Lesson for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

John 11:33 When Jesus saw  her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you lain him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 36 Jesus began to weep.

It has been said that it is only recently that theologians think of God weeps in sympathy for ills which befall us in life and upon dying in this world. Those theologians are behind the times. Jesus weeps several times in the Gospels, including once (at least profound mourning) for John the Baptist (Matthew 14:13). If we are to take the Trinity seriously, this must signal God’s weeping, seen through Jesus.

In all cases of disaster, either physical or spiritual, God is on the side of all those afflicted and the tears are both of grief and renewal. This is a difference between the Old Testament and the New. Job’s God does not care that Job suffers. The fact that Job is rewarded hardly repays him for his lost family and suffering.

While Reformation theologies of double predestination have an Old Testament ring, giving the impression of an uncaring God, they overlook this message of the Gospel. God weeps when you suffer, and He expects his faithful to relieve your suffering to the best of their ability.

 

Now you say you're sorry
For being so untrue
Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river
I cried, a river over you
-- “Cry Me a River” by Arthur Hamilton

Published by Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.