There is no greater consolation to a person going through untold suffering and pain than to have people around him, joining their hearts with his/her suffering. The women of Jerusalem should have been simple people, who might have been either cured of their illnesses by Jesus, or fed by his munificence some months ago. Today they had decided to accompany him on the way to Calvary as a mark of their gratitude to him, for what they had received from him! They have nothing to offer to reduce his pain; even as they stood in the midst of madding crowds before Pilot, they had no voice to say that the man was innocent, and so as reparation for their cowardice, they have decided to accompany him all the way to Calvary!
I feel these women were ordinary persons, who found great consolation listening to Jesus, opening their hearts to a new vision of reality, of life in general; they had been touched not only by what he said, but also by what he was! There was a spiritual glow in him which attracted them to him, even without their knowing. They were able to recognize the Savior in him, who had all the medicine they needed to be healed of all their ailments! By walking with him on this road full of thorns and stone chips, they have no great expectation! All they desire is to let their master know that they were by his side. Their silent presence with him is all that they could offer to him here and now!
In the midst of the crowds who were jeering at him, cursed him endlessly, accused him of everything under the sun, to have a handful of people who sympathized with him, brought so much of consolation to the Master! He might have been thinking to himself – All is not lost! These women have not retained their hard hearts, which they did possess before they encountered him; their hearts have turned from stones to flesh, and that is what makes so much of difference now! While all the other bystanders and mocking crowds refused to let their hearts be transformed into flesh by the life-giving words of Christ, these women had the courage to let him transform them, and today they are here to bear witness to the transformation he had brought in their lives.
There is pathos in their hearts, and in full measure; they are unable to control it! Their hearts are so supple to human suffering, and they would shed tears for any person who is unjustly punished. And the master looks at them tenderly, and even at this moment, he is concerned that these women turn their attention on their family! How hard is it for me to divert the excessive attention I receive to some other deserving persons around me! I want all the attention from all corners, even if it is just a passing flu or cold, and wish everyone to nurse me, cajole me! Here is the master who does not wish to retain the attention these women offered, instead he turns them to more pressing needs and persons. He however does not disregard their gesture of love and concern, but only wishes them to utilize it for greater cause.
It is not easy for me to sympathize with people who are very different from me, who hold views and notions very different from mine; often instead of sympathizing with them in their pain, I feel happy and delighted to see them suffer! I feel that they deserved the suffering and punishment for what they had been doing, scheming, and plotting! I realize that I cannot sympathize with a person who has not touched me in some way or other! I place a series of conditions before I extend hands of support and sympathy to persons, and that is what makes me so very different from the women of Jerusalem and their master! The women had no conditions to express their sympathy towards Jesus, and that made them to be genuine in their expression of this sympathy.
Often I feel that my heart is like a stone, impossible to penetrate, and it is only the Lord of heaven and earth who can transform it into a heart of flesh, which would moan with moaners, rejoice with the happy, and shed tears for the suffering! These women are all endowed with hearts of flesh, and I am praying for this gift, as I contemplate the meeting of Jesus with the women of Jerusalem. If only I can feel the pain and agony of the hundreds of people who go through unending suffering day after day, and yet without cursing or blaming anybody! I think of the millions of victims of violence and injustice, those pawns in the hands of the mighty and powerful, who can play with the lives of hundreds of poor at will! Do I have a heart with cries for them, which is prepared to walk the path of Calvary to show my solidarity with them?
I see the fruit of the multiplication effect of your loaves; you have multiplied your tender heart and have implanted it into all the people who were prepared to be a little more humane and godly! How these hearts of flesh vibrated with each other? There was perfect synchronization of your heart with those of these women, and I know that these women are prepared to shed their precious tears for anyone who might go through unjust punishment, who is a victim of the structures we have created for our comfort zones! Unless I have a heart of flesh, it would be impossible for me to be sympathetic, leave alone be empathetic! I would like you to gaze at me, and let your presence transform my heart, so that I can join these women and walk with you all the way to Calvary!
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