阅读经文 

我好朋友二十岁的儿子在踩滑板的意外事故中突然去世，他们的世界停顿下来，悲痛像海啸那样把他们淹没了。他们挚爱的儿子、并他充满喜乐和传奇性的为人，都不复存在了。我相信耶稣也会与他们一同哭泣的。

我可以想像到，我的朋友们会像马大和马利亚那样跑到耶稣面前、冲口而出说：“祢在哪里？祢若早在这里，我们的儿子必仍然活着！”怪不得那些哀悼拉撒路的人不明白，曾医治瞎子的耶稣，为什么不让拉撒路存活。

对我们很多人来说，在丧礼中哭泣是一件自然的事；我们对伤心的人表示同情，我们被他们的泪水感动了。在永恒的这一边，死亡是一个残酷的现实，这样的事情是不应该发生的。

不过，并非所有的泪水都能感动我们的。未婚怀孕的年青人的饮泣、因所生儿子的种族被人论断的母亲、被摧泪弹喷射的抗议者、因在学校遭霸凌而报复开枪杀人的少年犯，这些事件都反而会带来批判的眼光。难道我们只同情那些与我们有相同看法的无辜的人吗？基督徒应该为所有哀哭的人同哭，这是基督立下的榜样，祂看待受创伤的人如同没有牧人的羊。

The 20-year-old son of my dear friends died suddenly in a skateboarding accident, causing their world to stop and flooding them with a tsunami of grief. Their beloved son with his joy-filled, larger-than-life personality was gone. I believe Jesus weeps with them.

I can imagine my friends running up to Jesus like Martha and Mary did and blurting out, “Where were you? If you had only been here, our son would still be alive!” It’s no wonder the mourners there wondered why Jesus, who had healed blind people, did not keep Lazarus from dying.

For many of us, weeping at a funeral comes naturally; we feel compassion for those who are grieving. We are moved by their tears. Death is a harsh reality on this side of eternity. It’s not the way things are supposed to be.

Not all tears move us, however. The sobbing of a teen who is pregnant, a mother whose son was racially profiled, a protester who was sprayed with tear gas, or a mass shooter who was bullied in school might generate judgment instead. Do we reserve our sympathy for the innocent and like-minded? Christians are called to weep with all who weep, as modeled by Christ, who saw broken people as sheep without a shepherd.