Storytellers, Part 1: “Impacting the Impacter,” Rev. Dr. James Wilkes
Welcome to the first week of our series Storytellers, where are examining stories of impact in scripture. This week, we will be in the gospel of John, chapter 11.
1. In the Primer Podcast, Pastor James Wilkes (Elon First Baptist) talks about experiencing compassion fatigue. Talk about a time when you may have experienced something similar, perhaps while taking care of a loved one.
2. If you have ever emptied yourself in care for someone else, how do you allow yourself to be filled back up (by God or another)?
Read John 11:1-37. In the Primer Podcast, Pastor Wilkes explored the emotions of Mary and Martha, after their brother Lazarus—for whom they were caring—died from his illness.
3. Discuss what it is like when you have been praying for something and it doesn’t turn out the way you expected, or desired. In what ways do you empathize with Martha and Mary here?
Re-read John 11:17-20. Pastor Wilkes intuits that Mary does not go to see Jesus along with Martha because she is angry Jesus did not come in time to prevent her brother’s death.
4. What are your thoughts on being angry with God? Is this ok? Have you ever been angry with God? Discuss this compassionately within your group.
Martha (verse 21) and Mary (verse 32) both say the same thing to Jesus at different times in the passage: “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” However, Martha processes this through theology, while Mary falls at Jesus’s feet in tears. Mary’s response moves Jesus to tears of compassion (verse 35).
5. Talk about Jesus’s differing reactions to each woman’s grief, based on how they processed it differently. What does this tell you about God? How is Jesus moved differently, through Martha’s theological approach and Mary’s emotional response?
6. Re-read verses 28-35, focusing on the interaction between Jesus and Mary. Though Mary did not come to see Jesus, Martha tells her that “the Teacher” is “asking for you” (verse 28). What does this tell us about our God?
7. To close, revisit this question from the Primer Podcast: “What happens when you have impacted somebody and it doesn’t turn out the way you expected, or desired?” Discuss how you can allow God to comfort you and carry you through—entrusting the outcome to God.
(*Video available after Sunday services)
