"Jesus Wept" Words on the Covington Tragedy By Fr. Robert Cooper

We often look at the world that doesn’t make sense and wonder what’s going on. After the tragedy in Covington, we find ourselves in one of life’s darkest times.

And so the question that you might be asking yourself and I am indeed asking myself, “Where is God in all of this?”

I believe with God, there are no questions that are out of bounds. So, asking “where is God in all of this” is a valid question.

Where IS God in all of this? What IS going on? Why?

Amid these questions that don’t have easy answers, I believe a few things:

I believe that God has not abandoned us.

I believe that in the midst of all the pain, confusion, and tragedy, God is still here.

And I believe there is hope.

There is a story in the Bible in the Gospel of St. John about Jesus. This story is about two women dealing with their brother’s death. Their brother’s name is Lazarus, and he becomes ill and passes away. Most obviously, they are desperately distraught. Yet, there is nothing they can do. And so they do the only thing that makes sense, they call for Jesus.

In this story we see, what I believe, is a beautiful picture of Jesus. The Evangelist says the following: “When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews that had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him’ Jesus asked. “Come and See Lord’ they replied.”

Then comes two of the most beautiful words in the entire Bible:

“Jesus Wept.”

As I have experienced more and more of life, I have come to see the richness and depth of this verse. The profound sense of hope comes in the form of these two words.

“Jesus wept.”

and the words before it.

“Jesus was deeply troubled”

Why? Why did Jesus weep? Why was he troubled?

I think it’s clear from the passage that Jesus was weeping because he saw and understood the desperate brokenness of these two women who had just lost their beloved brother.

Jesus’ tears and pain came from the fact that this is not the way it’s supposed to be. This is not what he, God, intended for humanity. He made us for something else. He didn’t make us for death, he made us for life. 

We can find hope in two things.

First, we have a God who weeps with us. We have a God who is deeply troubled that the world is the way it is. He’s not a God who sits upon a throne unattached and unmoved by the flight of humanity.

As he did with Mary and Martha, he sits with us in our darkest hour and weeps alongside us.

The second hope we have is that he’s doing something about it. One might ask, “How do you believe in a God that would allow something like this to happen?” I believe there is another way to look at this, “I am so thankful that God sees this world and has decided to do something about it.”

I invite you to sit with the God who mourns along with you. Knowing that Jesus weeps because this is not the way it’s supposed to be.

If you can remember two words, let them be “Jesus Wept.”

(Photo by Karen Baker, Mary Queen of Peace Church in Mandeville)