (verses 28-29).  Sitting is the traditional posture when mourning and receiving other mourners (Job 2:8, 13; Ezekiel 8:14).  

Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You as of God, God will give You."  While Martha possesses great faith, my study Bible says, her statements indicate a lack of understanding about Christ.  In saying, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died," Martha reveals she does not fully see that Christ is God, thinking He needed to be present to effect healings (contrast this with John 4:46-54).  By saying, "whatever you ask of God, God will give You," she shows her lack of understanding that Christ possesses full divine authority to act as He wills.  

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  Jesus says of Himself, "I am the resurrection and the life."   This powerful statement is a declaration of divine authority, even to raise the dead at the last day, but also applies here in this world.  This corrects Martha's misunderstanding:  my study Bible comments that such is the power of these words that Martha is immediately led to a great confession of faith.  Do you believe this? becomes a question directed not only to Martha, but to all of us. 

And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Again, we note the differences in character of Martha and Mary, whom we note arose quickly once she is told the Teacher "is calling for you."  We can understand this as responding to a command.

We can't help but remark upon the differences in character between the two sisters, shown to be consistent throughout the Gospels -- especially in the context of the story in Luke which is noted by my study Bible (see Luke 10:38-42).  Martha is conscientious about performing the duties of hospitality; she goes out to meet Jesus as He approaches their home.  Mary is more concerned with the duties of piety; it is she who sits in mourning according to custom and tradition, and yet it is also Mary who responds quickly when she knows she is being called by the Teacher.  In the story in Luke, it is Martha concerned again with the duties of hospitality, no small thing in the context of culture (and indeed, all the cultures of the Middle East), as well as in the eyes of Christian monastic tradition that would follow, in which the duties of hospitality to visitors at the door would take precedence even over prayer.  It is important that we not minimize hospitality to a concept of mere social nicety or form, and understand it in the context of charity that shaped and defined cultures of the Middle East, and also in the tradition of the story of Abraham, who "entertained angels unawares" (Genesis 18:1-10, Hebrews 13:2).  Hospitality, especially in a desert climate where conditions could be harsh, was a tenet of mercy, especially toward strangers (see also the parable of the Good Samaritan, also in Luke's chapter 10 -  Luke 10:25-37).   Mary, on the other hand, sits at Christ's feet in the story of the two sisters in Luke, which Jesus calls "that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (again, see Luke 10:38-42).   In that context, while Martha served and performed duties of hospitality, Mary sat as a disciple, listening to Jesus teach, something considered to be possibly outside of the norm, as evidenced by Martha's complaint to Jesus about her sister not helping her.  But in both sisters, we can read facets of Christianity and Christian service; each has a way to Christ, Christ loved both, as well as their brother Lazarus.  Martha and Mary have quite different personae, as sisters often do, but each one has her own way of learning from Christ, of being a friend to Christ, calling Him Teacher, and coming to Him in faith.  Each has her own way to a confession of faith.  What we should learn from these sisters, it seems to me, is of the many-faceted living jewel that the Church is, that our faith is, and that each one has a way to come to Christ unique to personality.  Each is called, but our direct path is not necessarily the same even though the goal is the same.   As we have had many occasions to remark of late in our commentaries, when St. Peter made his confession of faith, Jesus told him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).  Perhaps our Father in heaven, who has created each one of us in unique manner each with unique soul and spirit, also has a way to draw each of us in important ways so that the expression of unique personae becomes a part of our pathway to faith.  One might say that we can see in the saints unique ways that each is called to express faith, that holiness becomes a dynamic expression of potentials that are in that personality, as one is called by God.  For today, the Teacher approaches with His own plan and under the Father's guidance; Martha, the one skilled in hospitality duties, comes out to meet Him, while He calls Mary to Himself.  Each is called to a confession of faith, to the realization of who Jesus truly is.  Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life."   This is an offer of the fullness of life, of life which transcends even death.  He says to Martha, "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"   This is the path of faith, to which we are all called -- but in each unique life that faith will work with us to reveal Christ's power of immortality, like light hitting the facets of a jewel.  For we each need the power of His life in our life.