Fifth Sunday of Lent - A. "And Jesus wept."
This is a very familiar gospel passage for me, as I use a portion of it for almost every funeral Mass I celebrate (and I have celebrated a LOT of funerals in my time). The downside of such familiarity is that I can gloss over the harsh reality and vivid pain of death. Why are people crying, I sometimes think to myself during the funeral Mass. But death is real, it hurts, and we should never overlook its power to hurt. Only by acknowledging the death of our body (and worse, the death of our loved ones) can we never take for granted the unique power of the resurrection of Christ.
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ReplyDeleteOur priest explained this - not so much that Jesus wept over the loss of His friend, but more so over the fact that people were still doubting him. I thought it was an interesting approach, and one that I'd never, EVER, considered. "And Jesus wept" has always given me such comfort because I rejoice (or suffer?) in the gift (or curse?) of Christ's compassion... I must say, I do prefer your take on the Bible's shortest verse. *gentle grin* Thank you.
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