Opinion Column

When a supporting role is vital

Andy Bryant reminds us of three people who played a vital supporting role during the week leading to Jesus’ crucifixion.

We are journeying towards Holy Week, eight days that quite literally change the world.  We know more about the last week of Jesus’ life than any other part of his earthly ministry.  From the Gospel accounts we can virtually plot what happened each day from Palm Sunday through to his arrest on Maundy Thursday, his trial and death on Good Friday and the wonderful mystery of that first Easter Day.
 
From the moment of Jesus’s triumphal entry, riding on a donkey, into Jerusalem, there is a rising sense of tension.  Jesus would have been well aware of this, and the inevitability of how events would unfold, and all that he would have to endure.  For all the crowds that were drawn to Jesus, there is an essential loneliness to his journey through this week.  Although he had the companionship of his disciples, they needed more support than they were able to offer as Jesus tried to help them understand why things must be this way.
 
Amidst the unfolding drama there is one place where Jesus can find rest and comfort.  Each evening, he leaves the city and goes back to the village of Bethany and to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  This household of two sisters and their brother had forged a special bond of friendship with Jesus and it is to them that Jesus turns in his final days.
 
We will never know how much their care helped Jesus endure these days, but it is profoundly moving to think of the way they must have ministered to Jesus as He prepared to lay down his life for the salvation of the world.  There was nothing they could do to change the unfolding events but what they could do they did – they offered their home, shared a place to eat and sleep, and gave him their love and friendship.
 
Every year in Holy Week I give thanks for Mary, Martha and Lazarus and am moved by their devotion.  I literally thank God that when the world was turning against him, and when his own disciples were bewildered and confused, that these three ordinary, wonderful human beings were there to care for God’s Son. In some small way, in ways they may never have realised, they helped Jesus face the cross and win the victory of the empty tomb.
 
In the unfolding events of Holy Week when so often the worst of humanity was on display, they represent the best of humanity.
 
In our hour of need may we find a Mary, Martha, and Lazarus to sustain us.  When those around us are in need may we be as Mary, Martha, and Lazarus for them.  May we never forget that in a time of crisis, we may not be able to change events, we may not be able to stop the pain and hurt, but it is important to just be alongside people, to do the small things we can, to be a caring presence.
 
The picture of Jesus riding into Jerusalem is from the James Tissot Collection at the Brooklyn Museum.
 

The Revd Andrew Bryant is the Canon for Mission and Pastoral Care at Norwich Cathedral. He was previously Team Rector of Portishead, Bristol, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells, and has served in parishes in the Guildford and Lichfield Dioceses, as well as working for twelve years with Kaleidoscope Theatre, a charity promoting integration through theatre for young adults with Down’s Syndrome.
 
You can read Andrew's latest blog entry here and can follow him via his Twitter account @AndyBry3.

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