WHAT ARE THE TEARS ABOUT?

Jesus has seen a lot. A crowd of people waiting to be healed line up around the block in Capernaum.

There is the man with leprosy whose life has been derailed by that incurable condition.

There were the religious leaders who would rather keep the Sabbath than heal a man with a crippled right hand. (Instead of celebrating the healing performed by Jesus they “were beside themselves with anger.”)

There are the people hungry for God, and then there are the faith leaders who lay so many requirements on the people that faith becomes a burden rather than a life gift.

Jesus has seen a lot but when he comes over the hill and sees Jerusalem laid out before him, in Luke 19, he weeps for the city.

There are two moments in the gospels when we are told about Jesus crying. One is when he stands in front of the tomb of his friend, Lazarus. And the other moment takes place as Jesus looks down over the city where he will soon enough be arrested, tried and put to death.

What kind of a Messiah sheds tears? This is a rather startling picture of God’s Anointed One, isn’t it? We have a Savior who cries.

I need to remember to tell people that when they confess they hate to come to church because they too often find themselves crying. They are sometimes ashamed. I need to tell them Jesus cried. I need to tell them that tears may be a sign that you are alive. I need to tell them that tears can be a sign of healing.

As we pass the 10^th anniversary of the War in Iraq, many of us may feel like crying. As we hear about the rising number of children living in poverty, we may feel like crying. Our tears may have to do with a more private kind of grief.

Why is Jesus crying? If you look at the end of the passage Luke tells us it is because the people didn’t recognize and welcome God’s personal visit into their lives.

His tears are about the missed opportunities in our lives for healing, for wholeness, for justice, for new growth. A world closed off to God’s grace and truth in Jesus is a world that suffers far more than it needs to suffer. So even as Jesus prepares to enter the city his tears invite us to be open to God’s work in the middle of the here and now.

I wonder if at some level his tears come from an awareness of the revolution of hope his death and resurrection are about to ignite?

Thank you, God, for sending us a Savior who knows how to cry. Save us, God, from having minds and hearts closed to your work among us and your invitation to new life!

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark