Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept)

I wonder how Jesus would have felt as he embarked on what he knew was to be his last journey. How painful was it, to tell his disciples:

“Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the gentiles, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death…” (Mark 10:32-34)

He is described to have been walking alone ahead… the others followed behind him apprehensively (Mark 10:32). It would have been a very solemn, lonely walk.

When he finally sees Jerusalem there in the distance, he stops. He cannot hold the tears any longer.

As he drew near and came in sight of the city, he shed tears over it and said,
“If you too had only recognized on this day the way to peace! But in fact it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you, because you did not recognize the moment of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)

With the grand city there before him, Jesus weeps.
He weeps for the destruction of this holy city of David, for the pain, anguish and despair that his beloved people will suffer. He weeps for the sinfulness, the pride, the selfishness that will bring about such suffering. He weeps for their failure to recognize the love of God, the Emmanuel coming here to them. He weeps for their unbelief, their hardness of heart, their rejection and their hatred, when they will bind him, scourge him, and hang him on the cross. He weeps for suffering and death – that which he would endure, and that which all men face, the consequence of our sins, our rejection of God.

* * * * * * *

Lord Jesus,

In your tears, you allowed your humanity, your deep compassion to flow forth.
You mourned the failure of man
The rejection of Love,
And the sorrow we thus bear.

We weep with you, for our own mistakes -
Our own failure to recognize you,
And our own rejection of your love.
We weep for our own sins and suffering,
And of those all around the world.

Help us to realise, on this day, the way to peace.
Help us always to recognise you in our lives,
The moments of your visitation.

Lead us, we pray, to the New Jerusalem,
where:

“God lives among human beings.
He will make his home among them;
they will be his people, and he will be their God,
God-with-them.

He will wipe away all tears from their eyes;
There will be no more death. And no more mourning or sadness or pain.
The world of the past has gone.

Then the one seated on the throne said,
Behold I make all things new.”
(Revelations 21:3-4)