Way back in 1971, there was a TV movie called “The Homecoming: A Christmas Story.” It introduced the world to the Depression-era Walton family, which became a TV series a year or so later. One scene from the original movie always stuck with me: The Walton kids were teaching younger kids Bible verses at a Christmas Eve service, and those children would then recite the verses in order to receive a Christmas present. One Walton girl was feeding verses to a little boy, who would say, “That’s too long” or “I can’t remember that.” Finally, exasperated, the Walton daughter told the boy, “Jesus wept.” He ran to the minister, said those two words and happily accepted his gift.
Scripture tells us three times that Jesus shed tears. Hebrews Chapter 5 says, “In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”
In Chapter 11 of the Gospel of John, Jesus goes to raise Lazarus from the dead, and we are told, “When Jesus saw (Mary) weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Sir, come and see.’ And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him.’”
Today’s Gospel, from Luke Chapter 19, gives us the third mention, during or just after his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: “As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If this day you only knew what makes for peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
Jesus’ tears are because of His great love for those He loves, for those He came to save but reject His message, for the suffering that He must endure because of our sinfulness. I always think of that: Jesus came to suffer and die for me. Thanks be to God, but I’m the one who sinned in the first place that made it necessary. Jesus died for me, but Jesus also died because of me.
Are we still out here not recognizing the time of our visitation? Are we like the Jews in our first reading from Maccabees, sacrificing on the altar of our modern-day apostasies? Or are we like Mattathias when he invited others to follow the Lord saying, “Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow after me!”?
Today’s readings make it a good day to ask God for the grace we need to have zeal for Him and His law, for His love and His truth, and for the role He has for us. May we not cause Him more tears, but rather love Him and serve Him in this life so that we can be with Him in true, unending joy in the life to come.
Daily Reading
Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Reading I Isaiah 26:1-6 On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: “A strong city have we; he sets up walls and…
Saint of the Day
St. John of Damascus
St. John of Damascus
Feast date: Dec 04
Catholics remember and celebrate the life of the great Arab Church Father St. John of Damascus on Dec. 4.Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics, whose tradition has been particularly shaped by his insights, celebrate the saint’s feast on the same day as the Roman Catholic Church.Among Eastern Christians, St. John (676-749) is best known for his defense of Christian sacred art, particularly in the form of icons. While the churches of Rome and Constantinople were still united during St. John’s life, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III broke radically from the ancient tradition of the church, charging that the veneration of Christian icons was a form of idolatry.John had grown up under Muslim rule in Damascus, as the child of strongly Christian parents. His excellent education – particularly in theology – prepared him well to defend the tradition of sacred iconography, against the heresy of the “iconoclasts,” so-called because they would enter churches and destroy the images therein.During the 720s, the upstart theologian began publicly opposing the emperor’s command against sacred images in a series of writings. The heart of his argument was twofold: first, that Christians did not actually worship images, but rather, through them they worshiped God, and honored the memory of the saints. Second, he asserted that by taking an incarnate physical form, Christ had given warrant to the Church’s depiction of him in images.By 730, the young public official’s persistent defense of Christian artwork had made him a permanent enemy of the emperor, who had a letter forged in John’s name offering to betray the Muslim government of Damascus. The ruling caliph of the city, taken in by the forgery, is said to have cut off John’s hand. The saint’s sole surviving biography states that the Virgin Mary acted to restore it miraculously. John eventually managed to convince the Muslim ruler of his innocence, before making the decision to become a monk and later a priest.Although a number of imperially-convened synods condemned John’s advocacy of Christian iconography, the Roman church always regarded his position as a defense of apostolic tradition. Years after the priest and monk died, the Seventh Ecumenical Council vindicated his orthodoxy, and ensured the permanent place of holy images in both Eastern and Western Christian piety.St. John of Damascus’ other notable achievements include the “Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith,” a work in which he systematized the earlier Greek Fathers’ thinking about theological truths in light of philosophy. The work exerted a profound influence on St. Thomas Aquinas and subsequent scholastic theologians. Centuries later, St. John’s sermons on the Virgin Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven were cited in Pope Pius XII’s dogmatic definition on the subject.The saint also contributed as an author and editor, to some of the liturgical hymns and poetry that Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics still use in their celebrations of the liturgy.“Show me the icons that you venerate, that I may be able to understand your faith.” – Saint John of Damascus