Thoughts for the Day

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was....

After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

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. But 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.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today we start the period in the Church calendar called 'Passiontide' and today is 'Passion Sunday'. But have you wondered what the word 'Passion' means? We think of passion as being associated with intense outbursts of strong emotion, like desire, or great enthusiasm. People are "passionate" about their football for instance. But the term was originally used to refer to severe suffering, and applied to the period of suffering undergone by Jesus before the glory of His Easter resurrection.

Passiontide comes with some huge themes, like suffering, death, resurrection and glory, as we shall see as we accompany Jesus through the last two weeks of his life. In the raising of Lazarus Jesus reveals his power over death, which we will see again at his own death and resurrection. We also see another of the seven "I am" statements - "I am the resurrection and the life!" But above all we should notice how yet again Jesus responds to another person's faith. Martha knows with every power of her being that her brother Lazarus could have been healed if Jesus had been with them earlier, and even though he has been in the tomb for four days, that Jesus can raise him from the dead. Her confidence brings forth a statement that believers too will one day be raised, for Jesus says, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."

Passiontide is meant to be a special penitential period where we focus on Jesus' bitter passion and feel sorrow within ourselves for our own sins. But the good news is that Passiontide doesn't have the last say, and this sombre period of preparation will end in two week's time, and then our hearts can rejoice in the glory of Christ's resurrection.

Lord Jesus Christ,
as we enter this solemn period of Passiontide,
when Your enemies began to gather around You,
may we learn true faithfulness from Martha's example.
Help us to trust in Your plans for our world,
and to know when the days are dark
that through Your death and Resurrection
You have already defeated death
for all who believe in You.
Amen.