“Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

john 11:26-27

John 11:19-27

Reflection

Today is the feast day of saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In the reading from John, Martha tells Jesus that her brother would not have died if Jesus was there. Yet she expresses belief that he will rise on the last day. Jesus tells her that he is the resurrection, and Martha declares her belief that Jesus is the Christ. In the reading from Luke, the story of Martha serving and Mary listening to Jesus speak is told.

We see two sides of Martha that can accurately reflect our own lives and relationship with Jesus. On the one hand, we are anxious about many things, asking Jesus why he doesn’t send help or help us himself. We focus on the world and not Christ. On the other hand, we also profess profound belief in Jesus – that he is God and can perform many miracles in our lives.

These are two realities we regularly face, and Martha displays them for us today. Ultimately, her belief in Jesus is so strong that she believes he is the Son of God. We need to let that belief, that truth, be dominant in our lives. No matter the hardships we face, no matter the worry and anxiety set before us, Jesus must be the center of our lives. He alone can set us on the right path to holiness and heaven. Will you let him?

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Saint of the Day

Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus: 1st century AD

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. John 11:1-5