Psalm: Psalm 51
Background
Jesus has just met Martha and has been given the sad news thatLazarus is dead (verse 32). At other times, Martha and her sisterMary both reacted differently in Jesus' presence - when he visitedtheir home (Luke 10:38-42) and when Mary anointed Jesus (John12:1-8). On this occasion, though, both sisters agree on onething: If Jesus had got here earlier, their brother Lazarus wouldnot have died (John 11:21, 32). The people who have come alongto sympathise seem to believe that too - but they express it in amore accusatory way (verse 37).
We can hear similar accusations thrown at God all the time.Writing this in the wake of multiple terror attacks and thehorrendous loss of life and people's livelihoods in the Grenfell Tower fire in west London, manyof us are hearing it yet again: if God is so powerful and loves usso much, why do horrible things keep happening? If these twosisters who could count Jesus as a personal friend could think thatway, how much more could people centuries later who never had theprivilege of meeting Jesus in person?
In the Message version, it says that asJesus saw Mary weep for her brother, "a deep anger welled up withinhim". Anger is something that gets a bad rap these days - andjustifiably so, because much of the anger we see expressed iseither misdirected or misused. But anger isn't for attackingsomeone whose driving you don't like, or for reducing shop staff totears because that new printer you bought doesn't work; it's formotivating you to challenge injustice or anything else that causespeople misery, and ultimately to do something to change it.
To Ponder
- To what extent is it easier to have faith in someone'sabilities when they are present? Why?
- Why do you think Jesus wept?