From: Sarah Black
How often do we weep over brokenness in our lives and in our city?
The end of Luke 19 finds Jesus having just entered triumphantly into Jerusalem. As he draws near he begins to weep over Jerusalem, mourning the brokenness of a city he loves.
Previous to this, in Luke 13:34, Jesus laments deeply over the city: “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under wings, and you would not!”
I am reminded of Mark’s sermon a couple weeks back on reconciliation. Lament was the first call to action: mourning our divisions, both personal and corporate, before God. Living in a big city often makes us desensitized to the brokenness around us. Are we seeing it? The homelessness and needs of under-resourced communities? Are we seeing the cracks in our own church community? Are we crying out to God in lament, praying for reconciliation in all areas of our lives?
When I was 8 years-old, we passed a bad car accident on the side of the road. As we waited in traffic my mom prayed aloud and asked God to intervene and protect those involved in the accident. I could hear emotion in my mother’s voice; the scene was upsetting. In that moment my 8 year-old self realized that as Christians we are to mourn the brokenness around us.
There is so much hurt in this world, it can seem overwhelming. But praise God we have the promise of the Holy Spirit and his peace. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of our neighbor and of the church and cry out to God in lament for reconciliation.
I live in Boston with my husband, Tyler. Today I learned how to make steamed milk at my new job and it was a very humbling experience. Along with the milk, I also managed to get chai latte sauce everywhere. Grace is abundant.