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A Reflection on John 11:28-57

“Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (v 37)

How often do we echo some version of that question in our hearts? Could not He who cleansed the lepers have healed my sickness? Could not He who raised Lazarus have saved my child? Cannot He who rose from the dead Himself do something about the evil that runs rampant in the world? We hear the stories of miracles done by Jesus in the Gospels, and we wonder, “Where are you, Lord? Why is there still so much sickness, pain, suffering, evil?”

The doubt creeps in. The lies whispered to our hearts: He doesn’t care. His power is limited. He is not there.

But “Jesus wept” (v 35). Knowing that Lazarus’ death was only temporary, that he would in mere minutes call His beloved friend out to life again, Jesus wept. He felt keenly the pain, the suffering of Lazarus, the grief of Mary and Martha.

He sees our pain, dear friends. He sees, and He weeps with us. He feels our grief, our confusion, our frustration. Even knowing what we do not know, what we cannot know, that soon He will redeem our pain, resurrect the dead parts of us back to life, He still weeps. That is how intimately connected He is with you and me. We have not felt anything that He does not feel with us.

So, we can trust Him with everything. All the pain, all the frustration, all the questions. Lay it all at His feet. And look up at Him, see Him spreading His arms on the cross for love of you, and even if you cannot feel it, know that this, too, He will raise up. He has laid down His life and taken it up again (10:18), and He desires to do the same for us. Lay it all down and trust in Him.

My Jesus, I get so discouraged when I look out at the world and see suffering and when my own pain feels like too much. In those moments, give me grace to look to You, to remember that You see it all and that You who loved me enough to die for me are holding it all in Your Hands, and this too, You will raise up.

Scripture quotations are from The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright ©1965, 1966 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.