Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to our 31st day of Lent,
As we continue on our journey through John's Gospel in the wilderness still held.
As we begin today,
I invite you to breathe deeply in and out,
To bring your mind here into this moment,
To bring your body here into this moment,
To bring your heart here right into this moment.
For the next few minutes,
There's nowhere you need to go,
Nothing you need to achieve,
Just arrive.
Today we continue in the story of Lazarus in John chapter 11,
And today we sit with one of the shortest verses in the Gospel and one of the most profound.
In John's Gospel chapter 11 verse 35,
We read simply,
Jesus wept.
Two words,
Yet these two words reveal something deeply healing about the heart of God.
In this moment,
Jesus is standing outside the tomb of Lazarus.
He already knows what's about to happen.
He knows resurrection is coming.
He knows the story will not end in death,
And yet he still weeps.
Now this moment is deeply important.
You see,
Jesus is showing us that even divine foreknowledge does not cancel out human sorrow.
Even knowing that restoration is coming,
Jesus doesn't bypass grief.
He doesn't rush past the pain of the moment.
He doesn't try and offer a quick explanation.
He simply weeps.
And for many of us,
This should be beautifully regulating to hear,
Because we've often learned,
Sometimes subtly and sometimes unfortunately far too directly,
That faith means moving on quickly,
That strong spirituality should overcome sadness,
That grief is something to resolve rather than something to live and to honour.
But this moment in the Gospel of John tells us another story.
The Son of God stands before loss and allows his heart to break open.
Tears aren't treated as weakness here,
They are treated as love.
Now in the wilderness,
In many ways,
Something similar occurs within us.
Because when we're in the wilderness,
The wilderness itself doesn't numb the feeling,
But perhaps it more clarifies it,
That in those quiet spaces of life,
During those seasons where distractions fall away,
We're often in a position to discover emotions that we didn't realise that we were carrying,
And perhaps carrying for a long time.
The grief that we're carrying is something that we postponed in the moment,
Or the loss that we tried to minimise.
The pain that we tell ourselves,
Well that's not that big a deal.
But the soul has a way of remembering,
Doesn't it?
And sometimes the most healing thing we can do is simply allow our sorrow to breathe.
Jesus weeping beside the tomb of Lazarus reveals something essential about the nature of God,
That God doesn't stand at a distance from pain.
God refuses to observe suffering from above.
God enters the pain with us.
God feels it.
God participates in it.
This is the way of God.
Is what love does.
Love refuses to remain detached,
Rather love moves close enough to be affected.
So today we hold a gentle question in the quiet of this moment.
Is there sorrow that you've been minimising?
A grief that you've quietly pushed aside,
Perhaps something that happened recently,
Or maybe something that's much,
Even much,
Much older.
Maybe you feel pressure,
Spoken or unspoken,
To just move on,
To be strong,
To keep functioning.
But what if your heart has simply been waiting for permission?
As you breathe now,
Allow whatever emotion is present to exist without judgment.
Just notice.
If sadness is there,
Let it be.
If tenderness rises,
Allow it.
If tears come,
They're welcome.
Those tears are relational participation.
It's one way that the heart tells the truth.
Imagine for a moment that you're standing in that place outside the tomb and beside you stands Jesus.
And he's not rushing,
He's not explaining.
He's just there,
He's just present.
And the one who wept is willing to weep with you.
Grief doesn't distance us from God.
Instead,
It may be one of the places where God feels closest.
Take another slow deep breath in.
Exhale slowly.
If there's sorrow in your heart today,
Let it breathe.
Let it have space and let it be held.
And as we close,
Simply remember this quiet truth from today's reading.
That the God who brings resurrection is also the God who weeps.
And that means your tears are never outside the reach of divine love.
Rest in that for a moment.
Just breathe.
And as you now go into your day,
May the peace of God that passes all understanding protect your heart and your mind in the knowledge and love of Christ.
Until tomorrow,
My friend,
May grace,
Peace,
And love be with you.
