Jesus weeps for Jerusalem

Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Luke (19: 41-44) in which Jesus weeps as he comes in sight of Jerusalem.

Fr Paul says this is not the first time nor the last that we will hear of Jesus crying. The first time we hear of Jesus crying is in chapter 13, verses 34-35.  The second time is in this Gospel today when he comes in sight of the city.  The third time Jesus cries it is when he is being taken out of the city on the way to his own execution, which is in chapter 23, verses 28-31.

We hear in this Gospel that God’s messenger will be rejected. In rejecting that messenger, it is interesting to note that in 70AD, as predicted by Jesus in this Gospel, the temple was completely and utterly destroyed – not one stone left standing on another.  You can see remnants of the temple in Jerusalem to this very day.

For our reflection today, Fr Paul says we might call to mind that when we are sad and have been brought to tears for whatever reason in our lives, Christ, himself, has felt and acted the same and, having had this experience on a number of occasions, Christ is with us during those times and understands our tears.