Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick”...
If you happen to follow this blog on twitter (https://twitter.com/JesusArtJokes) then you may have gathered that I keep up with the foolery that lurks in the "twitterverse." Unlike its earlier more civilized relative, the blogosphere, the twitterverse is limited by the amount of characters/letters one can type. Twitter isn't a blogging site (like Blogger.com) it is a microblogging site. This being the case, original and developed ideas are few but references and catchphrases run amok. Twitter thrives on the use of the hashtag to connect users who are discussing similar ideas. A secondary benefit of this is that one can see what ideas, discussions and pop-cultural phenomenon are presently trending. You just put a "#" in front of the unspaced word or phrase and it registers. So let's be honest, the most interesting usage of the social networking site is when the Twitterverse collectively unites to make fun of something. That is usually when the hashtags come out the most. So let's say someone wears some outfit to the MTV VMA's that is deemed a fashion fail, a new fight breaks out on you Reality Show of Choice or a politician or athlete says something less than articulate. You would jump in the pile on of mean girl-ness by using a popular hashtag that expresses your comedic dismay. Popular ones include such favorites as #hotmess, #nowaygirl, #fail, etc. One popular hashtags that has caught my attention lately has been #jesuswept. It's as if to say that something was so terrible that it made Jesus cry, do a facepalm or better yet made "baby Jesus" cry. A comedic interest in the phrase "Jesus wept" has haunted people for at least a few decades. I even found a sculpture in Oklahoma City titled "And Jesus Wept" and no, it isn't in response to the Oklahoma City Thunder's chances of winning a NBA championship. So where does it come from and what does it actually refer too? It comes from John 11:35 and is the shortest bible verse in all of Scripture. It is often taught to children who cannot memorize long Bible verses when they need an "Easter speech" to impress their heathen uncle who never goes to church but has donned a pastel colored suit to attend on this special once a year occasion. But the Gospel of John isn't about Jesus' best tweets, it is about his full developed ideas, sermons and interactions with people. So for the full context we have to look at John 11:1-45. No only will it give us insight into the meaning of the hashtag and the sculpture but the rather the verse and the sculpture will give us insight into one of the hardest questions that we face as believers in a just God.
To reveal the heart of the story for both the Bible story and the sculpture a little background history is needed. When we start out the story of Lazarus the writer has not provided his story but that of his family. It appears that all three siblings were followers of Jesus and figure in multiple important stories throughout the Gospels. They were not only followers of Jesus but also friends. From all the information provided it seems like this family treated Jesus as if he were family. When someone lets you into the heart of their family, a certain level of reciprocal care and responsibility is expected on your part. The background of the sculpture starts not with the heart but the heartland. On April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City was the scene of a heinous domestic terrorism attack. This tragedy shocked Americans for several reasons: the fact that Americans planned and executed this attack, the location of the bombing (in the crossings of the American Midwest, South and Bible Belt) and the number of people killed and injured. In total 168 people were killed and 500-850 injured. Yet what appalled Americans the most were the 19 children who were killed. Over the years there were several memorials constructed near the bombing site. Among these was the "And Jesus Wept" statue that was donated by the St. Joseph's Old Catholic Church, which is near the bombing site and was also severely damaged. When the innocent die an unjust death it pricks the heart of all. Tragedy also brings out the religious inclinations of most people as they search for meaning in suffering. What does God do during times of tragedy? What did Jesus do?
When God Is Unmoved
When God Is Unmoved
...When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, whe1n He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him”...
The Jesus of John 11:1-45 and the Jesus of this sculpture are similar. We gaze upon them as life-size figures that rise from the earth and project toward the heavens. Yet while surrounded by tragedy they remain still. Jesus hears the news of his dear friends sickness yet remains in the same place for two more days as unmoving as a statue. This isn't the only case like it. Jesus has a pattern of staying still when something tragic is occurring. Not only did he do it during Lazarus' demise, but also during his cousin John the Baptist's incarceration and execution and later during St. Paul's torment with the "thorn in the flesh." On all three occasions Jesus offered great proclamations but no immediate action. In all three instances he spoke of the Lord's work, will or warranty (I should have said "promise" but I just wanted another "w") but he does not provide any relief. In the cases of John the Baptist and St. Paul he doesn't save them at all. They must bare the hardship of suffering and eventual martyrdom alone with the promise of eternal life to comfort them. In the story of Lazarus Jesus proclaims that God will be glorified in this tragedy and promises that it will not end in death (though he never says that death will not be part of the story). These verses and the innocent children dying in the Oklahoma City bombing fly in the face of contemporary preaching that promises that we can have our best life now if we just follow Jesus. Were not Lazarus and his sisters followers of Jesus? Was not John the Baptist the forerunner of Jesus? Was not Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ? Weren't there any believers in that government office building in the middle of the Bible Belt? I believe on a God who rains on the just and the unjust: who expresses kindness on believers and on believers alike... but surely their must some exclusive membership benefits for signing up to Club Jesus while we are still living. I guess this is just another instance of the age old question: Why does God allow bad things to occur to good people? Even to his friends and followers. Why did Jesus choose not to move?
When God Is Moved
...So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”...
After Lazarus dies, Jesus finally does move. He not only moves physically but he also moves with compassion. This is also where we encounter the second pattern in the story. It is not a pattern on Jesus' part but rather one on the part of Lazarus' sisters Mary and Martha. The pattern is in the sisters' individual greetings upon seeing Jesus. Both start off with identical statements concerning Lazarus, Jesus' timing and power. They both say “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Isn't that interesting? I've heard this story preached several times and the faith of the sisters being questioned. The never lack faith in Jesus' ability (actually they both affirm faith in his power to have healed Lazarus). The only thing they question is Jesus' timing and decision not to come sooner. The thing that changes in these interactions is Jesus' reaction. Jesus responds to Martha with a the theological response. It is a response that asks "do you understand this about me (God)?" On the other hand Jesus responds to Mary with an emotional response. It is a response that declares "I understand what you are going through." This is the point in the story that "Jesus wept." We have a God in Christ Jesus that understands human emotions and experience because he lived a human life. God does not always prevent tragedy but just as Christ prophesied of Lazarus, the tragedy is not the end of the story... and it certainly isn't the end of God's interaction with us. When both Mary and Martha affirmed his power but questioned his will, Jesus proved himself willing and able to help them. His emotional response showed that he was willing and his theological response showed that he was able. Now it was time to show it to the crowd.
...Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go." Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him...
As Jesus foretold, Lazarus' sickness would not end in death even if it had included death. When Jesus acted in the life of Lazarus he acted out the truths displayed earlier in his emotional and theological responses. He showed that he was moved by human suffering and cared. He also showed that he was willing and able to affect the situation because the power of resurrection dwelt within his will. But these things were not beyond Mary and Martha's beliefs of what could have occurred because they had seen Jesus act as the agent of God's power and will before. Before Jesus ascended into Heaven he gave the same miracle working power to his Apostles and their generation to reveal the rest of God's word. That is God's modus operandi: He always uses agents to do his will. He created the Earth and on the seventh day and then He ceased from labor. After that point he has used his creation to act out his will. Even when this creation is not a human "creature", like in the story of the Great Flood in Genesis when Nature executed God's judgment (and no, I'm not saying that natural disasters are always God's judgment). But what about in our time? Who is the agent of God's will and power today? Well if you are a follower of Christ then it is you... you with your faults and lack of superpowers. At times when we read of the miraculous feats of some in Scripture (and the awesomeness of Nature) we may be lead to think that God only works with those that he has given miracle working power. I doubt that God has stopped working with people in the past 2,000 years. I also disagree that he only worked in the Bible days with those that he endowed with miraculous power. Let's return to the story of the Flood in Genesis. God's agent of judgment in that story was Nature but his agent of salvation was Noah. Yes Noah, a man with a drinking problem and no miraculous powers that he could name. However the gifts that God gave Noah were a strong work ethic and time... which were what one needs if they are to build a large boat. So in this generation God is left with you and me. So the question is: do we, like Noah, have time and a work ethic? But more than that, do we have a heart for God's children and desire for His will? If so then God is willing and able to move through us as His agents. We are the Body of Christ, the hands and feet of God... and it is time for His feet to move.
The God Movement
God truly does weep over human suffering. He is moved by human suffering. He displayed this in Jesus' preaching, compassion and action in the lives of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. These three siblings were Jesus' friends because they listened to Jesus and longed to be the agents of God's love themselves. God did not remove tragedy from the world nor did he remove those who desire to do harm to others. For where their is darkness their is an opportunity for light to shine all the greater. When the congregation of St. Joseph's Old Catholic Church donated the "And Jesus Wept" sculpture is was not without criticism. The criticism was not due to it being a display of religious imagery (Jews, Muslims and Methodists had also constructed memorial monuments) but rather how the image appeared and what it appeared to be saying. Wikipedia describes it as "Jesus faces away from the devastation, covering his face with his hand. In front of Jesus is a wall with 168 gaps in it, representing the voids left by each life lost." Many saw it as God turning his back on the victims of this tragedy. Just like Mary and Martha saw Jesus as forsaking Lazarus. There Jesus is with his back to the opening of the Oklahoma City National Memorial like his back must have been turned to the opening of Lazarus' tomb. And Jesus wept. But maybe it is a matter of perspective. Maybe Jesus is seizing a teachable moment. Maybe it was less of Him turning his back to the departed and more of his facing the crowd...facing his Disciples...facing us. Jesus is allowing his followers to get a view of his sorrow, compassion and his fallen friends to be seen in the same frame. It is as if he is saying to us "I know what I am going to do about it but what are you going to do about it?" We know that Jesus is going to turn around and raise the departed souls of the Oklahoma City bombing one day just like he raised his friend Lazarus...because he "is the Resurrection." But who are we and what are we going to do? God gave some of us the gift of being a comforter and we can show compassion to the mourning. God gave others the calling of being a police officer or in law enforcement and we can work to prevent such tragedies. God uses some of us for pastoral ministry and we can eulogize the dead and preach hope to the living. Who are you and what are you going to do? God is willing to act in times of tragedy. The question is: are we willing to act? Jesus wept. Jesus acted. Do we weep? After we weep are we willing to act?
As Jesus foretold, Lazarus' sickness would not end in death even if it had included death. When Jesus acted in the life of Lazarus he acted out the truths displayed earlier in his emotional and theological responses. He showed that he was moved by human suffering and cared. He also showed that he was willing and able to affect the situation because the power of resurrection dwelt within his will. But these things were not beyond Mary and Martha's beliefs of what could have occurred because they had seen Jesus act as the agent of God's power and will before. Before Jesus ascended into Heaven he gave the same miracle working power to his Apostles and their generation to reveal the rest of God's word. That is God's modus operandi: He always uses agents to do his will. He created the Earth and on the seventh day and then He ceased from labor. After that point he has used his creation to act out his will. Even when this creation is not a human "creature", like in the story of the Great Flood in Genesis when Nature executed God's judgment (and no, I'm not saying that natural disasters are always God's judgment). But what about in our time? Who is the agent of God's will and power today? Well if you are a follower of Christ then it is you... you with your faults and lack of superpowers. At times when we read of the miraculous feats of some in Scripture (and the awesomeness of Nature) we may be lead to think that God only works with those that he has given miracle working power. I doubt that God has stopped working with people in the past 2,000 years. I also disagree that he only worked in the Bible days with those that he endowed with miraculous power. Let's return to the story of the Flood in Genesis. God's agent of judgment in that story was Nature but his agent of salvation was Noah. Yes Noah, a man with a drinking problem and no miraculous powers that he could name. However the gifts that God gave Noah were a strong work ethic and time... which were what one needs if they are to build a large boat. So in this generation God is left with you and me. So the question is: do we, like Noah, have time and a work ethic? But more than that, do we have a heart for God's children and desire for His will? If so then God is willing and able to move through us as His agents. We are the Body of Christ, the hands and feet of God... and it is time for His feet to move.
The God Movement
God truly does weep over human suffering. He is moved by human suffering. He displayed this in Jesus' preaching, compassion and action in the lives of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. These three siblings were Jesus' friends because they listened to Jesus and longed to be the agents of God's love themselves. God did not remove tragedy from the world nor did he remove those who desire to do harm to others. For where their is darkness their is an opportunity for light to shine all the greater. When the congregation of St. Joseph's Old Catholic Church donated the "And Jesus Wept" sculpture is was not without criticism. The criticism was not due to it being a display of religious imagery (Jews, Muslims and Methodists had also constructed memorial monuments) but rather how the image appeared and what it appeared to be saying. Wikipedia describes it as "Jesus faces away from the devastation, covering his face with his hand. In front of Jesus is a wall with 168 gaps in it, representing the voids left by each life lost." Many saw it as God turning his back on the victims of this tragedy. Just like Mary and Martha saw Jesus as forsaking Lazarus. There Jesus is with his back to the opening of the Oklahoma City National Memorial like his back must have been turned to the opening of Lazarus' tomb. And Jesus wept. But maybe it is a matter of perspective. Maybe Jesus is seizing a teachable moment. Maybe it was less of Him turning his back to the departed and more of his facing the crowd...facing his Disciples...facing us. Jesus is allowing his followers to get a view of his sorrow, compassion and his fallen friends to be seen in the same frame. It is as if he is saying to us "I know what I am going to do about it but what are you going to do about it?" We know that Jesus is going to turn around and raise the departed souls of the Oklahoma City bombing one day just like he raised his friend Lazarus...because he "is the Resurrection." But who are we and what are we going to do? God gave some of us the gift of being a comforter and we can show compassion to the mourning. God gave others the calling of being a police officer or in law enforcement and we can work to prevent such tragedies. God uses some of us for pastoral ministry and we can eulogize the dead and preach hope to the living. Who are you and what are you going to do? God is willing to act in times of tragedy. The question is: are we willing to act? Jesus wept. Jesus acted. Do we weep? After we weep are we willing to act?
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