Pastor's Letter

Jesus’ Tears

Today we’ll hear one of the shortest but most profound sentences in all the gospels: “And Jesus wept.” There is a lot of discussion about why Jesus cried. Is he mourning his friend Lazarus’ death? Does his heart go out to Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, who mourn so deeply? Is he frustrated because of the lack of faith people around him seem to have? Is he perturbed? Is it all the above?
 
In some ways, I like to think of it as “all the above” because even within his divine nature, it reveals his humanness and the complexity of emotions that often hit us when something major happens in our own lives. “Jesus wept” is a way of saying “Jesus understands.”
 
Jesus embraces the human race. He laments our lack of understanding. He forgives us for not knowing what we’re capable of doing. He’s frustrated by us—to the point, he wonders how long he has to endure being with us (see Matthew 17:17). And yet, he loves despite all the reasons not to love. He embraces the cross, which is a direct confrontation to human sin that causes so much suffering and pain in families and our world.
 
As a culture, at times we admire the “strong” who can withhold emotion and hold back the tears. Showing emotion can be seen as revealing weakness. But what’s wrong with showing that we care about human life? Like Jesus, it shows we’re passionate about people and about justice; that we’re frustrated when we don’t understand the “cards we’re dealt” or the hardship we have to face and yet we still trust that God is with us. We can admit that other people’s concerns are as important as our own. We can be angered and perturbed when those around us don’t believe in who we are—when we believe in them—and hope to God that it was just different. And yet, we don’t give up on each other or humanity. We find a way toward hope.
 
“Jesus wept.” Jesus understands. And so, we don’t turn and run from Jesus when we need Him most. We follow His invitation to go to Him and to let Him help us carry what it is we’re facing—especially the things that bring tears to our eyes. We let Him help us carry our cross as we help Him carry His. We discover life needs love to be complete—love for God, love for others, love of self. And we wouldn’t want it any other way. 

Renew My Church Update

Thank you to everyone who has already completed the Disciple Maker Index Survey, which you can find a link to on our website. We’re in the final week. The survey just takes between 10-15 minutes, is anonymous, and will help us plan for the future. It’s a tool that will help us understand the needs of all of us at St. Hubert and St. Matthew as two families of faith come together. Thanks for being a part of it! 

Odds & Ends

• Thank you to everyone who offered prayer and support for Michael and Taylor these past three Sundays. They’re preparing for baptism on the Easter Vigil and asked us to pray with them for strength in the weeks ahead. It was all part of three different Scrutinies which took place at different Masses these past three weeks. Thank you for your support!
• This Sunday, four of our altar servers and their families are being recognized by Bishop Grob at a special Mass at St. Alphonsus. We’re truly grateful for their service and for all they do to help us.

As we head toward Easter, it’s good to be with you on the journey.
 
              –Fr. Mike