Certainly Jesus himself demonstrated again and again that he was very present to those who suffered around him. He did not and, I believe, could not deny the pain and torment of his earthly life experience. Upon hearing of Lazarus' death, he wept like any other human. He was quick to defend the oppressed and downtrodden, even at the risk of his own life. He felt the agonizing pain of betrayal when his closest friends rejected his teaching and didn't live up to his expectations. More than once he lost his compassion and equanimity in a raging fit, cursing and condemning whole populations to burn in hell. He was, in many respects, as human as you or I. Yet one of his holy qualities that most of us have not yet mastered was his ability to embrace both the so-called light and dark sides of humankind.

Joseph Sharp, Living Our Dying