For her part, Martha too is perplexed: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died," she says. "But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus replies, "Your brother will rise again." Martha shows she understands the theology behind this statement when she says "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." But that's not Jesus' point. His point is that a relationship with him continues beyond death. "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

In asking Martha whether she believes this, Jesus isn't asking about her theology. He's asking her if she has faith in their relationship. Martha understands the subtle, yet all-important distinction Jesus is making between being her rescuer and being her savior, and shows her understanding when she replies, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." At the beginning of their conversation, Martha wants Jesus to do something for her: "But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." By the end of their conversation, Martha understands that Jesus is more than someone who can rescue her or her brother from sickness and death, that he is her savior, whose relationship can withstand even sickness and death. Martha understands that as her savior, Jesus is always there for her, always in relationship with her, even when he's not there to rescue her. Martha understands that her bond with Jesus as savior is about more than rescuing her. It's about her relationship with God, through Jesus, a relationship that for her and for her sister Mary and for her brother Lazarus transcends death and the grave.

In Robin's letter to her daddy, she wrote, "There were times I called for help and you didn't rescue me; [instead] you guided me and instructed me through many rough times." To illustrate this, she relates the time when she was seven and wanted to carry a crop with Missy. Bill knew that Shetland pony wasn't going to put up with any riding crop, but he also knew better than to try to convince a seven-year-old otherwise. Perhaps he knew that Robin was more stubborn even than Missy. So instead of arguing till the cows came home, Bill gave his daughter a leg up, figuring the best way for her to learn was by experience-the School of Hard Knocks, as my mother calls it. True to form, that Shetland pony bucked, and Robin's daddy was right there to pick her up, dust her off, put her back in the saddle, and try again, if need be. Lucky for them both, Robin was a quick learner.

I don't imagine it was easy for Bill to let his little girl put herself in danger. But he knew what it would take to teach his daughter a little wisdom and patience. Bill knew that Robin didn't need rescuing, just someone to be there when life bucked her right out of the saddle. Bill knew that his little girl didn't need her daddy so much to do things for her as she needed him to be there for her. And he always was. Through holidays and horse shows, college and marriage, joys and sorrows, he was there for her. They leaned on each other when Betty died, and he was there for her when they were both suffering through Brian's illness and death.

I don't imagine it was easy for Jesus to let Lazarus suffer. I think Jesus would have preferred to heal Lazarus, to do something to rescue him. The shortest verse in the Bible attests to that desire, when, standing in front of his friend's tomb, John recounts simply that "Jesus wept." But Jesus wasn't called to rescue people, he was called to save them-two words, easily confused, but the distinction between those two words was made clear in Martha's confrontation with Jesus: their relationship wasn't about what Jesus could do for Martha; it was about who Jesus could be to Martha.

From how Bill lived his life, it's clear that Bill understood that distinction between rescuer and savior quite well, between doing for someone versus being there for someone. As we gather here this afternoon to remember and celebrate Bill's life, we can also celebrate the fact that Robin's relationship with her daddy, and with her brother, and with her mother, through Christ, transcends death and the grave. In Christ, all who mourn Bill's passing can have faith that love outlasts death. "I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus says. "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." Amen.