The Jesus who weeps. (Anselm Gruen)

In Umberto Eco’s novel The Name of The Rose, there is a bitter dispute over the question whether Jesus laughed. In our society, so focused on entertainment, that’s no longer an issue. We find it more difficult to accept that Jesus wept. We like to imagine a Jesus who was so much himself, was so filled with God, that nothing shook him or upset his equilibrium. But the Gospels tell us of a Jesus who wept: “As he drew near and came in sight of the city, he wept over it and said, “if you had only recognised on this day what brings you peace. But now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19: 41f.).

Jesus weeps over the fate of Jerusalem. He forsees that this holy city will be destroyed by the Romans. He has taken great trouble to proclaim the kingdom of God to the people of Jerusalem and to summon them to repentance. Yet it has been to no avail. His efforts have been in vain. Jerusalem is the fulfilment of a Jew’s dream. When as a Jew Jesus entered the holy city, his spirit rose. So he is all the more deeply affected when he reflects on the fate of this city. Pagans will destroy the city “and leave no stone standing on another” (Luke 19:44). Jerusalem was blind and didn’t recognise that God himself had visited the city in Jesus. That makes Jesus sad and he weeps over this city. These are tears of sorrow but also tears of helplessness. He senses that his efforts to convert the city were in vain. He can’t get to it, whether through miracles, through words or through his love.

Another time Jesus weeps over Lazarus. Jesus sees how Mary is weeping for her dead brother and how her friends are also weeping. Then “he was greatly disturbed and with a profound sigh he said “where have you put him?” They said “Lord come and see.” Jesus wept. The Jews said “See how he loved him.” (John 11:33-6)
Here we have tears for his friend and tears of compassion for the sisters of his dead friend. And the tears are an expression of his love for Lazarus. Jesus shows his feelings. He is utterly human. He undergoes the pain and grief and doesn’t get over it through hope for the resurrection of Lazarus. And he feels with the sisters of the dead man. Their sorrow sets off his own. Twice it is said in this scene that Jesus was greatly disturbed and sighed profoundly (verses 33 and 38).

The Greek word for indignation used here means that sorrow is mixed with anger. Despite his close relationship with the Father, Jesus feels pain at the loss of a friend. Mourning always means pain and anger at the same time. Here Jesus feels both. The tears are not just tears of compassion but tears of helplessness and anger. Jesus doesn’t close himself to the situation. He is wholly involved in it. He’s affected by the situation of people and reacts with strong feelings that express his humanity.

For Buddha, contact with the world is the ground of all suffering. So he breaks off contact with the world in order to experience inner freedom in laughter. Jesus allows himself to be touched. He endures the suffering. He feels compassion. He weeps because he is affected in his innermost being. The Jesus who weeps is closer to me than Buddha, who cannot be moved and cannot be touched. Jesus also feels with me. And he encourages me to allow the tears which aren’t wept, so that through these tears I come into contact with my heart, in which are love and pain, sorrow and joy. “If you have a heart you can be saved” says Abba Pambo. Jesus had a heart; he invites me to trust my heart and to accept the feelings that are in it.

Questions:

When was the last time that you wept? What happens when you weep? What do you feel when you weep? Are you afraid that if you allow tears to flow they will never stop?
Do you let yourself be touched by the suffering of others? Or do you hide your feelings, so that you seem cool to everyone? The Jesus who weeps invites you to let your tears flow and to trust them. They will lead you through the sorrow to new life.

(Thanks to Continuum for allowing Anselm's material to be posted on this blog.)