Monday, September 9, 2024  

---

Today's Scripture
John 11:1–16

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (NRSV)

---

Reflection

“Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus.”

John’s passage is full of rich language and curious sayings, but it is these words from Thomas that perplex me today. Jesus and his disciples receive the same news — their friend Lazarus is ill — yet their responses are light-years apart. Jesus sees an opportunity to glorify God and God’s Son, while the disciples see only the very real risk to Jesus’ life. After all, Lazarus’s home, Bethany, is just a couple miles from Jerusalem, where Jesus narrowly escaped being stoned by the temple leaders.

The disciples question Jesus’ willingness to go back; when he is undeterred, the disciples grasp at straws, insisting that surely Lazarus “will get well.” Finally Thomas is persuaded. Resolute, he tells the others, “Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus."

Fortunately martyrs for the faith are quite rare these days! But when God calls us to do the right thing, advocating for people and causes, it can feel risky. It’s understandable to seek an easier way, as the disciples do. Even though we know that Jesus must face death alone, there is something endearing about Thomas’s decision to stick with Jesus, even to his death.

As FDR famously said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” When God calls us to do something difficult, perhaps we can look to Thomas, realizing that we too are braver than we thought. And in those moments, may we find the strength to let go of (or to let “die”) all the fears and anxieties that will not serve us as we say to Jesus, “Let us go too.”

---

Prayer
Holy God, help me to walk with Jesus, every day and everywhere. Allow me to let go of whatever stands in the way. Amen.

---

Written by Amy Pagliarella, Parish Associate for Caring Ministries

Reflection and Prayer© Fourth Presbyterian Church

Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email