When Our Bodies Fail

“. . . [Jesus] said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” - John 11:4, NRSV

In the gospel of John 11:1-44, we find the amazing story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. After Lazarus fell very ill and died, his sisters, Mary and Martha, were greatly troubled about the passing of their brother. The grief at the loss of a sibling is crippling. They both boldly said to Jesus on separate occasions, “. . . ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would have not died’” (vv. 21, 32). Yet, Jesus responded with compassion.

This story gives a perfect example of Jesus’ tender love for his people. Jesus wept when he saw the pain that Lazarus’ sister, Mary was experiencing. The gospel also specifies that Jesus was, “. . . greatly disturbed. . .” when he arrived at the tomb of Lazarus (v. 38). Despite these things, Jesus praised his Father and then commanded Lazarus to come out of the tomb, which he did, despite having been dead for four days! An amazing miracle!

However, prior to Lazarus’ death, while he was very sick, Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus about the condition of their brother (v. 3). When Jesus learned of Lazarus’ illness, “. . . he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it’” (v. 4). It is very possible that Jesus knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead, so that could be what he meant through this statement. Yet, we cannot know for sure if Jesus knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead at the point he said this. This truth lies in a deeper knowledge of the dual nature of humanity and divinity of Jesus. And I would argue, no human knows enough about this to say for sure. One could spend many pages discussing the complexities of Jesus’ natures and hypothesizing about the interplay of the Holy Trinity here (I am currently writing a whole book about the humanity of Jesus in the gospels!). However, what I think is more productive for the present reflection, is the idea of our illnesses being an opportunity to glorify God.

Jesus said, “this illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (Jn 11:4). In the midst of our deepest illnesses, there is still opportunity to glorify God. We can still praise God when we are our sickest. We can still love God when our loved ones die. Especially in these moments of our bodies failing, we must surrender to God our hurt. Jesus instructed us:

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 12:28-30, emphasis added)

This is sometimes difficult to do. Despite Jesus assuring us that we will find rest in relying on him, it is challenging at times to turn to God when we are ill. However, we are called to do so.

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

– St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 1

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All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible

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