We may get the impression that deep grief or sustained sadness is out of bounds for faithful Christians, even though the gospels portray Jesus as feeling deep emotions and acting on them. In John 11, he wept with Mary, grieving the death of her brother, Lazarus (verse 35). Both verses 33 and 38 say that Jesus was “greatly disturbed,” a translation of a Greek word whose meaning encompasses both grief and anger, as well as gut-wrenching heartache.
In the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest, Jesus was agitated and distressed. He told Peter, James, and John that he was “deeply grieved, even to death” and asked them to remain awake and pray with him (Mark 14:33-34). Jesus sharply rebuked Peter when he objected to Jesus talking about his impending crucifixion (Mark 8:31-33).
The example of Jesus and the language of the book of Psalms offer tools for recognizing our emotions, accepting them, and channeling their expression. We can be honest and courageous in expressing our emotions to God, then we can channel our emotional energy into actions of love and compassion.
This message is excerpted from “God can take it” by Julie A. Kanarr in the September 2019 Gather magazine. Today is the second Sunday in Lent. Today we commemorate Elisabeth Fedde, deaconess, 1921.
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