Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

Jn 11:19-27

We all will die, and we all are aware of that. Even Lazarus who has been raised from the dead had to die one more time. So, why did Jesus raise Lazarus back to life? Why did He bring him back into this world, when at the same time He is promising us that Heaven, our ultimate destiny, is incomparably better than anything we experience in this life? Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead because He wanted to prove that He is the Lord of the living not the dead -- “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” But this makes me think that perhaps Lazarus didn’t believe in that and maybe he died without reaching heaven? That’s why Jesus wept, and that’s why He raised Him from the dead, so that Lazarus could fix his unbelief. Then after dying a second time, he could go straight to Heaven. We don’t know that for sure, but it reminds me that when I die, I won’t have that second chance of fixing my life, like Lazarus had. That’s why I need to make the best usage of the time I have right now, today, and ask the Lord to increase my faith and to convert my heart.