Life's Inanities and Ironies

 The scene in Bethany is one of profound grief. Jesus, arriving four days after the death of his friend Lazarus , stands before a tomb where the air is heavy with sorrow and the scent of decay. A crowd of mourners, having come to comfort Martha and Mary , stands by as a poignant question hangs in the air: "Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?". Then, in a moment of stunning paradox, the Son of God, the "resurrection and the life," gives us the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept".  This familiar story, found in the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John , is far more than a simple act of miraculous power. It is a multi-layered narrative that reveals the divine and human nature of Jesus, subverts first-century Jewish expectations of life and death, and provides a powerful analogy for spiritual salvation and the ongoing work of the Christian community. By examining the historical context, the theologica...

Good day, brothers and sisters in Christ. Today, we come together to seek God’s wisdom on a matter close to His heart—how we, as His people, are to approach work and charity. The Bible, our unchanging guide, speaks clearly on these topics. It calls us to care for those who cannot provide for themselves—widows, orphans, and the truly poor—while also warning against supporting those who can work but choose not to. As a people committed to honoring God’s Word, we must understand and live out these teachings with faithfulness and discernment, reflecting both His love and His call to responsibility. Caring for Those Who Cannot Work Let us begin with God’s command to show compassion. The Scriptures leave no doubt about our duty to the needy. In James 1:27, we read, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This is a powerful charge—our faith is not j...