wept

Thursday April 10^th, John 11: 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.  32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.  35 Jesus wept. This last verse, “Jesus wept” is the shortest verse in scripture.  Jesus demonstrates the compassion of God in these two words.  Faced with deep deep sorrow, Jesus felt that sorrow and does the only thing he can do at that point.  He is drawn into that deep sorrow and weeps.  Are the tears for Lazarus or Mary or Martha or are they a reaction to the deep sorrow in that place?  Before we do the all too common pastoral thing, stepping in to fix something, it is a call to sit and truly connect with those involved.  This is not religion doing to, it is religion with, it is God, being with us in that moment.  How do we minister in the church?  Do we minister to, or do we connect with and minister with those in need.  If it is to, we are just a religious handyman, tool belt in place and ready to go.  If we minister with, then we are the presence of God, and it is OK, as with Jesus, to cry.