Poor Martha! Several times in John's gospel she seems to be on the wrong tack with her beliefs. In the story we have today of Lazarus in John 11, so familiar to Christians, it is Martha's belief in the resurrection that Jesus startles her into changing. No, no, Jesus seems to say: resurrection is now, not then! And then goes on to illustrate it in such a dramatic way by raising Lazarus from the dead.
It is easy to grow up with beliefs inherited from our spiritual fathers. For years I believed passionately that the Holy Spirit of God inhabits all Christians, that Christians receive the Holy Spirit at conversion which begins that miracle of change that makes us more like Jesus. I was a bit disappointed that God was taking his time in my case, but I persevered. Then one day, a preacher spoke of the third person of the Trinity is such a different way: of the Spirit who empowers, gifts and transforms those who are willing to open their hearts to him. I wanted that and like Martha, underwent a heart change of belief. Afterwards I said to someone: 'the longest distance in the world is the distance from the head to the heart'. My misconception was that the head was the sole seat of our faith. A silly notion given the number of words in the Psalms especially about the heart – but we hold our beliefs very tenaciously.
Maybe we need to be more ready for the Lazarus experience in our lives, where Jesus says of us "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (John 11:44). I know what my grave clothes were – and probably still have others binding me. It needed God's Holy Spirit – the power of God – to intervene in Lazarus, and it needed that same power in me. Let us read that story again and ask ourselves now and in the next few days, some hard questions about what might be binding us – ask them of God and have him show you. Maybe like Martha something marvellous will be revealed.
Alan Cartwright
Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 64:1-10, 1 Samuel 2:27-4:22, John 11:1-44
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