Today's gospel narrates the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, the best friend of Jesus who was been terribly sick and died before he arrived. We can consider him as a very good friend of our Lord, because Jesus was used to visit him in Bethany (cfr. John 12, Lk 10:38-42). But despite of it, His first reply to the message of the sisters was: "
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.” As I write this reflection the actual statistics of the Coronavirus Cases (
only in Italy right now) is 97,689; Deaths 10,779; Recovered 13,030.
There are a lot of worries and anxieties at this time in every part of the world, not only in italy, but throughout the planet because its continually arising. The actual statistics of CoVid-19 Cases throughout the world is 710,523; deaths 33,552 and recovered: 150,734. The countries are lockeddown for quarantine. Deaths and sufferings are the object of the daily news in tv, in social media and in radios. "Stay at home" is the slogan everywhere. People are distressed. People are in hunger especially the poor ones, those who can't work and has no stable salary. A lot are getting contaminated because there are no enough gadgets for preventions and precautions.
Now we need to ask, is this illness the ultimate cause of death? Every day without Covid-19, roughly 150,000 people die across the globe; for cigarette smoking 480,000 deaths a year; Nearly 1.25 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled. More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among young adults ages 15-44. The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide, annual influenza epidemics result in about 3-5 million cases of severe illness and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths. That means 684 to 1369 death per day. Malnutrition:(World Hunger Day 2019) ... Some 821 million people suffer chronically from hunger. And although this is significantly fewer people than the numbers we saw a decade ago, hunger still kills more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. For homecides: about 500,000 are murdered. About 1,000,000 die by suicide. 18 million die from poverty.
Now we need to understand the word of Jesus: "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." Having said it, we should not think that Covid-19 won't kill us because we have faith in Jesus. Thus,
we should be more careful not allow ourselves be victims of fear and distress, because these are fatal to our health, spiritual and physical.
Jesus didn't rush to make miracles
We are on this pandemic crisis caused by Coronavirus, but we should not forget that we will not die necessarily for this virus. There are a lot of religious fanatics, catholics and non-catholics, preaching apocalyptic conversion, as if that God is punishing the world. As if that God is so offended that he is enraged of humanity. So these fanatics are praying desperately, with lots of words and rituals; lots of them see visions and give ear to the false prophets, proclaiming before hand this epidemic, etc. Rushing in desperate quest for God's reply like the 450 priests of Baal against Elijah (1 Kings 18:28-29).
Salvation comes from faith and not from the punishment or fear; but by "grace". I love to meditate the words of Ps. 62:1-2 : "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
Jesus waited for another two days. When He arrived, His friend Lazarus was buried already for 4 days. Martha went to Him and told Him,
if He was only there, his brother wouldn't have died. Then she affirmed, saying: "
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” - Martha manifested her faith despite of her disappointment that the Lord could be there to save her brother.
Then Jesus made a declaration: "
Your brother will rise". But Martha replied
as if that word was very far and remote. Yes Lord I know he will rise in the future... (in the resurrection day) - so Jesus made it more clearer: “
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. Do you believe this?”
Faith is not a feeling
It's an inner consciousness of the resurrection of Jesus, that in Him is the fullness of Life. Even if we should die, we will live, and whoever lives and believes in Him, nothing could shake and frightens him. A deeper understanding of ones belief, a full-trust in the Love offered and given by Jesus, not according to ones merit but through faith (Ephesians 2:8 "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.")
Jesus wept
In order to get through to our fears, we should never forget that we are humans. We can't just be indifferent and be cold blooded to all these deaths that we hear about this virus, but at the same time we should never let ourselves be conditioned and be imprisoned in fear and anguish. Jesus was 100% God, but He was also 100% human; meaning He has emotion and compassion. And I'm very convinced that right now He is weeping looking to all these people who died without their love ones beside them, but He is weeping more to those who died without having accepted His love and His mercy. I say it in an actual sense, because Jesus was, is and is to come (“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord
God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the
Almighty One.” - Revelation 1:8) He is in every heart of every physician, nurse, volontary worker and all those who are working to fight this pandemic.
Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?
Martha was worried when Jesus said to remove the stone that was covering the tomb, because it was already the 4th day. So Jesus reproved her, Martha did I not tell you if you believe... YOU WILL SEE THE GLORY OF GOD?
Faith is necessary. Without Faith there's nothing will happen in our relationship with God. Without Faith, the world stops because it lack something, like a dead body. That's why Faith and Action goes together, because action without faith has no life.
James 2:22-26 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Ephesians 6:16-18 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18Pray
in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To
this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the
saints.…
Untie yourself and come out from the tomb!
By faith we need to resist the temptation to submit to our fears and fixations. Let's untie ourselves from the bondages of lies that continually tells our mind that we can't make it. The lies that block us to see the brighter side. Let's go out from the tomb! From the tomb of our fear and insecurities.
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “
Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said, “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.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, +Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her,
Your brother will rise.” Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her, “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. Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And
Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus,
perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I
thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
Come Holy Spirit, manifest the glory of the Father and the work of the Son, bring Healing and Restoration to all the lands. Remember oh God your promises of old, as you have completed and brought salvation, let this COVid-19 be lifted out in the name of Jesus. Nothing is impossible with you. We believe and we entrust in you.
She was just a young girl when she received such invitation of the Angel. It’s absurd to imagine that it was all easy and exciting, instead it was absolutely terrible, in fact her first reaction was “How is it possible? I don’t have any man”. 
