John 11:17-27
“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?’” vss. 25-26
Martha already believed in resurrection…it was a common belief among the faithful of her day. But she’d always thought of it as something reserved for the future, an end of time experience. What Jesus presented was something quite different, an all-encompassing resurrection that begins now and that can’t be interrupted by death. He told her that he was the resurrection and the life, that all who were connected to him, even if they died, would continue to live…that in fact they would never die. That’s quite a promise, one that quite likely took a while for Martha to comprehend. It’s hard for us too! We have all experienced the death of loved ones and we also know that we will one day breathe our last. That’s what seems real to us. This promise of Jesus, this assurance that life is stronger than death, flies in the face of that reality. And yet we continue to believe that his words are true…not only for the future but for the present. Again and again as death comes close, we choose to affirm the resurrection and trust that our loved ones have new life…and that in Christ we will never be separated. In this promise we find our consolation and our joy is restored.
Thought for the Day: What questions do I have about resurrection?
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