Just Show Up! (John 11:15) | Holy Trinity Church Webster, NY

I can’t imagine that Martha was anything but heartbroken and angry with Jesus when he showed up four days late to save her brother, Lazarus. She and her sister, Mary, had sent an urgent message for him to come; “Lord, your dear friend is sick.”

The two sisters were particularly close to Jesus (remember the dinner? Martha fumed away in the kitchen while Mary sat talking with Jesus.) They were themselves . . . no pious holy card figures. “Why weren’t you here, Jesus?! Our brother would never have died!”

And, what was the reason Jesus gave for his delay? “For your (the disciples) sake, I am glad I was not with him so that you will believe” (That Christ has power over sin and death). Jn, 11:15. What follows, of course, totally amazed everybody; Lazarus comes back to life.

So, what’s the point for you and me? Well, unless you are like Jesus and can raise dead people back to life, you’d better be there. What’s the line from the movie, Annie Hall? 80% of life is just showing up. Not being there to win everyone’s attention, not to do anything special, JUST BE THERE.

We don’t believe that about ourselves, do we? That we make a difference. Many times we think, “who am I that people would want me to be there? What will I say? What should I do?” They won’t care if I’m not there.

But, it’s not that way for people who love you. Your presence is a comfort to them. I remember my father’s face buried amongst hundreds of people in the stands as we faced our arch-rivals in basketball. It was such a comfort to know he was there . . . as we lost the game.

You see, you don’t need to say anything. You don’t need to be witty or profound or anything. Just be you and show up. Love will do the rest.

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