Reflection
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died”.
John 11:1 – 45
Martha’s words were matter of fact and to the point. ” Where were you when we needed you?” Do we consider that accusatory or do we see it as an honest question based in relationship? The fact is that she also expressed her belief in him, “If you had been here, he would not have died.” Jesus apparently took no offense. He expressed his own grief and used the situation for his own purpose. Martha was among his friends and had hosted him in her home. In turn, Martha was direct and she had faith in their friendship. She could be honest with him. “Truth makes possible the exposure of the soul and the riches of experience. It validates a person’s life… The Martha factor of friendship brings a woman’s experience into the light of new understandings.”(Joan Chittister).
Prayer
May I speak the truth in love.
Ephesians 4:15
Action
Consider if you are able to speak the truth in stressful situations. Do you equivocate and avoid the facts? Can you “speak the truth in love” even when it is difficult?
Suggested Reading
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
John 11:1–45
True friendship ought never to conceal what it thinks.
St. Jerome
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Ephesians 4:15
One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.
Ramakrishna
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
Buddha
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.
Mahatma Gandhi
The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.
John F. Kennedy
A friend can tell you things you don’t want to tell yourself.
Frances Ward Weller
Telling a truth is not only a matter of character, but is also a matter of appreciating factual situations and representing them without bias.
M.K. Soni