Martha had been ill, but not this sick. Sister Joyce was surprised when she received the call: Martha is in the hospital. Then a second call: hurry in. And then she was there, Joyce looking at Martha as she prepared to take her last breath. Joyce, wanting to offer words of comfort, hunted for the Bible and turned to Psalm 23. Realizing that she left her glasses at home, she reached out her arm as far as she could, but the words were just a gray blob. So, Joyce summoned up old Sunday School memorization lessons and she started reciting Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd…” She surprised herself at how well it came back to her. She could see the expression on Martha’s face change as the familiar words were repeated. Joyce asked Martha if she would like to pray. Martha somehow managed to nod in assent, so the sisters bowed their heads, folded their hands, and Martha started the “Our Father…”. And then Martha saw Jesus.
I thought of the teachers and
pastors who taught Martha and Joyce where to find Psalm 23; of those formative
leaders who coaxed Joyce into memorizing “the whole thing.” At the
funeral, I saw the children, assembled there to watch and learn how to mourn
for their aunt, a lesson they will need to use often in their lives.
Lent is a time to learn why we belong to Christ, why we need each other, why we still need to gather together.
Why will people return to church post-COVID? Because ‘church’ teaches us how God gives us the power to live well, to die well, and to live again.
Because we all have an Aunt
Martha. And someday ‘Aunt Martha’ will be us.
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