Maundy Thursday

“Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning “command.” This stems from Christ’s words in John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Jesus wept.

Those two words — that one short verse — give me comfort that is indescribable.

It feels odd, I know, to find comfort in the sorrow of Jesus Christ Himself. But when I see how Jesus expressed emotion, that He grieved, even when He knew the ending, I feel freedom to access my own pain.

You see, Jesus wept over His friend Lazarus in John 11:35, even though He knew full well that the man was about to walk out of that grave. While He knew the other side of the pain, He shared in the grief of Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, and suffered the sting of death.

We see this painful sting hit Jesus again in Mark 14:34. As He sits in the Garden of Gethsemane, waiting to be taken to the most excruciating death any human could sustain, one friend betrays Him and others neglect Him in His time of need. It is then that He says, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”

If you have experienced significant trauma, you have an understanding of that overwhelming sorrow.

I imagine we can all recall a time when pain overtook us.

And how beautiful it is that He knows that sorrow too. How wonderful it is that He continued on despite it. How life-giving that Jesus knew the other side of what was to come and yet, there was still grief in the journey.

We can lament, even when we know that there is another side of Heaven waiting for us one day. We can lament even when there is still so much good in our lives. Regardless of what we know to be true, our pain is real, and He knows that well.

Today, if you need to, allow yourself to feel that overwhelming sorrow. Don’t hold it in. Feel as Christ felt. And know that as you weep, He wept too.