My Catholic Life!: Jesus Wept - Thursday, November 17, 2022

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.” Luke 19:41-42

It’s hard to know exactly what Jesus knew about the future of the people of Jerusalem. But we do know, from this passage, that His knowledge made Him weep in sorrow. Here are a few points on which to meditate.

First, it’s important to see the image of Jesus weeping. To say that Jesus wept implies that this was not simply some small sadness or disappointment. Rather, it implies a very deep sorrow that moved Him to very real tears. So start with that image and let it sink in.

Second, Jesus was weeping over Jerusalem because, as He approached and had a good view of the city, He immediately became aware of the fact that so many people would reject Him and His visit. He came to bring them the gift of eternal salvation. Sadly, some ignored Jesus out of indifference while others were infuriated at Him and sought His death.

Third, Jesus was not only weeping over Jerusalem. He was also weeping over all people, especially those of His future family of faith. He wept, in particular, at the lack of faith that He could see so many would have. Jesus was keenly aware of this fact and it grieved Him deeply.

Reflect, today, upon the serious temptation we all face of being indifferent to Christ. It’s easy for us to have a little faith and to turn to God when it is to our advantage. But it is also very easy to remain indifferent to Christ when things in life seem to be going well. We easily fall into the trap of thinking we do not need to daily surrender to Him in the most complete way possible. Root out any indifference to Christ today and tell Him you want to serve Him and His holy will with your whole heart.

Lord, I beg of You to weed out every bit of indifference in my heart. As You weep over my sin, may those tears wash me and cleanse me so that I may make a total commitment to You as my Divine Lord and King. Jesus, I trust in You.

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but He doesn't weep about what is happening to Him, the way all of us weep when we are in suffering, trial, pain, and betrayal. Instead, He weeps because of the suffering that the people of Jerusalem are going to experience, and by extension the people of the whole world. That is the true expression of agape, the selfless love that God has for His children, and that He wishes us to give to others.

One lesson I take from this is that Jesus is entering into His Passion, knowing that He would be betrayed by one He loved, abandoned by the rest, suffer unimaginably, and die the most cruel death without the comfort of His father...

I’m not sure that’s the best way to look at it.
We tend to think of the Passion as something that happened to Jesus… as bad as that was for him, it was His Will that he layed down his life for us.
Looking at it from that perspective, removes the focus from perpetual victim to Savior of the everlasting covenant in His Body.

but He doesn't weep about what is happening to Him, the way all of us weep when we are in suffering, trial, pain, and betrayal. Instead, He weeps because of the suffering that the people of Jerusalem are going to experience, and by extension the people of the whole world.
That is the true expression of agape, the selfless love that God has for His children, and that He wishes us to give to others.

Yes, selfless love is a true expression of God’s love for us… but reminded of Jn 3:16 that love is manifested in a Sacrificial manner- and so for Christ on the Cross as well… but its not a one way “Agape”… it is this sacrificial love- for another, as self- that we must give in a sacrificial way for the other. As in yesterday’s gold coin parable, we must not merely cling to the gift- the gift of God’s love- it will wither into meaninglessness.
Can you see why then the Sacrificial “Agape” of Christ is so important to the Church?

A few years back Pope Francis put it this way:

"God, who is Love, has created us to make us part of his life, to be
loved and to love Him, and to love all other people with Him. This is
God's 'dream' for man. And in order to accomplish it we need his grace,
we need to receive in us the ability to love that comes from God himself."

For this reason "Jesus offers himself to us in the Eucharist..."
the Pope said Oct. 29.
"In it we receive his Body and His Blood, that is,
we receive Jesus in the best expression of his love,
when He has offered himself to the Father for our salvation."

Can you see in this way how the Eucharist is such a central element of Christianity then?

It’s hard to know exactly what Jesus knew about the future of the people of Jerusalem.

Not sure why the writer says that. We know exactly what Jesus knew about that future, because it's our past. He knew that they would acclaim him as their King, and then turn on him and hand him over to be crucified. He knew that they would persecute his followers, even killing some of them (e.g., James the Less).

Jesus knew that, 36 or so years later, Titus would come in response to a Jewish revolt, and lay waste to the city and the temple. Josephus wrote that 1.1 million died during the siege, from famine, fire, and directly in combat.

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