JULY292025

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha’s challenge to Jesus is one we can relate to. Lord, where were you when I was going through this abuse, when grief was overwhelming me, when a tsunami of troubles washed over me. You have promised to be with me and yet at times I feel lost and alone. Jesus’ response strikes Martha as perfunctory, as something out of a book. She responds by saying, I know the theory but what about the feeling, what about what I am going through. Jesus then personalizes his response: “I am the resurrection and the life.” The response to tragedy, the response to grief is found in a person, in a relationship. We put faith in Jesus not as a series of propositions but as someone we can relate to, someone who companions us in thick and thicker. The old story of footsteps on the sand resonates because it is true.