When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:32

The words that Mary says to Jesus are the same that Martha had used previously (John 11:21): “Lord, if you have been here, my brother would not have died.” The difference is that Mary knelt at his feet. She worshipped Jesus. She knew the scars of death, and she would come to know the scars of Jesus’ feet.

We are so much more like Martha, impetuously rushing in our panic, maybe even blaming God in this hour of death, never fully grasping the truth of Jesus’ presence. But falling on our knees to the living God means giving these hard truths to God, who knows more about us and our situation than we could possibly understand. Jesus weeps with us in this hour. Death is an evil that angers Jesus because it has such a hold on his people. But it will not be the last word for us. Indeed, we may tweak the refrain of the old spiritual: “When I fall down on my knees with my face to the rising Son, O Lord, have mercy on me.”

--Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,