The early Church did not lose track of the close-knit family from Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem. According to an ancient tradition, Martha, Mary and Lazarus left behind their country home and brought the Gospel message to southern France. Some accounts even refer to Lazarus as the first archbishop of Marseilles. But the siblings certainly left their mark on the early Christian message. Martha was definitely an outgoing person, taking the initiative in securing Jesus’ friendship: “...they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home” (Lk.10:38). Mary on the other hand was more thoughtful, more interested in Jesus’ message than in his comfort: “Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught” (Lk.10:39). Martha was busy putting food on the table while Mary was more concerned about the food for thought that the Master was offering. Genuine disciples may certainly approach Jesus in diverse ways as this family encounter demonstrates.
Lazarus is not mentioned by St. Luke in this first family encounter. It is St. John who will later go into great detail about this man who, Scripture says, Jesus loved. The sisters, knowing the fraternal bond between their brother and Christ, sent word “Master, the one you love is ill.” Yet Jesus, certainly sensing the severity of the situation, still lingered two days before continuing to Judea. The Master is soon confronted by the two sisters. Martha, of course, is the first to approach Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She is sure of her own faith in Jesus and sure of Jesus’ power to reverse the stressful plight. Then Jesus reassures her and offers her a complete synopsis of the Gospel message: “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.” Then, like a good disciple, Martha forgets herself and reaches out toward her sister Mary: “The master is here and wants to see you.” Mary hurries to Jesus, drawing many of her mourning friends along with her. She too suggests to Jesus that his presence at Lazarus’ last hours would have made all the difference. Touched by the saddened sisters and moved by the mournful crowd of neighbors, Jesus’ reaction is understandable: “And Jesus wept.” (The shortest line in Scripture!)
At first reading, Jesus’ tears at his friend’s passing seem perfectly reasonable. A close companion should be mourned. Yet Jesus could have avoided these tears as well as Lazarus’ ill fate. Recall St. John’s account: “So the sisters sent word to him saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” So, Jesus was well aware of his friend’s plight but chose to delay his arrival. Jesus knew that the death of Lazarus was just the first step in a powerful lesson about eternal, resurrected life. “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.” So, if Jesus knew everything was going to turn out all right, why did he weep?
Scholars more insightful than I have suggested that Jesus’ tears were not the result of Lazarus’ death but rather the consequence of the Jews’ lack of faith. “When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed...” Jesus’ public ministry was drawing to a close. Palm Sunday and Good Friday were not far off. It indeed seemed that his preaching, his cures and his miracles were having little effect. Lack of faith, made visible through tears, was indeed distressing. His public life might be a failure. No wonder he wept.
Perhaps with a bit of impatience, Jesus demands, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” Then, Jesus does give them all a glimpse of the glory of God. The Master cries out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Indeed, the dead man does come out, even though “tied hand and foot with burial bands.” A powerful miracle indeed, foreshadowing Jesus’ own resurrection! Jesus’ strategy proves effective. “Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.” So, Jesus’ ministry is not wasted. He need not weep. The Gospel would be brought to Jesus’ own Jewish people and to the farther world, as the Bethany family’s later ministry would prove. A deepening faith in Jesus Christ as Master and Savior, despite life’s reversals and history’s setbacks, is expected of every authentic Christian. Lack of this confident faith draws tears even to Jesus’ eyes.
