"Weep" | Reflection by Jeremy O'Neill, Seminarian

Throughout my high school and college years I built three electric guitars. The one I spent the most time on was the one in this photo, meant to be a replica of “Old Black,” Neil Young’s most famous guitar. I was so drawn to that particular instrument because of the chaotic, distorted, often out of tune sounds Young could get out of it, and I often thought it sounded like the instrument was, in fact, crying. The instrument is set up and built to accommodate Young’s unique musical style. Stricken with polio as a child, Young has had limited dexterity and movement in this left hand, the hand requiring more complex and intricate finger movements, as a result of the disease. So when Young plays electric guitar, he plays very aggressively with his right hand, often hitting the guitar very hard at climactic musical moments. The end result is an instrument that sounds best when it sounds ugly – forced out of tune, distorted, and weeping.

“Jesus wept” (John 11:35) is in many English translations the shortest verse in the Bible, but the connections between Rock and Roll and weeping form a long story, from The Beatles “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” to Taylor Swift’s “Teardrops On My Guitar.” I often wonder what music might have been playing in the background if Jesus’s ministry had a soundtrack, especially at moments like this where he weeps because of Lazarus’s death.

But the beautiful thing is that Christ does weep for us. He loves us so much that he has given us his blood and sweat and, of course, tears. So we mustn’t be ashamed of doing the same as we embark on this Lenten journey. We must live into all of the emotions we feel and allow our bodies to express them because, like Jesus, that is what makes us human. That and music, of course.