In this weekend’s Gospel passage, we hear about the death and burial of Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary. On his arrival, Jesus met and pacified Martha with one of the most treasured of His teachings and which still brings great consolation at funeral services today. Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus offers “eternal life,” which begins with faith now and lasts forever. Then He asked one of the most important questions of all times that is recorded in the Scriptures…Jesus posed this question to Martha, “Do you believe this, Martha?” Martha answered, “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the One Who is coming into the world.” Martha pronounced her confession of faith as a response to Jesus Who had revealed Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Her faith did not depend upon seeing her brother raised from the dead...that came after this exchange. Faith does not rest on proof. John's story offers a to us all those words that bring such consolation at funeral services: “I am the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in Me even if he [or she] die, will live, and everyone who believes in Me will never die.” While the miracle of raising Lazarus from grave shows Jesus’ divine power over death itself, it also shows Him as a wonderfully sensitive human being. His love for Lazarus and his sisters is heartwarming. Martha's and Mary's complaint that Jesus' presence would have averted Lazarus’ death shows us how real their friendship was. So do Jesus' tears. He feels the pain of Mary and Martha. He feels the anguish that death brings. He feels the pain for those who refused to believe. I believe that today he weeps for those caught up in war and famine. He weeps for children lying in hospitals with serious medical problems. He weeps for those who feel unwanted, unloved and useless. He weeps with each of us and feels the pain and anguish that we feel. The fact is that God is Good – and not because everything in life is smooth sailing. He’s Good because He IS Goodness. Difficult things may be happening in our life right now, but somehow God is in this with us. He promises that we won’t be tested beyond what we can endure and that He will bring us through it. Let us pray that He will help us to be strong and that His glory may be seen in the way that He helps us through the days ahead. John and Jim were professional players with the Atlanta Braves who lived and breathed baseball. These guys breathed, discussed, ate, and slept baseball. One of their big concerns was whether there would be baseball in heaven. They loved baseball so much that they were not sure at all they wanted to spend eternity in heaven unless they could play baseball. They had an agreement that the first one who died would somehow get a message back to earth, letting the other know whether baseball was in heaven or not. Well, it happened. John died, and Jim grieved. He grieved for days -deeply saddened over his friend John’s death. About two weeks went by, and then it happened. Jim was awakened in the middle of the night by the calling of his name, “Jim, Jim, Jim, wake up! This is John.” “John, where are you?” “I’m in heaven - and I have some good news and bad news. It’s exciting, Jim. We do have baseball in heaven. It’s great. We play every day and there are marvelous teams, and tough, exciting competition.” “That’s great,” said Jim. “But what’s the bad news?” “Well,” said John, “You are scheduled to pitch next Tuesday.” GOSPEL QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: Do you recognize that Jesus is walking beside you through thick and thin?