We need friends: Homily for Tuesday, July 29, 2025

We need friends. We heard not too long ago about Martha that was so busy about many things and how Mary chose the better part. But today we learn that Martha chose the better part too. She professes her faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Readings for Today.

We need friends

Friends are important. They’re not just a necessary aside that God wishes for us. Today, we get two examples of the power of the relationship that Moses has in the first reading with the people, and the friendship that Jesus shares with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

This gospel from John that we hear today is really one that is so rich with so much depth that we might not realize it at first. I choose this reading often for funerals because there are so many different emotions that come forth during this. I make one assumption and that is that there is a little bit, I don’t know if anger is the right word, but both Martha and Mary say the very first same thing when they first encounter Jesus. Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

We know in our own lives sometimes when someone dies that we love, we can feel like Lord, if you had been here, this would not have happened. But Jesus provides these opportunities because they are an invitation to recognize something deeper.

We heard not too long ago about Martha that was so busy about many things and how Mary chose the better part. But today we learn that Martha chose the better part too. She professes her faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were good friends of Jesus.

Now on one level, Jesus loves everybody because he’s the divine son of God. But on a human level, he needs friends. He needs those with whom he can relax and speak and laugh and enjoy company of people of whom he’s very fond. We see this also in the life of Lazarus. Lazarus, we don’t know much about him to be honest. There are encounters with Martha and Mary, not so much with Lazarus. When Jesus hears that Lazarus has died, he delays his coming.

Now we could certainly say that on the grand scale Jesus delayed his coming because he was about to do something that would lead many to faith. We read in the gospel that when Lazarus was raised from the dead, many came to believe in Jesus. So much so that the scribes and Pharisees wanted to kill Lazarus. To take away this witness of the fact that God wants to give us new and eternal life.

It causes us to think about our own relationship with friends. I don’t know if Moses would necessarily have considered all of the Israelites his friends. In fact, he references them as stiff-necked people. We know when we look at the book of Exodus as a whole, that they make his life much more difficult. They don’t listen. They’re impatient. They complain.

Those of you who are parents who took young children on a vacation, know what it’s like to lead Moses, or for Moses rather, to lead the Israelites. Because when you take children on a vacation, well, they complain. They’re tired. They don’t listen. It can be something that while the vacation is enjoyable, getting there, not so much.

But Moses makes an important distinction for us. Because it’s Moses in the presence of God and speaking to God, that time and again, we learn something very important about him. We know that his relationship with God is solid and strong. But Moses also says to God, I’m with them. I’m with them. I am with this people. As stiff-necked as they are, as difficult as they are, as much as they may want to complain, nonetheless, I’m with them.

Because he’s with them, he goes to God time and again, to intercede on their behalf when they’re not filled with faith. In many respects, just as Jesus asks Martha if she believes, he asks us if we believe. And hopefully, through the intercession of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, we will be able to give God Martha’s answer. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.

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