“Absolutely incredible”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, September 9, 2022
John 11:30-44 (Forward, p. 42) CEV p. 1116
The Scriptures, Hebrews 4:15, tell us that we do not have a High Priest [ meaning Jesus] who cannot be ‘touched by the feelings of our infirmities’, and never more is this attested to than in today’s passage. Jesus knew perfectly well that Lazarus would be raised again at the Last Day and probably knew, with an almost absolute certainty, that God would raise him up from death right now, and yet Jesus was still very upset, terribly upset, by the death of His friend. In fact, in what is the shortest verse in the entire Bible, we are told that Jesus broke down and wept.
So why, we might ask, did Jesus respond in this way? Surely He could have said, to Himself and to the others, “Buck up, this is only temporary. In a few minutes he’ll be alive once more.” Or, He could have said, “Cheer up. He’s in a better place now. His pain and suffering are gone now, gone forever, and you’ll see him again in heaven.” Both of these responses could have been quite normal and expected, given what Jesus knew. (Indeed, the second response is one that we often hear). And yet, Jesus, even knowing what He knew, did not respond in either way.
I would suggest three reasons, one that has to do with Jesus’ divine nature and two with His humanity. With God, death is something hated, rejected as being totally foreign to His will and nature and certainly not something that He takes lightly with any of His human creators. As the Scriptures say elsewhere, it is not His will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, even the wicked (Ezekiel 18:32, 33:11).
And, in terms of His humanity, firstly, I would say that the ‘cheer up’ response given above, is thoroughly dismissive and disrespectful of what we humans go through in the death of a loved one. We are not in a ‘cheer up’, ‘let’s get over it’ type of mood. We have lost someone very near and dear to us and so there is an immense void and emptiness that cannot be filled with ‘mere’ words and pious sentiments, even if well-intentioned and accurate. Our loss cannot be assuaged by such glib talk, even if well meant.
And secondly, I happen to think that Jesus, as a fellow human being, was Himself touched by these sentiments, by this loss. He too felt the pain, the emptiness, the loss, even if it would indeed be only short term. In some ways, that wouldn’t make it any different or any better.
As I pen these words, I cannot help but think of our beloved and highly esteemed queen, Queen Elizabeth II. We can be relieved that her recent and rather demeaning and limiting infirmities—things that were totally alien to her stout and resolute nature—are over and done with. And we can rejoice that she is now in the hands of the loving God that she knew and served faithfully all these years. But those thoughts cannot do away with our profound sadness and grief in losing such an important and loved and caring public figure. There is a hole, a vacancy in our lives now that simply cannot be ignored or denied. And so, it is fitting for us to be filled with sorrow, and even to weep, for I believe that even God is doing that just now. He has lost a beloved servant here on earth, and can touched by that loss, and indeed is. I believe that He feels that loss along with us and so can comfort us (surround us with strength) and help us as we ‘deal’ with it. Amen.
Forward notes: “Jesus began to weep” (verse 35).
“Followers of Christ have pondered, prayed, and fought to the death over how to understand Jesus when he was here on earth among us. How was it possible that Jesus really was human and experienced life just as we do and yet was also fully divine? Many Christians can’t fathom this duality. But look at the story of the raising of Lazarus in the Gospel of John.
“In today’s readings, we experience Jesus as human. He is filled with grief. He weeps. He has compassion for Mary, Martha, and their brother. And he is filled with sadness. Are these not some of our most powerful human emotions? Yes, Jesus is foreshadowing his own death in the raising of Lazarus. But earlier in this chapter from John, Jesus also declares, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ The story of Lazarus’s death tells us so much about Jesus—fully human and fully divine. What do we need to learn from this story so we may follow him more clearly today and always?”
MOVING FORWARD: “Do you struggle with understanding Jesus as fully human and fully divine? Can you think of other stories where Jesus reacts with very human emotions? What does it mean to be both fully human and fully divine?”
