TGIF

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.”

(John 11:32–36 ESV)

Tonight we have read of another tragedy, another little one called home far too soon by the way we measure how things ought to be.

We struggle for answers as to why…and we offer alternative versions of the events that may have prevented the tragedies from happening.

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21–22 ESV)

If we had better gun control, if we had armed guards, if we had done something, anything, else…

We want to believe that we have some control over these kind of events, over life in general and death in particular.

Deep down inside us we know we don’t… and the more we know that, the more we need a blizzard of words and actions to cover that terrible truth….we speak and speculate until the fear dies down and the terrible moment passes.

This world is fallen and reeling and broken and full of risk and terror and so it will be until the Redeemer comes.

We will all succumb to that fallenness despite all of our best plans and effort…but He will come.

Until then we must try to respond as our Lord did…and I believe still does.

We are…

deeply moved,

greatly troubled,

we weep.

In our sorrow we hear Him whisper;

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?””

We believe…help our unbelief.