Lent Exercises: Tears - Expressing Love in the Face of Death
Today’s Devotional is adapted from Wait With Me; Meeting God in Loneliness.
I hate death. I bet you do too, whether it comes after a long illness, an icy stillness, or crushed willfulness. We hate the finality of it, the banality of it, and the violence of it. We hate the death of our loved ones, the death of close relationships, the death of our dreams, the death of our faculties, the death of opportunity, and the death of community. And we hate that everything dies.
Death is the ultimate isolation. Death separates us from the person, the ideal, the opportunity we held dear. In this separation it’s like a part of us dies as well. Some of the hooks we used to hang our sense of identity on are bent out of shape; others are missing entirely. Who am I when my dream of marriage dies in midlife? Who am I when I’m cut off or estranged from parents, siblings, or my faith community? Who am I when I fail? Who am I when my career ambitions die, when I’m out of work, or when I just can’t reach my teenage son or daughter?
In contemporary Western culture, we usually deal with death in one of two ways: denial or despair. Both of these further isolate us and increase loneliness. God’s invitation draws us into the tempest of anger, sadness, doubt, and emptiness. If we’re willing to walk into that terrifying and chaotic swirl of emotion, we can discover death-defying hope.
God does not leave us powerless or isolated. The gospel enables us not to deny or to despair of death but beckons us to death-defying hope. To pursue this hope God invites us to grieve in his presence. Walking through grief is scary. Entering into the Scriptures to grieve alongside or in the presence of God can transform us deeply.
“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ This passage leads to the shortest and most pointed verse in the New Testament, “Jesus began to weep” (John 11:33-35). In Greek, the sentence is two words and a definite article. John places the verb dakryō first, to emphasize the action. The sentence reads not Jesusbegan to weep (emphasis on Jesus) but Jesus began to weep (emphasis on weep). Earlier references to weeping in John 11 use a different verb, klaiō. The change in verb as well as word order amplifies John’s message. The tears Jesus shed at the tomb of his friend stick in minds and imaginations.
Imagine this scene. Can you imagine Jesus’ eyes welling up with tears? Can you see the sorrow as his shoulders slump forward, jerking up and down as he allows himself to weep?
What difference does it make that Jesus weeps in the face of death? Jesus’ tears bring the divine Word of John 1 into direct contact with the relentless sorrow, emptiness, and chaos of death in our world. Because Jesus grieved alongside Mary, we can have confidence that Jesus weeps along with us as we confront death.
Jesus’ tears are not simply an exercise in empathy with Mary, but they also witness to the character of Jesus’ relationship with Lazarus. Verse 36 says, “So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” Jesus’ tears express wordlessly his love and commitment to Lazarus. Jesus did not abandon his friend or forget his profound need. Jesus loved Lazarus deeply. Tears are the expression of love in the face of death.
How are Jesus’ tears a gift to you today?