Our scripture this week is John 11:1-45.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
John 11:32-37
Jesus has displayed His divinity in the healing miracles He performed. Here Jesus displays His humanity, weeping at the grave of His friend Lazarus. Both Martha and Mary have said “if you had been here, he would not have died”, which must only add to His grief.
Martha testifies to her belief that her brother will be raised with the saints, but she still grieves for the loss of his earthly presence. Even though Jesus knows He has come to raise Lazarus from the dead, He too grieves with them. Jesus shows us that grief is a normal human emotion, one we should not be crushed by, but also one not to be dismissed lightly.
We know we can share all our feelings with Jesus, even our deepest grief, because He knows exactly how we feel. Part of His glory is that He was willing to come to be with us and suffer as we do, to say “I have been where you are”. Give all your cares to Him, and He will give you rest.
Loving Lord, we are grateful for Your coming to be with us, to be one of us, and to show us how to live in connection with You. Help us when we are overcome by sadness to know You are there for us, even in grief and death. Amen.