Do not be dismayed: Trust God still (HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR I (STS. MARTHA MARY AND LAZARUS - JULY 29, 2024)

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR I (STS. MARTHA MARY AND LAZARUS - JULY 29, 2024)

Jer.13:1-11; Dt.32; Luke 10:38-42

Do not be dismayed: Trust God still

Today we celebrate the memorial of Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Not much is said of them in the scripture. The faith of Martha and Mary was instrumental in the raising of their brother Lazarus back to life. First they believed that Jesus is able to heal the sick and so when Lazarus was sick, they sent message to Jesus for him to come heal his friend.

The statement of Martha and Mary “Lord if you have been here my brother would not have died”, showed that Jesus was expected to have arrived earlier than he actually did. Truly, message was sent to Jesus when Lazarus was sick, for him to come and heal him. The obvious delay of Jesus did not upset Martha and Mary or make them hostile to Jesus for coming “late”. They could have welcomed Jesus with a countenance filled with disappointment at his lateness or they could have concluded that Jesus’ love for them, especially for Lazarus, was not genuine which was why He could afford to delay.

Martha and Mary did none of these; in fact, as soon as they heard that Jesus was around, they welcomed him. They obviously were not expecting Jesus to raise Lazarus, yet that did not diminish their love for the Lord. They loved the Lord even when the Lord seemingly “failed to have intervened in the situation”. So, the delay of Jesus rather proved the authenticity of their love.

This attitude of Martha and Mary  teaches us to be single-minded and persistent in prayer. We must learn to trust God in whatever we surrender to him, even when situations around us give us reasons to doubt Divine Providence. The faith of Martha and Mary teaches us that no situation is so finalized that God cannot make a way through it. Like Job, we should always say: I know my redeemer liveth. Only a limited “god” will be guided by human expectation. Without a strong faith in God, we will not be able to experience heaven here on earth. Martha thought that the Resurrection is only possible on the last day; but Jesus taught her that faithfulness to God attracts heaven on earth.

Martha and Mary's  believe in the resurrection is a reflection of the Jewish belief in the resurrection on the last day when all shall stand before God. Jesus is God and so he is able to signify now what will happen at the end of time. The raising of Lazarus is not so that Lazarus will not die anymore but to indeed show that Jesus is the resurrection and the Life. It is correctly said that _wahala no dey finsh_ ; yet God keeps seeing us through. The goal is for us to entrust all our being, especially our soul to Him; so that we do not only enjoy His providence in this world but also his salvation in the world to come. Without Faith, we cannot attune ourselves to understanding God’s will.