Between the weather and the overly soft pillow there is a dull ache residing in my head that even with the something I take for headaches waxes and wanes.
At the end of each day of Creation God called it, “Good,” for so it is. We, here and now, call today, Friday, this particular Friday, Good, and so it is. While the what we remember, Christ’s suffering and death, is both unjust and brutal, we also remember what comes next is the glorious Resurrection. This is a beautiful “not yet, and already here” moment paired with an “already here, and not yet” moment. Something that separated us from God, the sin of Adam & Eve, is reunited through the “Yes” of Mary and the ongoing “Yes” of Jesus through the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
This week I’ve been pondering the story of Lazarus’ resurrection, and in that moment just before his Resurrection we hear Martha’s profession of Faith:
She (Martha) said to him, “Yes, Lord.
John 11: 19 – 27
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
Martha’s faith, her understanding of who Jesus is, is transformed into something deep and profound, even before she witnesses Jesus bringing her brother back to life. Martha’s profession of faith, written in the book of John astounds me. Why have I never noticed this before now? What is it about this moment in my own experience of Jesus that I see this profession for both how profound it is, and that John took the time to record this in his Gospel. Martha’s earlier encounter with Jesus changed her mind, her heart, her very being. Jesus invitation to her when she went to him, seeking his help is accepted and lived. Here we see this change.
in and around this we also see Jesus asking, calling for Mary. He calls her out of her sorrow to be with him and give witness to the resurrection of Lazarus. He seeks her out!
There is so much here, so much depth, so much to ponder. So much of Jesus love lived in these few days, and what’s coming? Well today. Today is coming, the ugliness of humanity is coming. And yet, like Creation this is Good. It is Good. From this paradoxical ugliness we are restored to beauty.
This last couple of years the desire is for Intimacy with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Part of this is looking at life experiences, seeing where there is a need to forgive and at the same time coming to understand the other side of the memory that comes up. What was the other person/people experiencing? Was there deep hurt, anger frustration, grief? Would I be offering that person consolation in their experience in that moment? How do I then offer the person consolation in this moment?
Jesus wept with Martha and Mary with the loss of Lazarus, his friend. Jesus weeps with us in our losses, our frustrations. Jesus invites Thomas to touch the places of woundedness in Himself so that Thomas would come to believe. Martha’s profession of Faith is profound, as is Thomas’s. And here and now, what is my profession of Faith? What am I coming to understand about Jesus? What am I coming to understand about this life long relationship?
As a quilter I am coming to understand something else. I love quilting. I love where it’s taken me. I love the grace of, the mystery revealed under the needle as I stitch. Quilting is a gift in need of exercising, more on that soon.
As we live Easter for the next seven weeks may you experience the Resurrected Christ deeply in your being.
God bless,
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 