Yesterday, Will, Joyce and I went to the Oklahoma City Memorial. The museum, the chairs, the crains,the reflecting pool, the Jesus' weeping statue by the Catholic church and the survivor tree (pictured here) are all spectacular sites. (Please excuse the crazy looks on our faces...look beyond us, though and see the momument that has 9:01 on it, the moment before the blast at 9:02).
It is a must see for any person of faith. I had visited the museum a couple years back and was most moved by the children's choir singing "let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" at the exit. This was not part of it this time, but the message is still clear that this memorial is about what each and every single one of us can do to promote peace and reconciliation in our world.
The statue of Jesus weeping refernced the shortest verse in scripture, John 11:35. Jesus weeps at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. It is a moving passage and one that reminds us of Jesus compassion (suffering with others who suffer).
Jesus weeps at other times in scripture. The one that I was thinking of when I saw this statue was Luke 19 as Jesus approaches the city for the last time. He is facing rejection and death. v. 42-46: "And he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'if you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."
I often ponder the things that make for peace. What exactly was Jesus speaking of here? Was he weeping because he longed for the pompous religious folks to admit that they did not have all the answers? Was he weeping because they and many others did not recognize Him as the Christ? What causes Jesus to weep as He looks over our neighborhoods and world?
2 comments:
cool redesign of your site! great stuff! jack+
Did you take your own picture? I was there eleven months ago with my mom and stepdad and the extended family. It was my third time there. It seems that is impacted you as much as it impacted me!
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