July 29, 2024 - Memory of ss. Martha, Mary and Lazarus
Sir 24, 1-2.5-7.12-16 26-30; or 1Jo 4, 7-16
Jo 11, 19-27 or Jo12,1-11
Homily
This liturgical memory of Martha, Mary and Lazarus could be seen as the feast of friendship. Indeed, we see in the Gospels that Jesus has a very wide range of relationships with the various people he meets. First, there are the crowds, to whom he addresses his message and for whom he is often moved by compassion. Among these crowds there were, of course, those whom he disturbed and who fought him, in particular the Doctors of the Law, the Scribes and the Pharisees; but there were also a large number of disciples, men and women who followed him on his apostolic tours. At one point, he chose seventy-two of them to send on mission. And then there was the group of twelve apostles whom he had called individually and in a special way, and who shared his entire public life. Among them were some more intimate ones whom he brought with him at special moments, such as at the Transfiguration and in Gethsemane.