The vision of the valley of dry bones given to Ezekiel is a powerful proclamation of God’s life-giving power. The breath that brings the dry bones back to life reveals once again God’s ability to restore what appears utterly lifeless. In the reading from Romans, St Paul speaks of the contrast between setting the mind on the flesh and setting the mind on the Spirit. He bears witness to a faith that holds together both death and life.

The gospel reading tells us about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This extraordinary act provokes Judean leaders. The miracle becomes a sign of God’s power over death, the restoration of life and the promise of life after death. Yet this episode is not only about the miracle itself. It is also about grief, timing, and the painful question of whether death could have been avoided.

The scene in Bethany is crowded and emotionally charged. Even the disciples think of death as the ultimate opponent of God. It takes a while for the disciples to understand that the God in whom they trust is the God of life who has the power over death.

Lazarus dies, because Jesus is not there. The two sisters Martha and Mary cry, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Others echo the same question: “Could not he who opened the eyes of the man born blind have kept this man from dying?”  While ageing and death may be accepted as part of life, the death of someone still young like Lazarus, is much harder to accept.  His death is not something the sisters or the people were prepared to accept.

The troubling question appears three times in this event: Where is Jesus when you need him? First, Martha says, “Lord if you had been here…” Then, Mary comes to Jesus saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Finally, those who have gathered to comfort Mary and Martha ask among themselves, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

So, where was Jesus when they needed him? What was he doing while his friend Lazarus lay dying? How many people today ask the same question in moments of deep desperation, crying out for Jesus’ help and experiencing only silence? Many have lost trust in Jesus and walked away from faith. I have met some of them.

I think of a friend whose wife developed severe dementia in her fifties. What kind of faith would sustain him through that?  I think of a teenager who prayed desperately for Jesus to stop his parents’ marriage from breaking apart. There was no answer. He eventually gave up his faith. And yet, the absence of Jesus at the moment of Lazarus’ death is not the final word in this event.

In Bethany, Jesus deliberately delays his arrival. His purpose is to reveal something deeper:  that the God in whom they believe is a God of power extends even over death itself. The people see only what is in front of them—a sealed tomb and a life ended.  But Jesus stands among them as God’s messiah, the one who stands for the God who breathed life into the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision. He stands there to open the grave and to call Lazarus back into life. So that people may understand that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

If we cannot see beyond what is visible, if we cannot trust beyond the immediate pain, we will ask the same questions again and again: “If you had been here, this would not have happened.” So once more we ask: Where is Jesus when we need him most?

In moments like this, I am reminded of the poem Footprints in the Sand, attributed to Mary Stevenson.

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.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you.

Never, ever, during your trials and testing.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you.”

Mary and Martha and others felt the absence of Jesus when they needed him most. They saw Jesus’ love in action afterwards.

When we need Jesus most, he is there. But his love in action can be seen only after.