Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: April 02, 2017
This Sunday’s Third Reading from the Bible recounts the Raising of Lazarus in the Gospel of John (chapter 11, verses 1-45). He and his sisters were good friends of Jesus, and the events surrounding his death provide important insights into Christ’s power.
But this Gospel passage also has something else: the shortest verse of all of Scripture! Verse 35 mentions Jesus’ reaction to Lazarus’ death. Just three words in English and the original Greek: “And Jesus wept.”
Frankly, I don’t think that this is merely a bit of Biblical trivia. It helps underscore the humanity of the Lord: He is “true God and true man,” as the Creed professes. While Jesus’ divinity is rightly emphasized most of the time, we need to be careful to speak truly of Him. We don’t want to think less of Him in the completeness of His possessing both natures in His own, one person.
But I think it also teaches another lesson. Maybe for us and our own faith, it’s more important to know that both faith and emotion can co-exist. One can and should have a firm faith in eternal life, for example. But at the same time we are also susceptible to the felt pain and loss of death. We should not feel weak in our faith simply because the tragedy of death hurts so badly.
Some people try to be stoic in the face of sickness and death, thinking perhaps that showing weakness would be a betrayal of their faith in God. Others get so caught up in their emotions and feelings that they question – or worse, forget – the reality of God’s provident love for us. The truth is that the Lord wants us to embrace humanity in its fullness, and even in its weakness, and not pretend we’re something we’re not. As St. Irenaeus of Lyons famously said, “The glory of God is man fully alive” (AH IV, 20:7); we’d be false to ourselves too if we denied we’re emotional beings. Anyway, think about it: don’t deny divinity when you encounter it, but don’t deny humanity either!
Speaking of encountering divinity: our last Lenten Holy Hour is Wednesday of this week from 5 to 6 pm. Take time to rediscover the Lord in quiet, private prayer before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and receive His forgiveness in confession and His benediction!
Sincerely in the Lord,
Fr. Paul
