Bible
Study: 1 John 4:7-16. / John 11:19-27.
A few days
ago, we celebrated the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, a woman who loved Jesus and
was not afraid to display it. Today we are celebrating another woman whose love
for Jesus gave her the title “Most Busy Woman in Scripture.” Once upon a time,
Jesus visited her home and she was so busy in the kitchen preparing food for
Jesus and his apostles that she was so upset with a rather lazy sister called
Mary who simply sat at Jesus’ feet enjoying his company. She tried to bear it
for a while but when she could no longer keep silent, she shouted out her disappointment
to Mary but to her greatest surprise (and to our surprise as well), Jesus did
not see anything wrong in Mary’s action. He even scolded Martha for being a “busy-body”
saying that Mary had chosen the better part.
In today’s
Gospel, we see our dear Martha busy again as usual but this time on a rather
different level. Her brother, Lazarus, a good friend of Jesus had just died. She
had made frantic efforts to send for Jesus when he was critically sick but
Jesus did not respond to the sick-calls. Now on hearing that Jesus was on his
way to the house, Martha (a hyper-active Sanguine) could not for Jesus to enter
the house. She ran to meet him on the road while the gentle soft-hearted Mary
sat still inside the house mourning. Martha said to Jesus, IF YOU HAD BEEN
HERE, MY BROTHER WOULD NOT HAVE DIED. This statement is not an ordinary one, it
is a very powerful and thought provoking philosophical cum theological
statement, it is one that continues to echo even in our own day and time.
If you had
been here, my brother would not have died. Where is God when bad things happen?
If God truly exists, why does he allow evil thrive in the world? Why do people
die at all despite their closeness to God? How good is God if he allows
suffering to exist in the world and in the life of his children?
Martha’s
statement comes from the mind of busy woman, it is provoked by her pragmatic
approach to life. Busy people like to get things done! They use the best
machines and employ the right tools, they believe is something is not working,
it is useless! That is to say, “If God doesn’t answer, then prayer is useless.”
Or “If tragedy strikes at all, then it is because God isn’t present or isn’t aware.”
Pragmatics do not believe if something did not work today, it can work tomorrow.
They have their own theological mind-set and it can be difficult to convince such
persons.
Jesus was
trying to make her understand something but she kept insisting on something
else. She said to Jesus, “I know he will rise again on the last day.” (as if
she knew better than Jesus). When Jesus saw he would not succeed in lecturing
her, he resorted to faith. He simply asked her “Do you believe this?” Faith is different
from knowledge. You may never know something to be true or false but as long as
you believe, it will always remain true for you. In other words, the only
answer to questions such as those above is FAITH. Where is God when bad things
happen? Faith. If God exists, why does he allow his children to suffer? Faith. Etc.
etc. Just believe!
Don’t get
too busy! It makes you think you have all the answers or that you are capable
of doing everything. Sometimes allow God to get busy while you watch in faith!
Only believe.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, may I only be busy for you every day of my life and in the midst of my
busy-ness, may I never lose faith in you. Amen.
Good
morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God
bless you.
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