Jesus wept and still weeps

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A

Holy Names of Jesus & Mary Catholic Church

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

April 10, 2011

Dearest beloved, today’s first (Ezekiel 37:12-14) and Second (Romans 8:8-11) Scriptural readings and the gospel (John 11: 1-45) all speak about the resurrection, which is the hope of all believers. God does not want us to fear death because death is not the final word. The final word is resurrection unto glory. But my message today will not be centered on resurrection because we still have Easter. Though Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it is also about our resurrection. The victory of the Lord over death is our own victory. He won for us! He rose for us!

Today, I will rather preach on this message I have titled “Jesus wept and still weeps.” As you know already, the shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35 “Jesus Wept.” The story begins when Lazarus from Bethany, the brother of Mary and Martha became sick. Sickness is a common human experience which sometimes leads to death. Lazarus’ sickness must have been a serious one to make his sisters send words to Jesus, “Master, the one you love is ill.” Jesus has been a friend of the family. He knows Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. So when his health deteriorated, they quickly informed Jesus about his falling health.

But on hearing the message of Mary and Martha about their brother’s falling health, Jesus waits. The bad news does not seem to move him. Instead Jesus downplays the important of the message with these words: “This illness is not to end in death, but it is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Someone may have murmured, “What the hell is he talking about? This is ridiculous! So it is just for the glory of God and your own glory that an innocent man had been plagued with sickness? Please give me a break?”

The response of Jesus is not what Mary and Martha expected to hear. Surely, the sick Lazarus must have been disappointed too. His best friend has not come to see him. And Jesus waits for two full days before starting the two day journey to Bethany. This is really a puzzling behavior. Why did Jesus wait? Why did he delay? Why did he not go immediately he heard that his friend is ill? Why does God wait? Whatever is his reason for delaying, the fact is that the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha did not appreciate the Lord’s delay. They expected him to leave everything behind to come and be with them. They know he has miraculous powers to even prevent their brother from dying.

But Jesus did not leave what he was doing. He did not respond to the emergency call. He did not rush to the bedside of Lazarus. He did not rush to comfort Lazarus’ sisters. Today’s gospel says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.” The Lord loves this family. But why didn’t he respond to the emergency call? Why does God wait?

Then Jesus says to his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” The disciples did not understand what he was saying. They thought he was talking about ordinary sleep. Jesus therefore spoke more clearly, “Lazarus is dead.” On arriving to Bethany, each of Lazarus’ sisters took turn to blame Jesus for his lateness and delay. They did not want to disrespect the Lord whom they loved so much, but they also wanted to give him a piece of their mind. That Mary and Martha said the same thing to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” shows that before Jesus arrived, they had said the same thing to each other. They must have rehearsed what they are going to say to Jesus when he finally shows up. It is not surprising that the same words that Martha said in verse 20 were repeated by Mary in verse 32.

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” is what Martha and Mary said to Jesus. That’s their subtle way of expressing their frustration and disappointment over the delay of Jesus. Of course in our human ways of looking at things, Jesus disappointed them. The Lord disappointed them by not showing up when his attention was needed. And the experience of Mary and Martha is also the experience of some of us. How many times have we waited just like they did? How many times have you asked “Why isn’t the Lord here when I need him?” “Why is God delaying?” “Where are you Jesus?” The other day I encountered two persons at different times in the Confessional who told me that they think God has forgotten them. One woman said, “Father, I feel that I am so insignificant that God doesn’t care about me again.”

So the pain and the frustration of Mary and Martha are sometimes our pain and frustration too. For some of us, it is not so much about the death of a loved one. It may be the death of a dream; the death of hope and aspiration; the death of a job, the death of a marriage etc. For some of us it may be the depreciation of health, depreciation in the quality of life etc. For some of us it may be depression, loneliness, friendlessness etc. Where has Lazarus died in your heart or in your home? Where has Jesus disappointed you? You've prayed, but no answers have come. You've pleaded, but God has delayed. You've waited, but he hasn't showed up. You've held the funeral, but he didn't attend. Where are you waiting for God to show up and be God for you?

We don't know why Jesus waits, and we don't know why God waits. No amount of theologizing and explaining can satisfy us while we wait. But my only conclusion is that something critically important happens to us while we are waiting. While waiting, life is lived. Faith is proved while we wait. Hope is tested while we wait. No one likes God’s wait. I do not like it either. When I ask God for something, I want him to give it to me without delay. But then, God waits!

Death is always a painful experience for the bereaved. Death causes sorrow. It brings tears. The tears of mourners usually bring other tears. When Mary broke down in tears before Jesus, the Lord sorrowfully asked “Where have you laid him?” Seeing where his friend Lazarus was buried, he was deeply moved, and “Jesus Wept.” The Lord must have wept loud and long for those around to notice and say, “See how much he loved him.” Jesus must have groaned, cried aloud and beat his chest for the crowd to say, “See how much he loved him.” The Lord’s grief and sorrow must have been so deep to move the crowd to say, “See how much he loved him.” After all, Jesus was not the only person weeping. His tears must have flowed uncontrollably; he must have cried like a baby. His grief must have been profound and very sincere for the Jewish people present to say “See how much he loved him.” The crowd saw the immensity of his sorrow and remarked, “See how much he loved him.” Some tears shed at gravesides are not always sincere. But the weeping of Jesus was very sincere, and the crowd testified to it. He loved him so much to weep for his death. He loved him so much to weep at what death has done to his friend. Jesus wept! Jesus still weeps!

The reason why Jesus wept has been a subject of debate among theologians. Some theologians argue that Jesus cried for the crowd due to their lack of faith. He looked into their hearts and saw that they did not understand him or his mission. That they were ignorant of matters of life and death; that they did not understand that he has powers to bring Lazarus back to life. Other theologians say that Jesus was weeping because he hated to bring Lazarus back from heaven. He knew heaven was a peaceful and wonderful place, and he cried for cutting short Lazarus’ enjoyment in heaven. For other theologians, Jesus was shedding tears of rage at the evil of death and sin. He wept because it is the sinfulness of humans that bought about death. Other theologians believe that Jesus was weeping for himself. They say that his friend’s death reminded him of his own death. Jesus knew he was going to raise Lazarus from death, so he does not have to cry. But cried in anticipation of his own death.

As plausible as those reasons are, I vehemently reject all of them. Hebrews 4:15 says, “We don’t have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses…” Philippians 2: 5-7 says, “Jesus Christ who though was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness, and found human in appearance.”

Jesus wept because he cared. He wept for the same reason that we weep at funerals. Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus. They were his friends. He grieved with the two sisters for the lost of their brother and his friend. He wept because his friend Lazarus had died. He identified with their pains and he understood their sorrows. That’s what friends do. They cry when you cry. The good news from today’s gospel is that Jesus identifies with his people especially those who are hurting. He is not an indifferent person, a Deus Absconditus. He feels our pain. He cries when we cry.

The shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept” reveals so much about Jesus. He wept for Lazarus’ death; he still weeps with those who mourn over the loss of a beloved one. He wept over the death of his friend Lazarus; he still weeps over the bloodshed that happen everyday around the world. The Lord weeps over the way we treat each other. He weeps for the wickedness in the world. He weeps for the mothers whose children roam the streets hopelessly. He weeps for all children whose fathers are in jail, who have never experienced a father’s love. He weeps for all the single mothers who have to bear the burden of raising children all alone. Jesus weeps for the gap that exists between the rich and poor.

Jesus wept for the death of Lazarus. He still weeps for the death of many dreams, for the death of many aspirations; for the death of faith and for the death of God in many hearts, homes and families. The family is one of God’s dreams for humanity. The family is a spark from heaven shared with all humankind. It is the cradle where we were born and constantly reborn in love. Jesus weeps over the state of many families today. The Lord weeps over the death of love in our families.

Jesus wept for the death of Lazarus. He still weeps for the death of love. Genuine love is fading, and our world is becoming cold, inhospitable and intolerable. The Lord weeps over the abuse of the wonderful things he has given to us. Food and drinks have been abused and turned into idols. Jesus weeps over substance abuse. We are controlled by food; our life is dictated by drinks and drugs. Jesus weeps over the abuse of the human body. The body that is the temple of the Holy Spirit is constantly abused with food, drinks, sex, drugs, and other substances.

In Galatians 5:16, St. Paul says, “Walk (live) by the spirit and you will not satisfy the desires of the sinful nature.” Jesus weeps that many who called themselves Christians do not walk in the Spirit. There is no difference between them and non-believers. They overeat like unbelievers, over-drink like unbelievers, and live like the unbelievers. The Lord wept for the death of Lazarus; he still weeps for the death of the sense of God. Jesus weeps for the death of the sense of sin. With carnal philosophies, we justify our behaviors and attitudes. Jesus weeps for the death of striving for excellence in virtuous living.

Jesus wept for the death of Lazarus, he still weeps for the death of many people due to hunger, poverty, diseases and neglect. The Lord weeps for the division of our world into belts of prosperity and belts of poverty. He weeps for the division of the world into two rooms. Jesus weeps aloud that in one room, things go waste; in the other, people are wasting away due to abject poverty. In one room, people are dying from excess and surplus; and in the other, God’s children die from penury, poverty, destitution, misery, and deprivation. Jesus cries that in one room, people are heavily concerned about being overweight and obese; and in the other God’s beloved children are begging for charity. Jesus is aggrieved that while some people do not know what to spend their surplus money on, others are looking for money to spend. Jesus weeps that poverty is disfiguring his children. The Lord weeps that untold suffering is insulting the dignity of many.

Jesus wept for the death of his friend Lazarus, the Lord still weeps today. He weeps for those languishing in prison. He weeps for drug addicted parents. Jesus weeps for Japan. He weeps for the Libyan people. The Lord weeps for African nations who have the worst bunch of leaders. Jesus weeps for the hostility in the world. The Lord wept, and still weeps. He weeps when you weep. He cares for you. "See how much he loves him" was the comment of the crowd on seeing Jesus cry for the death of his Lazarus. The Lord still cries for you when he sees you being hurt. Jesus cries seeing so many people suffer. The Lord cries seeing his children abused by those in political power. But after weeping he snatched Lazarus from the grip of death. He will also free us from all that trouble us.