A reading from the holy Gospel according to Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, +Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise.” Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
REFLECTION: "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?"
The best is yet to come!!! We all have that desire for "forever". As we age, it seems we attend more funerals and say our good-byes to family, friends and acquaintances. It is a reminder of our mortality.and therefore the slew of questions and concerns. Am I ready for death? How old will I be? Will it hurt? Will I be happy that I am dying? Did I work out my life with Jesus so that I avoided hell?
God is always with us. When we are happy, sad, worried, anxious and even dying. We are reminded in Romans 8 in today's reading that God continues to live in us no matter the body's condition. He lifts us up, sustains us in this world, and shows us how to lead a full life in Him. We can be assured because of His salvific and redemptive acts on the Cross and the Resurrection of His promise that He will be awaiting for us upon our death with an embrace and telling us, "Welcome home"! "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?"
Praying that Jesus fills us daily with the Holy Spirit and that when we are called, we will happily look forward to what awaits us because the best is yet to come,
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