St. Joseph's Catholic Church is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Oklahoma City. It stands at the corner of NW 4th & Harvey, immediately west of the bombing memorial site, which may be seen in the background.
The statue was erected within a year of the bombing. A few steps take the viewer up to the level of the statue. Immediately behind the perspective of this photograph is a wall with spaces for votive candles.
The title of the statue refers to the apocryphal shortest line of scripture, "Jesus wept" (see Lk or Jn; since the original Koine Greek had no punctuation, the claim is based on tradition). In the citation, Jesus is weeping Lazurus' graveside. Whether Jesus is weeping in grief for his friend, or in response to the mourners' lack of faith is an interesting theological question. But not a question to be addressed here.
The Old Testament tells us the Lord does not desire the death of anyone. Furthermore, the Eden story suggests that death was not part of the original plan. It's logical to assume that the Lord of Life would delight in life, and would mourn the death of any creature. Jesus may weep in response to the death, or in response to our human ability to harm each other so dramatically — either motivation seems appropriate.
One thing which troubles me about this statue is the fact that Jesus has his back to the site of the tragedy. There are a number of ways to picture Jesus at Lazurus' graveside, but I've always pictured Jesus either facing the grave or the mourners. Turning one's back on something has unfortunate connotations.
I do not believe Jesus turns his back on human tragedy. Just as Jesus confronted his crucifixion - the most profound violence people of his time could imagine - Jesus continues to confront human violence. Through the witness of his life and death, Jesus offers an alternative. The alternative, of course, is compassion and non-violence.
May it be so.