At St. Olaf Parish, where I am privileged to serve, we use this Gospel passage for most funerals. While proclaiming this Gospel at a funeral of a beloved parishioner this past summer, I was struck by the realization that this dialogue between Jesus and Martha takes place at Lazarus's "graveside," as it were.
Isn't it standing at the side of the grave of a loved one during a committal service that our faith is perhaps tested most severely?
At the foundation of Christian faith, of course, is the belief in Jesus's resurrection, his rising from the dead. In other words, we profess him as "the resurrection and the life." This evening, as we remember the beloved dead of our diocesan diaconal community, Jesus asks us, again, concerning his resurrection: "Do you believe this?"
Several years ago, a dear friend who professes no particular faith, in the wake of the painful death of someone she loved, asked me: "How is it possible to believe in life after death with any confidence?"
After I gave her what I thought was a pretty decent theological, that is, abstract, answer about faith leading to hope and hope being trust more than it is mere wishing, I found myself explaining to her that it is important to experience dying and rising for yourself in order for believing in life after death to be an act of trust instead of mere wishing.
One form of diakonia, one service, one ministry we are called to engage in, is bearing witness to the hope of everlasting life. We do this by entrusting ourselves completely to Jesus, in whose diaconate we are privileged to share.
Concretely, we meet others in their need, as Jesus meets Martha’s in our Gospel reading. We meet others at the graveside, or wherever death seems present in their lives, with no ulterior motive, just with love and compassion. This is what it means to act- in a phrase used by Archbishop Jose Gomez- in persona Christi servi (i.e., in the person of Christ the servant).
Because we are not Jesus, we must allow him to meet our deepest need so we can meet others in their need. This is how believing that he is the resurrection and life ceases to be a wish and becomes hope. And so, at the end of this day on which the Church remembered Saint Faustina, Apostle of Divine Mercy, let us reaffirm: "Jesus, I trust in You."
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