Divine Time Episode 4
Yo, where we left off in Episode III, Martha the eldest of dead Lazarus’ two sisters had just come out to meet Jesus. He had finally arrived on tha scene, after intentionally chillin’ two extra days wit his homebwoyz, until Lazarus, in fact, had died. Martha, of course, didn’t know this, but nonetheless she swelled on Jesus some, for not coming in time to heal her brother. No doubt, Martha had seen some of Jesus’ miracles, which prolly made the tragically missed opportunity all dat much harder to bear. But it wuzn’t all beef dat Martha brought. She also spit to Jesus:
“Even now, I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give you.”
Now I be findin’ dis spillage madd intriguing. Where exactly is Martha goin’ with this statement? What is she alluding to? I mean Lazarus is dead. What does Martha’s “whatever” include? Does she grasp the ill implications of what she is actually saying? I mean if her brother is dead, what could even Jesus, the “Great Physician,” now do? Could Martha be allowing her sorely tested faith to be stretched past the “normal” bounds of “reality.” Is some spiritual “sixth sense” growing in her heart, that Jesus could still do “whatever” even though her brother is dead—four days dead? Yeah, I’m feelin’ that is ‘zactly what’s goin’on. I’m feelin’ that the Spirit of God--even in tha midst of an unbelievable personal disaster--is softly openin’ the “eyes” of Martha’s heart to glimpse a Reality beyond the physical “reality” that only her physical eyes can peep.
Now, with this kinda response an’ apparent spiritual growth takin’ place before His very eyes, you’d think that Jesus would ill seize this opportunity to foster an’ build up Martha’s expanding faith. But, instead, He seems to revert back to dat sanctimonious “church speak,” like what He used wit His homebwoyz, when He first got word Lazarus wuz sick. He spitz back dis lame trak:
“Your brother will rise again.”
Mang, I see tha stained glass windows, an’ hear tha organ bumpin’ Gospel jamz in tha background! “When tha roll…iz called up yonder…” lol
Yo, an Martha responds in like manner—mebbe feelin’ dat Reality was a dream too audacious to hope for:
“I know that he will rise again, in the resurrection on the last day.”
Y’all can even hear tha poignant sigh of resignation in Martha’s words, that Reality is for a day/thatz one long minute away. (Yo, it rhymez! lol)
And, wit that, we expect to see Jesus smile gently and sympathetically, put his arm around Martha, to comfort her as only Jesus can do, and accompany her to mourn together at her brother’s tomb. They’ll probably tear some, pray together and then Jesus will reverently place the gorgeous funeral arrangement he copped from Galilee Floral & Gift at the foot of the stone covering the tomb entrance.
Not
That iz not what Jesus does. We should know by now that it’s just when Jesus seems madd predicable, dat He ill flipz tha script and does sumpthin’ 180-gazillion degrees opposite frum what we thought He gonna do. In fact, Jesus spitz to Martha a gloriously blazin’ trak thatz completely off tha chartz, an’ HAS BEEN for nearly two thousand seasons:
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
What?! What’z UP wit dis nonsense?!! A yo Jesus! Come again, famo?!!
I…AM…the resurrection…and…the life.”
Yo, an peep dis: Jesus ain’t sayin’: “I will tell you about the resurrection, Martha…” or “I can show you the way to live life now, dear sister, and help you “get beyond this” now that your brother is gone…” Nuh-huh.
I AM the resurrection and the life.
Yo, where we left off, Jesus an’ His posse, had (finally) decided to get a move on, to visit His fam, Martha an’ Mary, whose brother Lazarus had just died. When He arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus’ crib wuz at, His homie had already died, and had been dead four days. Four—count ‘em—days! By this time, Lazarus was waaaaaay pas bein’CPR revived, or bein’ shocked back into existence by those flat-iron-attached-to-a-jumper-cable-things, whatever they called. Yo, Jesus’ bwoy wuz stone-cold dead. Rigor mortis had long set in, an’ Lazarus’ corpse wuz prolly already startin’ to decay. “Ashes to ashes” an’ “dust to dust,” word up.
Also, word of Lazarus’ death had gotten around his hood an beyond, and soon a whole mess of peeps came on tha scene frum nearby Jerusalem to comfort and mourn wit Martha and Mary, or as tha Bible puts it: “…to console them in their loss of their brother.” Now, we don’t know a whole heck of a lot about Lazarus. But, because a madd crowd of peeps had now descended upon his crib to express their sympathy, I s’pec Lazarus prolly had some sort of leadership role in his hood, prolly like headin’ up the Bethany Chamber of Commerce or the Bethany-Jerusalem Synagogue League for Community Development, etc.
So, when word came dat Jesus had come to represent, Martha immediately went out to meet him. But, her sister Mary still sat in the house. Yo, itz ill temptin’ to read between tha lines here. We can get a peep at the character of Martha and Mary from another Gospel, written by a 1st C physican named Luke. In that narrative, Jesus iz chillin’ at Martha an’ Mary’s, cuz Martha had opened her home to him. Bein’ hospitable an’ entertaining guests wuz apparently real important to Martha, cuz she wuz madd bumpin’ food, drink, an’ all tha preparations to the point of distraction. Her sister Mary, however, played to a totally flipped script. While Martha wuz hoofin’ about doin’ her thang, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to tha Truth He wuz spittin’. There’z more to that story, an’ we’ll prolly take dat up in some future column. But, we know enuf to more or less conclude dat Martha wuz action or task-oriented an’ Mary wuz more relationship-oriented. Mary wuz a “people-person,” and prolly hung on Jesus’ erry word.
So, regardin’ Mary not goin’ out wit Martha to meet Jesus, I’m feelin’ dat in addition to the crowd at their crib, in addition to her own overwhelming grief, a deeper reason may be her feelin’ ill disappointment and betrayed trust. It prolly hit Mary hard an’deeply hurt her dat Jesus--her Jesus—didn’t come when she an’ Martha sent Him word dat Lazarus wuz sick and dying; Her Jesus wasn’t “there for her” when she ill needed Him to be. He didn’t do what she wanted, when she wanted--and needed--a miracle. And, as a result, her brother died. She lost her only brother. Mary seems pretty human, doesn’t she. A lot like…us…
I won’t front ya, fam. When bug stuff happens to me an’ thangs don’t turn out tha way I ill want them to, or the way I pray God will make them turn out (or mebbe even insist that God makes them turn out) I find mahself getting’ just weeeee bit vexed an’ peevish wit God. There are days when pages in mah journal are filled wit one long “Why Lord?!” I find mahself bringin’ beef to tha One who made me in His image, saved my sorry soul from eternal death, an’blessed me with the emotions--even tha capacity to bring beef at all. Yeah, I’m human, fam, human like Mary, human like Martha, an’ human like…Jesus…
What amazes me is that, despite my frequent (never ending?) complaining, God still unconditionally loves me. So far, no lighting bolt has ever come down an’ smoked me for bein’ “honest to God.” He “eats” my being peeved and vexed wit Him, wit infinitely more Grace than I will ever bump toward Him or others this side of Eternity. Yo, He’s “bigger” than that. He’s bigger than I am, fam. His shoulders are ill big enough for me to cry on. He is even Bigger than mah wackest drama, my worst fear, my most horrific nightmare…
So, when Martha meets up with Jesus, understandably, the first words out of her mouth have a little beef to ‘em: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Woah. What must have Jesus felt like when Martha spit those rivets? Yo, Jesus is God the Son, fam, but He is also the God-Man. Jesus is fully human. Martha’s words must have cut like a stiletto. He had come face-to-face wit the soul-crushing pain, the heartbreak, and the personal disaster, that his decision to hang “two more days” had caused to those he loved and that loved Him. Even though He knew what wuz up, I believe Jesus felt every ache of Martha’s pain. Jesus felt it completely and to a depth and intensity that would smoke any one of us. Jesus, ill hurt for Martha, fam. Out of a heart of infinite and unconditional compassion, Jesus did not shy away from sharing and embracing Martha’s searing inner pain. He reached out, stepped right to it, an’ met it head on.
Episode IV next week. I’m out. Peace
ONE
sun John 3:30