Confidence

“Have you seen the affection and confidence with which Christ's friends treat Him? In a completely natural way the sisters of Lazarus ‘blame’ Jesus for being away: ‘We told you! If only you'd been here!’ Speak to him with calm confidence: ‘Teach us to treat you with the loving friendliness of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, as the first twelve treated you.’” (Saint Josemaria).

Resurrection of Lazarus (Henry Ossawa Tanner)

Have you ever really considered the story of Martha greeting Christ after her brother Lazarus had died…?

We know from the Gospels that Christ was a very close friend of the siblings.  Mary, Martha and Lazarus are mentioned several times int eh Gospels.  Christ visited them and spent time with them and seemed – by all accounts – to enjoy spending time with them.  And like any good friend, Christ was comfortable with them and they were comfortable with Him.

When He arrived – after Lazarus’ death, Martha spoke to Him with intimacy.  I do not mean with a sexual or physical intimacy, but with the intimacy of a heart that knows that it can confide in a loved one and one who loves them.  For example, my children will often shout at me when they are angry with something else.  They will express their frustrations with me in a way that they would not feel comfortable in expressing to me.  They do not need to worry that if they are angry that I will not love them.  They do not need to worry that I will never forgive them.  They know that I am here for them and they can trust me in my love for them.  And Martha felt an infinite amount more of that trust because she was not dealing with a weak and flawed human being like me, she was dealing with God Himself…

And because of this she spoke bluntly and with confidence…

“When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’” (John 11:19-27).

Imagine the confidence of Martha to know that Christ would love her and comfort her regardless, and being able to basically say – this is YOUR fault, because You had the power to prevent this…

Saint Josemaria remarked on this confidence when he said, “Have you seen the affection and confidence with which Christ's friends treat Him? In a completely natural way the sisters of Lazarus ‘blame’ Jesus for being away: ‘We told you! If only you'd been here!’ Speak to him with calm confidence: ‘Teach us to treat you with the loving friendliness of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, as the first twelve treated you.’”

And I have been reflecting on that today.  You see, it seems to me that that quiet confidence is exactly what is lacking in my own prayers.  I pray for the intention but secretly in the back of my mind I wonder if God loves me enough to help me.  Perhaps it is because sometimes God says NO to me.  And perhaps I have convinced myself that means He does not love me enough, when in fact He is merely doing an infinitely better job than I do as a parent when I tell my children NO about one thing so that there will be room for something else.

So, today, I pray for the Grace to “Speak to him with calm confidence…” (Saint Josemaria).

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.