John
11:28-44. Jesus wept.
This two-word sentence may be the shortest scripture
verse in the entire Bible but it carries a power that greatly moves me. There
are so many types of tears. Tears of sorrow. Tears of joy. Tears of frustration
or even anger. Tears of compassion. Tears of repentance. Did you know there are
over 697 verses associated with crying, weeping, and tears in the Hebrew and
Christian Scriptures and still it remains a mystery we don’t fully understand.
Scientists have even discovered that tears have different chemical compositions
depending on the type of tear and the emotions they express.
Jesus wept on the way to the tomb of his good friend
Lazarus after first absorbing the tears of so many. Lazarus’ sister, Mary, had
tears of sorrow mixed with anger. She felt free to reveal this to Jesus who had
intentionally delayed in arriving until after her brother had died. I am
wondering if Jesus’ tears were mixed as well. After seeing so much pain and
sorrow around him maybe he, too, was second guessing “the higher purpose” to be
made possible because of his delayed arrival. If he truly was the Son of God he
could have healed Lazarus long before his friend’s death and prevented a lot of
suffering. What kind of friend would withhold assistance at a time of crisis?
Maybe Jesus was still learning about being human too. Had he delayed because he
couldn’t yet bear the weight of his own personal grief?
More questions than clear answers surround this
story. But by the time Jesus sheds tears over Jerusalem on the way to the Cross
we begin to see more clearly that Jesus had come for a purpose of Divine Love
that couldn’t be driven by his fear of loss, death, or suffering—his own or
others. I treasure the season of Lent because it gives us room and space as
Christian community to explore this mystery. We are given room to express tears
of joy when we find the path of healing and we are also given room to express
tears when we encounter the many ways we miss the mark. But most of all, I give
thanks for Jesus weeping because it connects me with a God who understands my
struggle to grieve the many deaths and losses in my life so that I might be
more free to express tears of Easter joy.
— The Rev. Steve Best
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