The Confession of Martha

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.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”    (John 11:17-27, NIV)

Martha was in a bad place.  Her brother was dead and the man who she felt could have saved his life didn't come quickly enough.  Hearing that he was finally almost there, she ran out to meet him with chastisement on her lips.  Undoubtedly grief would have driven her to words and deeds that were not really characteristic of her. Martha had a good heart but also liked things properly done. She had sent word to Jesus that her brother was dying, knowing Jesus loved Lazarus as she did, and praying that Jesus would come quickly to save him. It didn't happen and Martha couldn't understand why Jesus would have dawdled in Jerusalem when only a couple of miles' walk could have brought him to Bethany in very short order. 

Martha had faith, you have to give her credit for that. Jesus didn't come in time but Martha believed that if Jesus asked, God would do a miracle. Of course, Lazarus had been dead for a while, begining to decay and seemingly beyond resuscitation.  Still, Martha had faith that she wouldn't have to wait until the resurrection day to come for Jesus to bring her brother back to her.

The latter part of this passage could be considered the "Confession of St. Martha," so similar to that which Simon Peter gave to Jesus' question "Who do you say that I am?"  The answer was an acknowledgement that Jesus wasn't just another prophet, teacher, family friend or even good buddy.  In so confessing her belief, Martha, like Peter, pointed the way for others to see Jesus. Martha's confession doesn't have a special feast day like Peter's, but it still happened and it still encourages us to make the same statement.

But I wonder --- what if the question were reversed?  What if I asked Jesus who he said that I was?  I wonder if I would have the courage to hear the answer; I do know that one day I will have to. Will he say I'm a rotten sinner?  An unrepentant heretic?  A sheep of his own flock?  A beloved child of God? I can hope, but I don't want to stake my life on that hope.

The story of the raising of Lazarus becomes the story of someone brought back from the dead by Jesus. Martha becomes a bit-player in the drama as did her sister Mary.  Yet Martha speaks to me of what it means to be a confessor, one who proclaims.  It's a test of faith. Martha passed.