John 11:35
"Jesus wept."
I was meeting with a friend a few weeks ago and he brought up a point that would change the way I will minister to people for the rest of my life. He told me that he had just finished reading a book with a quote that had a significant influence on him and now me as well. Now I can not remember the exact quote so I won’t try to quote it word for word, but I will give you the main thought behind the quote.
He mentioned that the author wrote about this idea: we have a tendency to try and fix people when they are hurting or in a dark place. We want to get them from a place of dark to a place of light. We want to “fix” the situation. Instead we need to have a paradigm shift. What we need to do is learn to walk with them in the dark place, in the pain and hurt. We need to come along side people as they hurt, as they grieve, as they mourn. We need to learn pray with people. We need to focus less on just fixing them and help them get through the dark place, the hurt and the pain.
In John 11 we see Jesus coming to meet Martha and Mary as their brother Lazarus has died. He is walking into a tragic situation, not only is Martha and Mary’s brother Lazarus dead, but he is also a friend of Jesus’. Now we see in this passage that Jesus mentions to the ladies that Lazarus will rise again. Now that did bring some comfort to Martha and Mary but they were still hurting in that moment. Jesus knew the outcome of this situation but he still recognized the pain in the hearts of the women.
In John 11:33 it tells us that Jesus saw Mary and some others weeping and that he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. As we follow along we see a very short verse that holds a lot of power. It says “Jesus wept.” Jesus knew that there was hope for Lazarus. He knew that the grave was not the end for Lazarus, but yet he still wept with Martha, Mary and the others who grieved.
It seemed in that moment, in the midst of tragedy, heartache and emotional suffering Jesus knew that Martha and Mary needed someone to walk alongside them in their dark place. They needed someone to walk alongside them in their hurt. There was a fix but in that moment they also needed mercy and compassion in their hurt. They needed light in their dark.
Last week we experienced a tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary that every single person in the country was effected by in some shape or form. You either have a small child or know someone who does. You may be a parent, an aunt or uncle, big brother or sister etc. Everyone can emotionally attach themselves to this tragedy in some way. In other words everyone is hurting from this tragedy in some shape or form.
As I have watched reactions to Sandy Hook on the news and in social media I have seen a lot of people trying to “fix” this situation. Some are making the fix a political fix, some are trying to say we need to fix it by pushing past this tragedy. The question I am posing to myself is, do we need to fix people's hurt in this exact moment or do we need to walk with folks in their grief and hurt right now and stop trying to "fix" this situation politically? In this exact moment do we need to have the all the "right" answers?
What I know is that there are a lot of people out there who right now need someone to walk with them in their dark place. In their hurt and suffering. They need someone to pray with them as they grieve. Healing will come and Jesus is the ultimate victory over pain and suffering, nothing will ever change that fact, but right now I know this, instead of arguing politically about what we "think" will prevent another tragedy let's walk with those who are hurting more than we'll ever know. Let's love each other the way that Christ has called us to love each other, with grace, mercy and understanding. Let's bring the light of Christ into the dark of hurt and watch how that in fact fixes. Let's let grace and mercy be sufficient.
I'll close with this thought: Last Sunday in church our Senior Pastor encouraged us to love people in a way that shows Christ's love because we'll never know the positive effect that can have on someone. That thought also applies to those who are hurting and grieving after a tragedy like Sandy Hook. That thought can have a huge impact in the life of someone who is thinking about hurting themselves or others because of pain they are feeling. I do believe that we can have a bigger impact on people by just walking with them in their hurt.
Remember this, Jesus wept with Mary, Martha and others because he hurt with them. He walked with them in their pain. He wept even though Jesus knew there was hope in the kingdom, hope in God's love, He still walked with Martha and Mary in their grief and pain. Jesus came along side of them and wept in that moment. He met them in their pain and brought light into their dark place.
Thought question: Is there someone in your life that doesn't need you to try and "fix" them, but just needs you to walk with them in their hurt? Is there someone you can pray with and for right now that may completely change their life? Make yourself available to those who are hurting.
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