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 [Lazarus]. 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."
It stuns me that this is the Gospel for this morning... in so many ways.
I love the way Martha keeps pushing Jesus.
I love the way Jesus stays with her and says to her only what she can probably hear as she is able. From accusation--'if you had been here' to revelation.
And she ends with her eyes and heart wide open.
Thus it goes. In the end, even faith does not belong to us. We share in it.
There we are. On the Eve of the Epiphany --mystic chords star hymns cradle revelation. Strangers get it.
I wonder if any one of those that visited the manger that night looked at Joseph, looked at Jesus, looked at Joseph again and said, 'sure, he looks just like you --got your nose!'
Revelation.... Patient revelation, as we can bear it.
Peace out --time to get to work!
4 comments:
All God's Chillun gots nose!
God knows!
and ears, and face, and hair and belly-button most especially...Like unto Joseph and Mary and Jude and all the rest even the least of the worst of these, even you and me, like unto all the children of God, in every way, save "falling short (sin)" of the Glory of God! And now, by this birth, even we who have fallen short, well, NOW, not even that can make us NOT like unto him in every way, even the Glory of God, Manifest into the ages of ages. We bear his Father's image and now his Mother's Virginity!
Reading Mary's Song, you know he got her sense of justice.
Why, yes! --he did! Looks just like his mama in that respect!
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