OPENING DEATH'S DARK EYES
Prayer
Praying On The Journey With Christ
A Commitment To Encounter Christ Through The Gospel Of John
Object:
John 11:17-27
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 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. 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."
COMMENTARY
Martha's declaration of faith preceded Jesus' action with Lazarus. She is "proof" that true faith precedes "proof." She was where we are. She had no more reason to believe that Christ was the Messiah than do we. In many ways, she had much less "reason," for she was still on the other side of the resurrection of Jesus, and Lazarus still lay buried in the tomb. It was not his raising that provoked faith. It was Christ alone.
PRAYER
Jesus Christ, when we are with you alone, you are irresistible. You mesmerize us with your Spirit. You infiltrate us like air in our lungs. You are our all in all, and there is no place to hide, no way to run. You stop all exits from appearing. You block our escape into reason. One look from you at us and our hearts melt, like the young in love.
Lord, because all of this is true, we avoid you, too. You are too much. You are the infinite filling up the finite. You are blinding light, searing truth, bursting all our capacity to hold you in. You are the tidal wave upon the beach, the cyclone in the desert, the flood in the valley. When you arrive, you overcome us.
We avoid you, Lord, because of this. Who wants to be so out of control? Who dares sink in a love deeper than the ocean with a mere promise that you will catch us? Who has the courage to say with Martha, "You are the one. You are God upon the earth"? To do so radically changes all we think and do, and so we avoid you.
You are dangerous, Lord. You sweep us away with your energy. You confound all the values of the world. You rearrange our priorities quicker than we can list our dreams. You turn everything upside down and inside out, because you are not of this world. You don't belong here anymore. You need to go to the Father and live where it's safe for you to be.
Yet, Lord, if you go and leave us alone, what shall we be? We have caught a glimpse of your glory, and we have heard of your way. Without you, our hearts will be homesick, our yearnings will be fierce, our restlessness will be too intense to endure.
You are the resurrection and the life. You are creator God and lover God. We cannot live or love without you. To avoid you is to perish. So, Lord God Jesus Christ, open up the death-dark eyes in each of us, enough to know the way to you. Amen.
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 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. 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."
COMMENTARY
Martha's declaration of faith preceded Jesus' action with Lazarus. She is "proof" that true faith precedes "proof." She was where we are. She had no more reason to believe that Christ was the Messiah than do we. In many ways, she had much less "reason," for she was still on the other side of the resurrection of Jesus, and Lazarus still lay buried in the tomb. It was not his raising that provoked faith. It was Christ alone.
PRAYER
Jesus Christ, when we are with you alone, you are irresistible. You mesmerize us with your Spirit. You infiltrate us like air in our lungs. You are our all in all, and there is no place to hide, no way to run. You stop all exits from appearing. You block our escape into reason. One look from you at us and our hearts melt, like the young in love.
Lord, because all of this is true, we avoid you, too. You are too much. You are the infinite filling up the finite. You are blinding light, searing truth, bursting all our capacity to hold you in. You are the tidal wave upon the beach, the cyclone in the desert, the flood in the valley. When you arrive, you overcome us.
We avoid you, Lord, because of this. Who wants to be so out of control? Who dares sink in a love deeper than the ocean with a mere promise that you will catch us? Who has the courage to say with Martha, "You are the one. You are God upon the earth"? To do so radically changes all we think and do, and so we avoid you.
You are dangerous, Lord. You sweep us away with your energy. You confound all the values of the world. You rearrange our priorities quicker than we can list our dreams. You turn everything upside down and inside out, because you are not of this world. You don't belong here anymore. You need to go to the Father and live where it's safe for you to be.
Yet, Lord, if you go and leave us alone, what shall we be? We have caught a glimpse of your glory, and we have heard of your way. Without you, our hearts will be homesick, our yearnings will be fierce, our restlessness will be too intense to endure.
You are the resurrection and the life. You are creator God and lover God. We cannot live or love without you. To avoid you is to perish. So, Lord God Jesus Christ, open up the death-dark eyes in each of us, enough to know the way to you. Amen.
