Daily Dose of the Word of God - John 11: 17-24

Rachel Klooster & Billy Heschl

Transcript

Rachel Klooster  0:13  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God. It’s Tuesday, March 11 This is Billy Heschl, reading for Rachel Klooster. We are in the season of Lent.  We are in the middle of the story of Lazarus. We pick it up at John 11:17-24

Rachel Klooster 0:31

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Rachel Klooster  1:11  

Martha had faith that Jesus, through God, could perform miracles, and she had faith in eternal life someday. But, she was sad and mad that her brother had died and she felt that Jesus was oblivious to what was going on, or worse - he didn’t care. So when she heard Jesus was coming towards her, she couldn’t wait for him to get all the way to her house. She ran out to him (probably breathless) and the first thing out of her mouth was, "IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE!" I can picture her pointing her finger at him and maybe even pressing her first finger into his chest, emphasizing each word. 

Rachel Klooster  1:52  

Oh I relate to this so much! Many times my emotions race ahead of my rational thoughts. And it’s human nature, right? If we can find someone to blame, we certainly will, no matter how illogical. Spoiler alert, we find out later in the story that there was purpose and intention to Jesus being late. Yet, he calmly took Martha’s coming at him and replied with truth. Despite Martha’s questions and demands, Jesus still shows up for her and doesn’t shy away from the confrontation.

Rachel Klooster  1:52  

God will still show up for us, even when our tendency is to confront, whine, and question him when our circumstances don’t match up with our expectations. So, let’s not be afraid to bring our true feelings to God because he can handle them. And if we are open to listening, he will respond to us gently and lovingly. We can depend on God knowing the big picture in a way that we don’t. We can trust him. As it says in Isaiah 55:8-9, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Rachel Klooster 3:07  

Let's pray. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for always showing up for us even when we are questioning why things are happening the way they are. Thank you for the promise that your ways are beyond our ways and beyond anything we could imagine. Help us to trust you, even when our circumstances aren'twhat we hoped they would be. Amen.