Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Lent 36: The God who weeps

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved..... Jesus began to weep.  John 11: 33, 35.


When I am deeply hurt or sad, the greatest gift someone can give me is not to try to make the pain go away (that is usually a sign that they are uncomfortable with my emotions), to give me a practical solution (they want to fix things, which may not be possible and certainly isn't the most urgent thing) or to feel sorry for me (that generally makes you feel pathetic and that you ought to stop). 

No, the greatest gift someone can give me, even though it is both hard to give and hard to receive, is to be with me, to enter into my pain and to feel what I feel.  To give me permission to feel what I am feeling.  To give me time to get my head around what has happened.  To not be afraid of the depth of emotion.  To allow it to touch them in some way.

When Jesus saw what those around him were feeling, he allowed it to touch him.  He validated their feelings.  He stepped into their grief and saw it from the inside.  Yes, he went on to take away the reason for their grief; but I believe that this moment, when he cries, is the greater gift, strange as that may sound.

We can't always make pain go away, and we can't make things come back that we have lost.  We do have a God who heals, and gives, and performs miracles...

But more tangible, healing and valuable than all this:


We have a God who cries with us. 


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