My reflection from today’s Gospel (John 11:19-27) in Give Us This Day:
As much as we’d like to think of ourselves as Martha in today’s Scripture readings—running to greet the Lord, prescient in her recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, trusting God’s every word—most of us probably have to admit that we are more like those in the first reading who “walk in the stubbornness of their hearts” and refuse to listen.
It’s not that we don’t want to listen to God. We do, with all our heart! But we also want to be in control, thinking we can cling to the tight reins of worry and fear to guide us forward, no matter how severely we get tossed about. “You forgot the God who gave you birth,” we hear in today’s psalm. Guilty as charged.
So how do we go from being unmindful of our Creator to having the courage of Martha? It begins when we release our grip on the reins of our life and surrender control to God.
To be sure, there’s nothing easy about that prospect, and yet we have role models like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, who show us how to pause, listen, and say “yes, Lord,” even when every instinct tells us to run in the opposite direction. Can we instead face Jesus and as Martha did, say with confidence: “I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you”? Can we let go of our stubbornness of heart and cling to what God has promised?
Mary DeTurris Poust, “Less Worry, More Courage,” from the July 2024 issue of Give Us This Day, www.giveusthisday.org (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2024). Used with permission.
Photo by Mary DeTurris Poust
