Fifth Sunday in Lent B.  April 2, 2006.  Our Lady of Grace 9:30, 6PM. Ezekiel 37: 12-14.  Romans 8: 8-11.  John 11: 1-45.

My mother had a Polish pet name for my father.  He didn’t speak Polish and we children didn’t either, so we never knew what the name she called my father meant.  She refused to explain the name she called my father until shortly before she died.  The name meant “Loud One!”    My father was a very loud, strong and courageous man.  That was very obvious to everyone who knew him.  Yet, the thing I remember most about my father was his tears.  Whenever one of his children was in trouble he was the parent with tears in his eyes.  Whenever one of us would leave home, my Dad was the parent who cried.  It takes a strong man to feel and be committed to the important people in his life so deeply that tears are an obvious way of expressing love.  Those who are truly strong are also very tender about the people, the Church and the country that they love.  Sometimes we men wear the mask of looking strong to cover our tender feelings, or perhaps, as a way of hiding the fact that we are not really deeply committed at all. 

Jesus is the model for the whole human race.  Jesus is a very strong person, but he is also very tender. When Martha and Mary realized that Lazarus was very sick they sent a message to Jesus saying, “Master, the one that you love is ill.”   The Gospel says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”   When Jesus arrived at Bethany Lazarus had already been dead for four days.  Even though Jesus was the Lord of heaven and earth, even though as the Divine Word of God he had been responsible for the creation of the universe, Jesus was strong enough, human enough and man enough to stand outside of the tomb of his friend Lazarus and weep.  Jesus wanted us to see the tenderness of the heart of God.  In Jesus, strength and tenderness go together.

Jesus is our God, our Savior and our Redeemer.  Jesus is the great judge before whom each of us will appear on the Day of Judgment.  Jesus is awesome beyond anything we can imagine.  Having said all of this, the Gospel of John insists that we are called by Jesus to be his friends.  At the last supper Jesus told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants.  I call you my friends.”  It is hard to believe that someone who is far above us as the infinite God is would not lord it over us, but instead would offer us the gift of divine friendship.  Jesus weeps over us, friend to friend. This is the message of John’s Gospel.

There are many images of divine friendship in the life of the Church.  When Christians were tying themselves in knots by overemphasizing Divine Judgment and human sin and guilt, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, giving her the image of the Sacred Heart.  See, Jesus says, I give you my heart.  We all know that the heart is the symbol and the focus of committed friendship, whether that is between husband and wife in marriage or in our relationship with God.  Jesus not only gives us the gift of rules and commandments, he gives us the gift of his heart.  Jesus not only gives us the gift of heaven, he gives us the gift of his friendship that makes heaven present in our hearts even now.  More recently Jesus gave the Church the image of Divine Mercy. The message on the Divine Mercy image is a message of love: “Jesus, I trust in you.”

The most powerful image of divine friendship is the Crucifix.  The tears of Jesus would mean little without the gift of himself to us on the Cross.  Tears without the gift of ourselves run the risk of being cheap, sentimental, superficial, or even an act.  A strong person is one who can cry because they are not afraid of showing deep feelings, and then back up the gift of tears with the gift of one’s life blood poured out in love of the friend.  The Cross is the price that Jesus paid to show his love and commitment to us, his friends.  The shedding of his tears and the shedding of his blood go together.

The love that Jesus had for Lazarus and for his sisters Martha and Mary did not end with the shedding of his tears.  Jesus did what had to be done to restore Lazarus to life by calling him forth from death and from the tomb.  But that was not enough.  Lazarus certainly died again and was buried again, even after having been raised from the dead.  Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”   Lazarus was restored to life in this world by the tears of Jesus.  He was given the gift of eternal life by the blood of Jesus.   Both the tears and the blood are gifts of the tender compassionate love of our God for each of us.

A few months ago we had an African-American style funeral for the husband of one of our parishioners here at Our Lady of Grace. There was a lot of crying, hugging and comforting going on in church.  Our funerals are usually more reserved.  I found myself being stretched quite a bit – but I liked it.  When I mentioned this to the funeral director he said, “Father, I think we could learn a lot about sharing our feelings from these people.”  “Jesus wept.”   Those who witnessed it were moved by what they saw.  They said, “See how much he loved him.”  I remember my father’s tears and I will cherish them always.  It is  a great comfort to remember that when we have made a mistake or are hurting Jesus weeps for us – even though others may be judging us or gossiping.

The tears of Christ are only the beginning. At Mass the chalice is not filled with the tears of Jesus.  It is filled with his blood.  Jesus said, “Take and drink of this, all of you.  This is the cup of my blood, the Blood of the New and everlasting covenant.  It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.”  The blood in the chalice was shed for everyone, saints and sinners alike.  A dying man who had led a sinful life looked at the crucifix on his wall moments before he died.  He mumbled “Lord I am a sinner.  Do you love even me?”  He could hear a quiet and firm voice in his heart say, “I love you this much.” And he saw Jesus stretch out his arms on the Cross and die for him.

For the strong and tender love of Jesus we give God thanks and praise.