Weeping God

Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of the said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man kept this man from dying?" (John 11:35-37)

By Tom Ehrich

In their relentless push for power, wealth and control, religious establishments inevitably portray God as authoritarian: harsh judge, vengeful parent, rampaging monarch, elitist tribal chieftain, filled with the very disdain and anger that they themselves feel toward other people.

Having portrayed such a God and claimed their place as this God's only righteous allies, they stop at nothing to demonize their opponents, to punish nonconformists, to seize power, and to assert that "faith" means obeying their commands. It is tragic, and it is the cause of untold human suffering.

Unfortunately, this drive for power had a strong role in shaping the Bible. Authors of various books started with a desired goal -- Israel deserves to rule, Gentiles are evil, kings are good, kings are bad, Christians deserve to rule, Jews are to blame, women belong, women are evil -- and tells its story in a way that leads inexorably to that end.

Attempts! to portray the Bible as a single, seamless whole are absurd. The triumphalism of Exodus has nothing in common with the rage of Amos. The Jesus of Mark bears little resemblance to the Jesus of John. The apostolic mission of Paul and apocalyptic fancy of Revelation are quite different.

Every now and then, a glimpse of the genuine article pokes through. The patient God of Abraham negotiates with Moses. The passion of God shines forth in the prophets and psalms. The Jesus who actually was can be seen in his sayings and teachings.

I believe such a glimpse of the actual Jesus comes in John 11.35, "Jesus wept." This is perhaps the most authentic image of God. Read the pain that God felt when Adam and Eve hid. Read the remorse of God after the flood. Read the suffering that God endured in events leading up to the exodus, in the wilderness wandering, in the dalliance of David, in betrayal by evil kings, in the exile. This isn't a dispassionate monarch; this is a parent yearning to see the prodigal child's return.

Why did Jesus weep? In a sense, it doesn't matter whether he wept in sadness at Lazarus' dying, or in sharing the grief of two sisters, or in remorse for having caused their grief, or in frustration that his messianic duty required such machinations as deliberately arriving too late.

The point is, he wept. He suffered with the suffering. He revealed God as one who cares deeply enough to be wounded by humankind's travail.

Our hope, you see, doesn't lie in our finally controlling the world, or in our finally pleasing God. Our hope always lies in God's passion.

This is from On the Journey e-mail subscription for writings of Tom Ehrich. He charges an annual fee, but has a 14-day free trial.