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. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Reflection: Learning from Jesus' Tears
In the picture above is the Church of Dominus Flevit (“The Lord Wept” in Latin). The Church is located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives and marks the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44. The church was built in 1953 to commemorate Jesus' triumphal entry to the city. As you'll see in the picture, the church is made in the form of a teardrop to commemorate the spot where Jesus wept. We went there in a pilgrimage over a year ago.
As I pondered this passage, I was struck by Jesus' deep love and compassion for Jerusalem, despite its impending destruction. His tears were not merely a response to the city's physical demise, but a lament for the spiritual blindness that had overtaken its people, a blindness that prevented them from recognizing and embracing God's mercy.
Reflecting on my own heart, I am confronted with the reality of my own limitations. How often do I fail to see the world through God's eyes? Do I truly love others as Jesus loves them, even when they are difficult to love? Am I willing to share in the sorrows of those who mourn and the joys of those who celebrate?
Inspired by Jesus' example, I am called to prayer. To intercede for my fellow human beings, my brethren, and to lift up those who are broken, suffering, or lost. May I strive to see the world as Jesus sees it, filled with divine love and infinite mercy.
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