Today we face the scandal of death. Martha, a woman of faith and action, struggles with the death of her brother and the seeming indifference of Jesus who arrives too late: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (Jn 11: 21) Yet, in her grief, she holds on to her faith in Jesus: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." (Jn 11: 27) In doing this she sets an examples to us in our own response to tragedy and death. She also reveals what true faith is - in the face of darkness and annihilation, to trust in Christ and believe he is true to his promises. Even then, at the door of the tomb, her mind is confronted by the stark reality of death: "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." (Jn 11: 39) As for me, I may believe that Jesus rose from the dead but do I believe that he wants to share that life with me not just in the future but also here and now?: "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." (Jn 11: 2-26) The effect of encountering Christ and believing in him has the power to transform me in this life. The promise is that if I believe I will see the glory of God (Jn 11: 40). St Paul puts it this way: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit fo the Lord is there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Cor 3: 17-18)
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