For the next two years Development and Peace’s Share Lent theme is “Women at the Heart of Change.” It may seem very ironic that the Roman Catholic Bishops through Development and Peace are championing a woman’s right to belong, to take part and to be active in the society to which she finds herself. We have many stories of women being at the forefront of change in the developing world. There are many reasons for this but one of the most important ones is the desire for women to help their communities grow in peace and prosperity.
Many countries are at or recovering from war and horrific violence, much of it aimed at the killing of men and boys of communities but also at the women and girls through rape and enslavement. When women and girls are finally set free, their fathers, husbands, brothers, uncles and parents are often dead. That means they must fend for themselves. How they will survive is often up to them and how they will react, hope and move forward into the future with their children is what Development and Peace is trying to help them accomplish.
Mary and Martha are in this situation in today’s gospel. Lazarus has died. This puts Mary and Martha in a terrible predicament. Not only has their brother died but they also are now considered outsiders of society. They have no male protector. This means they will most probably lose their home, be made to travel away from their friends, be considered outcasts in their community because their protector has died. Martha’s words to Jesus “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”
It is not just out of love of her brother that she asks Jesus to bring her brother back, she is also understanding that his loss will directly impact her and her sisters’ lives, in ways that will be really hard to take. Jesus says to her: “Your brother will rise again.” And Martha speaks from the heart when she says “I know that he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus gives her hope by saying: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even though they die will live. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Martha’s response is our example and call—no matter the tragedy, loss or difficulties going on in our lives do we believe in God? Martha says, “Yes Lord I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” Martha, despite her sorrow and fear of the future, still believes in Jesus. Her sister Mary, also believes and her comment to Jesus is, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died” and her weeping causes Jesus to weep too. Weep for their loss, for their fear and for his own loss of a friend.
Martha is the pragmatic one, Lord, she says, he has been dead for four days and there is already a smell. But Jesus’s comment to her and Mary and the crowd is, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.” Move the stone. His call to Lazarus to “come out” and his instruction to the villagers gathered with his sisters “unbind him and let him go” remind us of God’s goodness to us. Of God’s willingness to respond in mercy to all of our needs.
What encourages me as a woman in the Catholic Church is the very last line of this Gospel. “Many of the Jews who came with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”
Mary and Martha in this story are catalysts for others to believe in God. It was their faith in Jesus and their hope in him despite the four days of death that caused them to say “If you were here this would not have happened.” Their plea for their brother and themselves encouraged the crowd to come to know who Jesus was and to believe in him when Mary and Martha’s trust in him was proven.
Often times we feel there is not this concrete example of resurrection for us and for others in our daily struggles. When have we seen God call out and someone rise from the dead? But then our own Catholic Church is a living example of resurrection. The Pope is now dialoguing about the need for women deacons. Our church is allowing girl altar servers, women in many other ministries often thought of as men only, including myself preaching here today. Women are at the forefront of working through organizations like the Catholic Women’s League on issues of life, ethics, safety and justice. While not perfect, our church is constantly being resurrected in new and fascinating ways. Some of us may feel it is not fast enough but then we again can look at this gospel story. Jesus was told three days before Lazarus died that he was ill. Yet he tells his disciples we will finish what we have to do here and then we will go, this will allow God to show his glory. When they finally leave he tells them Lazarus is sleeping because he does know that his friend is probably dead because of the delay. But Jesus keeps repeating God has a plan for this too. Something good will come of this. We have to understand that God’s time is not our time and that this is the part of the mystery of God which requires belief despite all odds.
In the Global South, women, out of necessity a lot of the time, are striving to provide a future for themselves, their children and families. It is up to us to help them become like Lazarus, unbound and free to achieve what they need, to help themselves and their communities grow in peace, justice and love.
Please be generous as you put your Share Lent envelope in the collection basket this week. Help Development and Peace, help the people of the world, stand together and be free again.
Ruthann Fisher, Pastoral Associate
St. Francis of Assisi church and
CSJ Associate, Kitchener area, with Sr. Lucy Godfrey’s group