Word to the Wise
Friday, July 29, 2016 - July 29 - St. Martha
[1 John 4:7-16 and John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42,678]FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016. ST. MARTHA [Jeremiah 26:1-9 and John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42] 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." [John] On the feast of St. Martha, the lectionary offers two separate gospel scriptures. The first is from the Gospel of John and the second is from the Gospel of Luke. The second one served as the gospel scripture just two weeks ago on Sunday. The first will serve for my reflection today. Given the considerable differences between the two evangelists, it is remarkable that the character of Martha remains consistent. She gets in Jesus' face and says what she feels. If Jesus had just come right away instead of waiting a couple of days, her brother Lazarus would still be alive. However, she shows her faith that Jesus will do something for him. She becomes the "foil" by which Jesus utters words that go beyond Lazarus' situation. Jesus is speaking of resurrection not only in the future but in the present, and this is accomplished by faith in him! Martha sums up that faith by saying: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." I don't think it could be said better than that. So, I think we owe Martha a big debt. She has given us words of faith. AMEN
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