February 20th, 2026
Friday, February 20
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Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may entrust yourself to me. But now let’s go to him.” Then Thomas (known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let’s go too, so that we may die with him.”
~John 11:14-16
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Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may entrust yourself to me. But now let’s go to him.” Then Thomas (known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let’s go too, so that we may die with him.”
~John 11:14-16
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Death shows up in many ways. It’s not just an end-of-life thing. Death of hope. Death of a relationship. Death of good health. Death of “me.” No matter what form death takes, we don’t want it. We want someone to not let it happen. It messes things up. It causes wreckage and pain and loss. It leaves us flailing about, struggling to make sense of the future.
This was the case for Mary and Martha in the reading from John. Their brother Lazarus has just died. His death left them in pain and sorrow. It was not ok. And Jesus was slow to help. You can imagine Martha’s angst: Why weren’t you here, Jesus?
In the story of Lazarus, death was necessary for Jesus to show that he is the one who has power over life and death. If we only have a Jesus of the good times, we’re missing out on a lot. This is the Americanized, Disneyfied gospel. If we live lives that constantly have the mission to avoid death, it’s also very likely that we’ll avoid experiencing the power of God over death.
Jesus says death was necessary so that Lazarus’ sisters (and others) would “believe” (in most translations). I translated it as “entrust yourself to” Jesus. That is more the idea here. Belief or faith is not merely thinking in our heads, “Yes, I believe it’s true that Jesus is the Son of God.” It’s about entrusting our lives to a reality. In order for Mary & Martha to entrust their lives to the reality that Jesus is the Son of God who has the power over life and death, death needed to happen. Only experiences of death can bring us into contact with the one who brings life from death.
Isn’t that interesting? Death, it turns out, is not an enemy, but becomes the doorway to experience the life-giving power of Jesus Christ. Death is necessary.
Jesus’ disciple Thomas is bold.. He says, “Let’s go so we may die with him.” What you talkin’ ‘bout, Thomas? But this is exactly the right response. During Lent, we are invited to slow our lives down and to invite death. Not to be morbid, but because death is necessary for us to truly experience what it means to entrust our lives to the one who has power over death. Often it is only these experiences that will transform our faith from mere “believing” to “entrusting.”
Paul says famously in his letter to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:19-20). Death is necessary for us all. It is only through death that we find true life and real faith.
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This was the case for Mary and Martha in the reading from John. Their brother Lazarus has just died. His death left them in pain and sorrow. It was not ok. And Jesus was slow to help. You can imagine Martha’s angst: Why weren’t you here, Jesus?
In the story of Lazarus, death was necessary for Jesus to show that he is the one who has power over life and death. If we only have a Jesus of the good times, we’re missing out on a lot. This is the Americanized, Disneyfied gospel. If we live lives that constantly have the mission to avoid death, it’s also very likely that we’ll avoid experiencing the power of God over death.
Jesus says death was necessary so that Lazarus’ sisters (and others) would “believe” (in most translations). I translated it as “entrust yourself to” Jesus. That is more the idea here. Belief or faith is not merely thinking in our heads, “Yes, I believe it’s true that Jesus is the Son of God.” It’s about entrusting our lives to a reality. In order for Mary & Martha to entrust their lives to the reality that Jesus is the Son of God who has the power over life and death, death needed to happen. Only experiences of death can bring us into contact with the one who brings life from death.
Isn’t that interesting? Death, it turns out, is not an enemy, but becomes the doorway to experience the life-giving power of Jesus Christ. Death is necessary.
Jesus’ disciple Thomas is bold.. He says, “Let’s go so we may die with him.” What you talkin’ ‘bout, Thomas? But this is exactly the right response. During Lent, we are invited to slow our lives down and to invite death. Not to be morbid, but because death is necessary for us to truly experience what it means to entrust our lives to the one who has power over death. Often it is only these experiences that will transform our faith from mere “believing” to “entrusting.”
Paul says famously in his letter to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:19-20). Death is necessary for us all. It is only through death that we find true life and real faith.
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For reflection:
Prayer:
Lord, you are the God of life and hope. You exist not to stop death, but bring life out of death. May we be bold enough to entrust our lives to you, to let our selves die so that you might be alive in us. Amen
- Read John 11.
- What areas of your life might be keeping you from entrusting yourself to Jesus more fully and experiencing Jesus’ power over death? What might it look like to let those areas die?
- Do you have an “image” that you work hard to keep up? What’s going on behind that? What might it look like for Jesus to let that die and replace that image with the life of Christ?
- For those with kids: Talk about how we all try to be “someone.” Sometimes we try hard to act a certain way or we have ideas we want to happen. These are not bad always, but they can keep us from being like Jesus, which is always better. Sometimes it’s just good to let kids know that they don’t have to try to be something they think the world around will “like.” Putting trust in Jesus means something new is possible!
Prayer:
Lord, you are the God of life and hope. You exist not to stop death, but bring life out of death. May we be bold enough to entrust our lives to you, to let our selves die so that you might be alive in us. Amen
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