Listen

When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. He asked, “Where have you laid him?”

They replied, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus began to cry. The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”

John 11:32-36

Think

Most Bible trivia quizzes include some variation on the question: “What is the shortest verse in the whole Bible?” And the answer (which, it turns out is based on older translations of the Bible!) is John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” Deeply woven into this simple phrase, whether two words or four, is the radical truth that in addition to being one hundred percent God, Jesus is one hundred percent human.

Yes, in Jesus we know a God who has become “one of us,” with true emotions and honest-to-goodness feelings. Jesus feels things, just like we do, and his feelings have physical reactions. We can easily imagine him smiling when he’s happy, crying when he’s sad, or getting upset when he’s angry. Here we see him crying both because of his own grief at the death of his friend and out of empathy for his other friends who have lost their brother.

It can be comforting to know that Jesus feels like us, and even more reassuring that Jesus feels with us, that Jesus feels for us.

Peter Hanson

Question to Ponder:

Which is easier for you to picture: Jesus laughing or Jesus crying? Why?

Pray

Jesus, I know that you share my highs and my lows, my joys and my pain.

Today I am feeling…

Thank you for showing me how to be real with my emotions.

Amen.

Go

As God’s beloved, you are invited to share in God’s dream for the future, full of happiness and hope, justice and joy. God’s dream is already coming true!