Lord, if You Had Been Here…

The words above, taken from John’s Gospel, were uttered by Martha first, then Mary, about the death of their brother Lazarus. Over the centuries, countless variations of this lament have been offered in the midst of suffering by Christians. The exact quotes are as follows:
 
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  (John 11:21-23) Then, when Mary arrived, she exclaimed the exact same words as her sister, also recorded in John’s Gospel: “When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)
 
Even if the words had not been an exact match, the meaning in both cases would have been clear, as both sisters knew that Jesus could have prevented the death of their brother by “being there”. Their “prayer” was sincere, and their grief was real. The (now famous) quote from St. Paul, “we walk by faith, not by sight” was not available to them, and their “sight” informed them that Jesus was not there with them in their time of need.
 
As we “fast forward” to the 21st century, having the advantage of accessing Sacred Scripture and Tradition, we can still wonder if Jesus is with us in our times of need. It is during such times we learn to rely on faith despite what we see going on in our lives. The poem “Footprints in the Sand” (also not available to Martha and Mary) addresses the concept of wondering where God is in our “most troublesome times”:
 
“One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
The LORD replied:
“My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and suffering.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.” (Mary Stevenson (1922 – 1999)
In the Gospel of Matthew, just before Jesus ascended into Heaven, these words of assurance were spoken to his disciples, and passed down through the centuries to all believers:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20)
As we fulfill the mandate of the Great Commission, we can find comfort and strength in knowing that God is always with us, especially during our most difficult and troublesome times.