URC Daily Devotion 19th June 2025
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’
But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’
The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’
Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’
After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’
The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.
Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’
Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for 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.’
Reflection
Into the reality of death, Jesus speaks words of life and hope. He does more than speak them, he embodies life and hope.
Martha and the disciples are brought face to face with death. Martha’s brother Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, has died. The disciples, led by Thomas, are prepared to face death following Jesus into Judea as he prepares to demonstrate once again the truth of who he really is.
The feelings of the disciples in the first part of this chapter are familiar to us in our struggle. So often we wonder just what Jesus’ words mean for us as we try to follow Him in the here and now. We dearly want easy answers to the challenge of being church in the 21st century. Here we and the disciples are far from understanding what Jesus means.
Martha’s grief and reproach are changed by Jesus’ words into faith and hope. She sees the truth in her friend and at once she is given new life. She has yet to see the truth of what Jesus has told her in response to her reproachful greeting, that Lazarus will rise again, not just on the last day but on this day – yet she believes in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
After the uncertainty and misunderstandings of the preceding days, Jesus offers the certainty of Resurrection and Life to all who believe in him. He offers this to us as we wonder what purpose and plans God has for us. We, having read or listened to these words, can trust in this promise of astonishing new life, of raising from the dead, of new life and hope for all.
We often hear these words at funerals promising new life for those we mourn. However, we should also remember them as we walk the way of Jesus. We believe in the Son of God who continues to breathe new life into our communities, “living working in our world!”
Prayer
Living God,
help us to trust you even as we wait on your guidance.
Help us to follow you even into difficult ways.
Speak your words of life and hope in and through us as we follow You.
Keep us faithful like Thomas and Martha,
ordinary people who found in you the One who they had hoped for,
so that we are always able to be overwhelmed with wonder, love and praise of You
our Lord and Saviour, Amen