another view of Mary and Martha

 You probably know the story of Lazarus--he was sick, and his sisters sent word to Jesus. Jesus loved these three siblings...but He waited two more days after He got word about Lazarus' illness. By the time Jesus got to the town of Bethany, He received word that Lazarus had been dead and in the tomb for 4 days. This is the story that gives us one of the most fun sentences to read in the King James version: "Lord, by this time he stinketh" (John 11:39) Don't ask me why that amuses me, I guess I just have an odd sense of humor... Anyway, the story of Lazarus ends when Jesus commanded Lazarus to walk out of the grave, and that was exactly what happened.

Tucked into the story, though, is something that caught my attention recently.

We met Mary and Martha before the story of their brother's death, when Jesus had visited Bethany earlier. That visit showed Martha rushing around, doing all the work to make sure Jesus and His disciples were comfortable and fed, while Mary sat at Jesus' feet. When Martha wanted Jesus to get onto Mary and tell her to help, instead Jesus said that Mary had chosen what was best.

Fast forward a bit, and we see a different picture: in the middle of their grief, Mary and Martha are told that Jesus is coming. In John 11, we're told that Martha immediately went to meet Him. She didn't mince words--as soon as she saw Him she said, "Lord, if You had been with us, my brother would not have died. Even so I still believe that anything You ask of God will be done."

Martha was blocking out the fact that her brother died. She wasn't trying to cover her feelings up with holy-sounding words. Instead, she was blunt. She knew what Jesus could do, and she knew that He didn't do it. Her brother was dead.

That truth, though, didn't push her away from Jesus. Instead, the pain pushed her to Jesus. She ran to Him with her real feelings, not some sort of covered up, nice and neat version of what she thought she should say.

But what about Mary? What about the one we saw earlier, sitting at His feet? Now, in this hard season when she heard that Jesus was on His way, she stayed home.

We aren't told why Mary chose to stay home instead of going to meet Jesus, but I would guess that she was disappointed. She had believed He could heal her brother. In fact, I imagine she believed He would heal her brother. Now, facing the truth that her brother had been in the tomb for four days, she chose not to go meet Jesus. Maybe she didn't want to see Him. Maybe she was mad. Or maybe she just didn't want to pour out her grief and knew that as soon as she saw Him it would all come pouring out.

Whatever the reason for Mary not going to meet Jesus, here's what stood out to me: Jesus didn't chastise her. He didn't lecture her or give her a bunch of religious-sounding platitudes. Instead, He sent for her--and we're told that when Martha told her sister that, Mary immediately went to Him.

She fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if only You had been here, my brother would still be alive." No pretty words. No hiding her feelings. Just the painful, unvarnished truth, poured out by a grieving sister.

We don't have to hide the hard things from God. He understands the hurt, grief...and yes, even disappointment and anger. He knows that we go through seasons in life, some in which we sit at His feet and adoringly soak up everything He says, hanging on every word...and some in which we don't go to meet Him, afraid of the raw pain that might bubble out.

And through every bit of it, He calls us to Him. He loves us through all the hard stuff. He sees our pain, and it hurts His heart ("Jesus wept," John 11:35).

If you find yourself in one of those seasons, know that He's calling you to Him and He can take you pouring out all the raw, unfiltered feelings.