Opening Prayer
Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Gelasian Sacramentary, 5th Century
TEXT
John 11:17-27 CEV
When Jesus got to Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many people had come from the city to comfort Martha and Mary because their brother had died. When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Yet even now I know that God will do anything you ask.”
Jesus told her, “Your brother will live again!”
Martha answered, “I know that he will be raised to life on the last day, when all the dead are raised.”
Jesus then said, “I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord!” she replied. “I believe that you are Christ, the Son of God. You are the one we hoped would come into the world.”
Reading
Jesus,
You wept over Lazarus your friend
and over Jerusalem your city,
and we too are deeply saddened
by personal tragedy and international disaster.
Show us how we can weep with those who weep
so that we can come alongside others in their darkness
rather than judging them for their faults,
As you have done with us and for us
in the Father’s name.
—Anonymous