This is a portion of a letter that Brennan Manning received from Betty Fusco. He elaborates on it in his book, The Wisdom of Tenderness.
Why, God?Can't you feel our pain? Do you really know how much we hurt?
When Joseph died, what did Mary and Jesus do? Was not their hurt so great
that they covered their faces with ashes, cried out in loud voices with weeping
and wailing, rent their clothes, and hired mourners to follow the body in the
traditional Hebrew fashion of mourning the dead?
And was it in this same Hebrew fashion that on Good Friday, the Father covered his face with ashes-the darkness of midday, the eclipse of the sun?
His earth screamed and groaned in the agony of an earthquake
upheaval-the earth trembled and shook-rocks split and mountains
fell-he cried out in a loud voice.
He wept-springs burst forth from the splits in the earth;rivers ran
wild as their natural courses were changed.
He rent his clothing: the curtain of the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies,
the place no one entered, the traditional Hebrew dwelling place of God
was torn from top to bottom.
He sent mourners to follow the body. "Tombs opened and many holy men
rose from the dead. And after Jesus' resurrection they came forth from the
tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to a number of people"
(Matt.27:53).
"Oh yes, Father, you know, for did you not shed tears and intone the
lament to show your own deep grief and observe the mourning for a
day or two and then were comforted in your sorrow" (Sir.38:16-18).
The Father knows.
So I will not call Steve, I will call on the Father instead.
5 comments:
You write so well....I am drawn to your site and your journey.
THanks for sharing it so honestly...I wish you know that I could write of HOW God will rescue You....I can't I can simply and completely know that He will...A seeking heart HE NEVER DENIES....
But don't look for immediate comfort.....look for Him....
See I don't know how to write it ...I just KNOW it.....please keep sharing...keep seeking....would love to dialogue with you....
faithfreak2001@yahoo.com
wow.. what an amazing thread of wrestling, wrangling and resolution..
"so I will not call Steve"..
there's victory there.
Hi Jan. I found my way here from "So I Go"'s blog.
I love your writing style. I see faith and love tangled up with confusion, loneliness and hurt.
Keep writing. I know I will be back to keep reading!
Jan, you made such a good choice in calling on God, I do know the strong pull the phone has when we want to call that person....ohhh, it's so hard not to.
I love Brennan Manning - he's one of my favorites.
I agree with the others, you write so well so openly. (Sidenote: I was driving home from work in anticipation of the U2 concert and you popped in my mind! I wish you could go with me!)
Thank you all again for your kindess.It touches my heart to read your comments and helps me not to feel so alone.
Post a Comment