Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 19 verse 41a:
"As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it."
Maybe you know the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept." That is found in the book of John chapter 11 verse 35 and the occasion was the death of Jesus' friend Lazarus.
But today's Lesson is a lesser know occasion of Jesus weeping. It is the time Jesus wept over not only his closest friend, but over the whole city. Before he wept over the city, however, he first saw the city.
Do you see the city that is around you? Do you know it's streets, it's schools, it's "lonely islands of poverty" in the midst of its "ocean of material prosperity"? Do you know where the men stand as they wait in line to see if they'll be hired for today? Do you know where he will stand in line again this evening for a free, hot meal served along with things just as necessary to life as bread -- a warm smile and a gentle hug? Do you know the bar where the insurance agent will go yet again tonight to try to drown another kind of poverty -- the poverty of spirit? Do you see and know it enough to weep over it?
Jesus saw the city. He did not close his eyes but opened them. He gazed upon the city. He beheld it in all its strength and sorrow. And because he did, Jesus wept.
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