It Could Be You and Might Very Well Be!!
“The Principle of Unintended Consequences” means that sometimes, the results of some of our actions are not what we anticipated at all. Did you ever do something for someone that the person took the wrong way? It frequently happens. It certainly happened to Jesus all the time!
Lazarus is the third of the triad of characters in John’s Gospel whose stories have been seen from the earliest days of Christianity as baptismal stories. (The Samaritan woman at the well and the man born blind, (cf. previous Lenten Sundays are the other two.))
God knew what was to happen. The “world”, viz., those who have it all figured out on their own terms, either with or without God, did not know, in the case of Lazarus, that the principle of unexpected consequences would launch the salvation of the world in what happens in this story.
Lazarus, (in Hebrew, Eleazar) whose name means “God will help”, was sick and died before the arrival of Jesus on the scene. Jesus was chided by both Martha and Mary for his tardiness in responding to the crisis. However, Jesus knew Who He is, viz., the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus, indeed, demonstrates this in the mighty sign which He performed at Lazarus’ tomb , the dead man emerged at the command of the Giver of Life. Where there had been death, life once again abounded.
However, the principle of unexpected consequences kicks in because of another reality known as
“the Caiaphas principle”, “that it was expedient that one man die for the sake of the nation.” That is exactly what was about to happen, but more than Caiaphas ever imagined.
Because Jesus gave life to the dead Lazarus, it was decided that it was expedient that Jesus must die. Because Jesus died on the cross “lifted up” for the “crime” of life-giving, the giving of the fullness of life burst forth for all in the death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because we are invited by the Holy Spirit and accept the call of baptism and the Christian life, we die to our old way of life, our old attitudes, and our pre-conceptions and rise with the Lord through our incorporation into His Body. How paradoxical and wonderful and marvelous it is!!
It is only fitting that human language and the human mind is unable to grasp what is going on here. That is why we need faith. Religious language is a weak effort at best. Martha was making a lofty faith statement, but she did not know exactly what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
Martha is correct when she answers Jesus. Still, she still had more to grasp because Jesus had not yet completed His Revelation through His death and Resurrection. It is only when Jesus is “lifted up”. However, she is moving in the right direction.
Now, the question re-appears. Who exactly is the disciple whom Jesus loves, the one whose gifted faith was deepest of all? Was it the Samaritan woman? Was it the man born blind? Was it Lazarus? Was it Martha? All of their lives were radically changed by their encounters with Jesus. As a matter of fact, with God’s Help, you could be the “Beloved Disciple” Think about it! 031305 AD jfq
