Dynamism of God's Compassion

Fifth Sunday of Lent

April 6, 2014

John 11:1-45

“And Jesus wept (John 11:35)”

Jesus is weeping for Lazarus. This simply means God is shading his tears for humanity. This Gospel’s passage is one of the rare occasions in which Jesus expresses his tender human side. Doubtless, Jesus is God and he manifests his divine powers in many events like healing of the incurable diseases, mastering the forces of nature, feeding the hungry thousands and raising the dead. Yet, many of times, the main reason why he performs the superhuman abilities is his compassion, his tender human part. He has compassion to the people and he feeds them. He feels the pains and so he heals the sick.

Lazarus, Mary and Martha undoubtedly are dear to Jesus. And knowing that a person who is close to his heart has passed away, Jesus cannot contain his emotion and shading his tears. The event is so dramatic that John the Evangelist cannot but place it in his Gospel. It is his humanity of Jesus at its summit: the fullness of compassion, and yet, his expression is very natural to all men and women. We also weep when we lose our friends or family members. 

Here, we may see the dynamism of God’s love and His involvement in human lives. Before God divinely intervenes in our difficult situations, God is already there in our midst, sharing our pains and sufferings. We need to remember that compassion comes from two Latin words “cum + passion”, meaning “to suffer with”. Therefore, when our God is compassionate, then he primarily feels our very ache and even he is suffering with us. Then, if God takes a powerful course of action to intervene in our bleak conditions, it is a second step already and often this second step does not always happen.

However, the problem with us is that we overlook this dynamism of God’s love in our lives and demand God to solve our problems instantly. In time of distress, we pray to the Lord begging him to erase all the troubles and pains. Yet, when the expected answers do not come, we begin losing our patience and blaming God. How insolent we are!

Thus, through our today’s Gospel, we are gently reminded that God do not work in our ways. To grant miracles is just like bonus, but more importantly, His love is manifested in His compassion. Even before we pray to him, he is already with us in the darkest moments of lives. His very presence is the first and most important miracle in our lives. The fact that we remember Him in our troubled days means that He is not far. The reality that there are people who unexpectedly lend their support is another proof of His guidance. And, the mere fact that we are strong enough to bear difficulties is the sign that God has taken a lot of our suffering as his own.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP