Jesus Wept

“Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” John 11:35-37

At a church-league softball game, (back when I was a wee lad), I heard the older, tobacco-spitting Sunday School teacher say,  “Jee-sus Wept!” under his breath in response to a bad call by the umpire. (Adding the word “wept” was a loophole so  he wouldn’t  be taking the Lord’s name  in vain. I don’t think he was quoting scripture for righteousness purposes). Later, John 11:35 would become a prayer for me, because sometimes I will say “Jee-sus Wept” and I am not cursing. Those two words make me feel better, every time, because they  remind me that Jesus responded and stuck with his grief. 

Jesus’ grief is a comfort and a challenge, because we live in a time of unprecedented distraction. Whenever we want, we can choose to check out of the present moment by looking down at small, rectangular, glass screens that can broadcast cat videos or pictures of our friends sticking food up their noses. I know that sometimes when I am sad or even just bored or stressed, I will fire up my phone and check out. Checking out is easy.

Escaping the present takes us away from the opportunity to live authentically in the way that Jesus does when he learns his friend has died. True, Jesus was human because he had a body and suffered the multitude of indignities and complications that come with them. Most importantly, he he laughed, got angry, frightened, and wept. He did not check out in the face of “normal” human life. 

Human pain like break-ups, academic disaster or social drama, often lead us to check out. Being fully human is about being present to one another and ourselves during all human experiences. Our hope in being present comes from one another- and from our connection to a God of the Universe who “lived and died (and cried) as one of us” 

Jesus didn’t just cry out to God, though, he cried out to Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha. He cried out to the other mourners who were present. We can be present when one of our friends is crying out, and we also can reach out for help when we are in the midst of pain. If you get overwhelmed, make sure someone who can take care of you knows about it and gives you what you need. Keep me at the top of your list of folks you call when you are in the midst of a hard time. 

Jesus is the human being. Stay with your discomfort sometimes. While the joy of being able to play Angry Birds can be a nice distraction, being present to what is in front of us – be it good or bad- is what makes us human.  God incarnate wept for one of us, weeps with us, and wants for us to be fully human, fully present, and fully alive.