Jesus Wept - Day 38

Jesus has been on the road towards Jerusalem. This will be his final trip there. He knows that things are about to come to a head. He knows that he is going to be confronting the religious and civil authorities. Just as Jesus came to the outskirts of the city we are invited into his heart: “As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes….’” (Luke 19: 41-42)
Jesus wept. He wept because he knew that the people didn’t really know who he was or what he came to do. He wept because he knew that the religious authorities would not open their hearts to receive him and to change. He wept because he knew that the civil authorities were entrenched and that they cared more about power than either justice or peace. He wept because he must have wondered if his death, and yes he must have known he was soon to die, would matter. He wept because he must have wondered if his life or message or example would live on. He wept because he saw the stubbornness and foolishness of people’s hearts.
Jesus wept then as he stood looking at Jerusalem, and Jesus weeps now. He weeps when we turn away from him, when we hurt ourselves or someone else, when we don’t share, when we don’t love, when we don’t forgive, when we harbor anger, when we nurture resentments, when we horde while other people are needy, when we complain and whine while forgetting or denying just how blessed we are, when we don’t commend the faith that is in us, when we fall into addictions that rob our joy and health, when we make choices for death and not for life, when we walk away from community or tear into it, when we forget that we and all other people are precious children of God, when we reject that we are our brother’s and our sister’s keeper and protector, when we try to gain the whole world while putting our soul into jeopardy.
We wipe away the tears of Jesus when we choose life and love and faith and community and peace and fairness and trust and joy.
It breaks my heart to think that Jesus wept on that day long ago. It even more breaks my heart to think about how we can cause Jesus to weep today. But it also gladdens my heart to consider how we can wipe away some of his tears by how we act and live and speak today. As for me, I would rather wipe away his tears than cause them. I am sure you feel the same way.