Present and Accounted For

January 6, 2013
                                                  St. John 11:32-38

³² Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
 ³³ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.
 ³⁴ And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
 ³⁵ Jesus wept.
 ³⁶ Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
 ³⁷ And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
 ³⁸ Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
                                                  verses 41 - 44
 ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
 ⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
 ⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
 ⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.



St. John 11 records the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  It also provides us with the reaction of his sisters Mary and Martha when Jesus arrived.  They did not encounter Him at the same time, however, their response was the same; "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."   Two sisters, as we get to know them in St. Luke 10.  Martha is  focused on preparing the meal and getting it served.  Mary is more intent on sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His message.  Both loved and served the Lord and had a personal relationship with Him.  It is clear however, that just as they were two different individuals their praise and worship was not the same but the Lord loved them and met them where they were.


In St.John 11 we see worship in verse 32 where Mary falls at His feet.  Earlier we see eager anticipation at His presence, praise, as Martha ran out to greet Him.  In the midst of their grief Mary and Martha choose to offer praise and worship. Mary was weeping and the Word tells us that Jesus wept.

How is it possible to praise the Lord and worship Him when someone you love is not longer here on earth and you find yourself grieving and wondering at times where the Lord is or why the outcome was not different?  In this passage we see the ever present Christ and His unfailing love and concern. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8  Furthermore, Isaiah 61:3 instructs us that we have been given "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." 

Called forth and loosed is what we witness in the account of the raising of Lazarus.
"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." - II Corinthians 5:8

In the midst of grief and overwhelming sadness the Lord can and will "call forth and loose"
that which binds us. He feels our pain, on earth He wept over the loss of His friend.  In heaven God did not allow the sun to shine as His Son lay dying on the cross.

Present and Accounted for Jesus is always here.  He is always there. He is everywhere.

God bless!

Sis. Stephanie D. K. Tyus