Every religion and faith group has their understanding of God in whom they believe. They may vary from faith to faith and group to group. Some of us may doubt God’s nature in Christianity, especially the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ, a God who looks just like you and me. Is He a God who weeps with us or stays away from us, especially in times of need? When we examine the Holy Bible, we learn that Jesus is a God who weeps with us, walks with us, laughs with us, talks with us, and even dies for us.
There are three occasions in the Holy Bible where Jesus wept:
- The Gospel, according to (John 11:32), speaks about the death of Lazarus, who was a friend of Jesus and brother of Mary and Martha. We see Jesus weeping at the tomb over the death of Lazarus, a personal friend. Here we see Jesus as a God who weeps with us and for us.
- The Gospel, according to (Luke 19:41), speaks about Jesus weeping over Jerusalem and the temple, foreseeing the destruction of them, which was the center of the Jewish faith and tradition. Here we see Jesus weeping with us over a chosen race and a favored Nation.
- The Gospel, according to (Luke 22:39) and (Matthew 26:36), speak about Jesus praying to God the Father for strength and courage in the garden of Gethsemane as He was deeply experiencing distress and difficulty before the passion, crucifixion, and His death. Here we see Jesus weeping in the garden and conversing with His Father.
The same Jesus who wept at different times during His life on earth is the same Jesus who weeps today on behalf of you, me and the whole world. Weeping is a natural and spontaneous expression of sharing the pain and hardships of others. When someone genuinely weeps for us, it signifies this person’s willingness to share our pain, hardship, and difficulties. We weep with others especially during trying times in their lives, moments of loss, difficulties and hardships. The same way, Jesus comes into our lives today and every day, knowing fully well our hardships and sufferings. He is willing to walk with us, weep with us, laugh with us on a personal, communitarian, and global levels as God’s children.
While celebrating Easter, we commemorated the passion, suffering, death, and Resurrection of Jesus, which is the expression of His willingness to share our passion, suffering, and death. The suffering of Jesus is an act of weeping for myself, my community, and the whole world.
But, do I recognize Jesus who personally comes to me, to my community, and to my world and is weeping with us during those trying and challenging time? Our greatest challenge today is recognizing Him and meeting Him when our loved ones suffer and are separated from us due to different reasons. Every day is a test, every day is a search, and every day is an attempt to identify this Jesus in us and others who weeps with us. The same Jesus encourages all of us to weep with others in times of need and reach out to them all times as the expressions of Jesus who weeps with us and for us.
