Lord, behold, the one you love is sick

[AI translation] It has been a tradition among us for many years that we hold the so-called Old and Sick Sunday in our congregation at the beginning of June. Let this Sunday be an occasion this year when our thoughts and prayers are especially directed to those of our brethren who, through illness or infirmity of advanced age, are unable to come among us. The passage we read takes us to a house where there is also a sick person, the sky has fallen over the happy little home in Bethany, where a very serious and serious illness has taken the brothers Mary and Martha, Lazarus, by surprise. It is very enlightening for us to observe what these people do, how they behave in this ordeal, and how Jesus sees the illness of a believer in him.I. What do these people do in their distress? They announce it to Jesus, they send Him a message, saying, "Lord, behold, the one whom you love is sick." (Jn 11,3) There are several important lessons for us in this short message alone.
a) Firstly, that the one whom Jesus loves can also be sick, can also be afflicted, afflicted. So sickness, suffering, the physical and material misery of life on earth does not mean that God does not love us, that God has forgotten such a person! It is good to be aware of this, because many times in the midst of adversity we are tempted to think: "Is this how God loves us, is this what God's love means? Well, then: when a person falls into bed and cannot provide for his family, or even: when death comes knocking on the door of a peaceful, happy home and takes away the one who was most needed - it does not mean that the love of God has diminished.
Lazarus must have been very seriously ill, we know from the rest of the story, yet with what faith the two sisters say: 'Lord, behold, the one whom you love is sick. There is nothing unworthy in this, no argument. But, Lord, how is it possible that the one you love is sick? How is it that one who is in such good friendship with Thee is in trouble? No, there is no such reproach in this message, and it sounds like a happy confession of faith. And Jesus does not reject it, He does not say: No, I don't love Lazarus, that's why he's sick! Nor does he say: 'Well, here is God's punishment, he has not listened to me, now the judgment is upon him. No, there is no such thing! Mary and Martha are right: the one Jesus loves is sick.
b) Then it is also very important in this message that they do not say: 'Lord, the one who loves you is sick! They could have said it that way, because it would have been true - but they said much more than that: 'Lord, behold, the one you love is sick'. This is more important, this is bigger, this is more, this is everything! This is the surest foundation on which to build. This is the paramount fact that Jesus loves. Then, if this is certain, if the soul is certain of this, then sickness is a secondary factor, it loses its true edge and its danger. This is the way to call Jesus to the bedside of every sick person, the way to take note of every trouble that may befall us, ourselves, or our loved ones on this earth.
This is how to be strengthened, even in the midst of adversity, in the absolute certainty, in the comforting knowledge that Jesus loves us! This saying yes to Jesus' love frees us from the agony of the whys. It is also the greatest help for physical healing, because when I know that the Lord loves me, my heart is at peace, my nerves are calmed, I am not tormented by fear, I am not consumed by worry, I am overwhelmed by the peace of God. Whoever knows that he is in the love of God, which Jesus is on this earth, can say with complete peace of mind that he is God: "Thy will be done". Do you understand the power of being able to say to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick?
c) And how much peace and tranquility! Mary and Martha are not nervous, not in a hurry. They simply send a message to Jesus. And in this message, there is no headlong wailing, no little faith. They are not saying: 'Oh Lord, come quickly, for there is trouble! Those who, in trouble, in great trouble, can say to Jesus: 'Lord, the one you love is sick' - testify that it is not only in times of danger that they think of Jesus, that they turn to the Lord. The little home in Bethany had a serious, intimate relationship with the Lord even before, in the days of prosperity, so they were not frightened by the trial, and therefore did not lose heart in the trouble. And so it is: if we want to share in Jesus' comfort and help in times of trial, we must welcome Him even before, in the days of joy and prosperity. If Mary and Mary had not been in intimate communion with the Lord, they might not have known where to send a message to Him - they might not even have found Jesus. It is not a good thing to leave the search for Jesus' help until after the trouble has come to the house, for it is easy to get in a hurry and not know where to look. It is much better to send my prayers and my message of help to Jesus, to whom I am bound by an old, intimate friendship. Then one can do what Martha and Mary do here - because look: they don't even call Jesus, they just report the trouble, they tell me, they let me know that Lazarus is ill. They don't ask him to come at all, to heal their brother, to perform a miracle, as he usually does with the sick - they don't ask anything at all, they just send a message: Lord, the one you love is sick. It is in this message that we leave the rest, Lord, to You, the rest is up to You, decide what You want to do. This is true trust, this is prayer full of faith. It is when a man does not prescribe to God, Lord, do this, Lord, do not do that, but pours out his heart, tells his troubles and leaves the rest to the Lord, because what He does is good. (Mt 6,8) Let us therefore dare to trust more in Him who loves us, who loves our elders and our sick, let us dare to behave like the brothers of Bethany at Lazarus' sickbed!
But here is another very important question. Perhaps the doctor as an interesting, scientific case, the nurse as an opportunity to earn a living - perhaps the patient himself and his relatives as a scourge, a curse that prevents him from doing many things that he would like to do - or perhaps as a source of a great deal of mortal fear. And Jesus says that sickness, the sickness of the believer, is a great opportunity for the glory of God to shine through him. Here again, when he acknowledges Lazarus' illness, he says to his disciples, "This sickness is not fatal, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (Mt 6,4). How?
a) In this hectic world, the sickbed, the sickroom, can be an unwitting resting place for the weary person. The man who has not found peace even in his leisure time is finally forced by God to rest. Oh, what a great blessing it can be to spend time in sickness, if not only the body but also the soul can be quieted and stand before God, and recognise that it is the Lord who is now, in this sickness too, particularly confronting him, who is warning him of something, who wants something from him. Happy is the man who feels the hand of God in his illness and waits in silence for the Lord to speak and act! Such sickness is truly to the glory of God.
b) Then God speaks not only to the patient himself, but also to those around him through the illness. The suffering of one sick neighbour can change the tone of life in the whole house. Shared concerns build bridges between souls and bring people together. The illness of a child, for example, can bring a marriage that was falling apart back together. Then the sight of human suffering forces one to recognise one's own helplessness and dependence on God, and teaches one to pray humbly. I have had a sickbed beside which an entire congregation learned to pray in community. So do not allow what can be a blessing to become a curse and a scourge for you!
c) Sickness is also a great school, not only for those who suffer from it, but also for those who surround the sick person. It is here that Jesus teaches the most difficult subjects: tenderness, patience, consolation, love that is always serene, diaconia, the inexhaustible variety of the ministry of help. In short, a condensed form of Christian life.Illness is not only the fate of some people, but also a great calling for all of us. You know this statement of Jesus: "I was sick and you came to see me". The service we have done for the sick will be brought out on the last day. Many times we don't even know, we don't even imagine, what some small expression of love can mean to the sick.
Once a chaplain was called to a dying man. When he arrived, the patient was already unconscious. Communion could no longer be given. So the pastor bent over him and said the Lord's prayer in a half voice. Later, the patient was healed and he himself told what he had experienced in those moments. "I felt," he said, "that I was getting weaker and weaker, and then I sank into a state of unconsciousness. But there were still moments when I could not move - but I was conscious. At such moments I was in utter despair, because I thought that man and God had already left me. I was also horrified to hear the doctors speak of me with pity as a hopeless case. But I could give no sign of myself. And once again, as I lay in this strange, half-awake state, I suddenly noticed someone leaning over me and saying the Lord's Prayer in a low but clear voice. At that moment I was overcome by the happy knowledge that I was not abandoned, for I have a Father in heaven, He has not forgotten me! And that was enough. Then I fell asleep, calm as a child, knowing that God's love was watching over me. I know no more. The next morning, when I woke up, the power of sickness was broken over me. I could move and speak again. The doctors were astonished to find that I had been lucky to get through the crisis. But I know that this improvement is linked to the Lord's Prayer that someone was praying over me at the time...". So do not spare the signs of love around the sick! The more charity you show to His afflicted, the more the Son of God will be glorified through the sickness!
Every sickness is also, in the end, a great invitation. Every illness is ultimately a warning of inevitable death! Therefore every illness is a great urgency. Do you already have the merit of Christ, do you already have forgiveness of sins, eternal life? Have you accepted God's greatest good, his greatest help: the reality of salvation? If so, then whatever sickness comes upon you, this statement of Jesus applies to you: 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it' (John 11:4). This is how Jesus sees the sickness of the believer in Him. So let us dare to see it this way!
Amen.
Date: 7 June 1959 (Old and Sick Sunday).