Like most men in our culture I was not taught to be
comfortable with tears.
So, for example, when I was a little boy, and fell and
skinned my knee, someone was sure to pick me up and say, "Now, now, little
man, don't cry!" By the time I was eight, I had figured out that if I
cried in the schoolyard the whole class would laugh at me. By the time I was
sixteen, whenever someone broke out in tears, everyone else stood around
feeling awkward. In our culture we have made a secret place of the land of
tears.
We’re not alone in this. The ancient Egyptians believed that
when they died and they arrived at heaven's gates, the god Osiris would ask
them two questions. The first question was, "Did you bring joy?" and
the second was, "Did you find joy?" Answering yes to both was the
only way into heaven. Not much room for tears in the Egyptian afterlife.
But these days even Christians tend to speak as if finding
joy is the main thing in life. Health and wealth television preachers like
Kenneth Copeland say awful things like "prosperity is a sign of divine
reward" and "if you are not happy, then you lack the Spirit." Robert
Schuller, the former pastor of California’s famous Crystal Cathedral, before it
went caput, wrote a book about the Beatitudes entitled, "The Be-happy
Attitudes." People sentimentalize the Christian faith. The whole sum of
religion comes to be looking on the bright side of things and spiritual highs.
And, in the meantime, we have made a secret place of the land of tears.
The Jews in the Old Testament, on the other hand, did know
how to weep. In fact, large parts of the Old Testament are lament, songs of
loss, sadness and tears: Job, much of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the book of
Lamentations. One third of the Psalms are laments too. For example, “I am weary with
moaning,” says the Psalmist in Psalm 6. And, "My tears have been my food day and night," (Psalm 42:3).
The New Testament is much the same. Jesus groans to see a deaf and mute man and weeps at his friend’s, Lazurus’ grave. Paul had unceasing anguish because few of his fellow Jews were inclined to follow Jesus. And in Romans 8, Paul describes how the whole world groans under the weight of sin, how Christians groan as they wait for renewal, and how even the Spirit of God groans in wordless intercession on our behalf. There is no special grace that exempts Christians from shedding tears.
The New Testament is much the same. Jesus groans to see a deaf and mute man and weeps at his friend’s, Lazurus’ grave. Paul had unceasing anguish because few of his fellow Jews were inclined to follow Jesus. And in Romans 8, Paul describes how the whole world groans under the weight of sin, how Christians groan as they wait for renewal, and how even the Spirit of God groans in wordless intercession on our behalf. There is no special grace that exempts Christians from shedding tears.
And why shouldn’t we weep? Over one hundred Syrians,
including babies with pacifiers in their mouths, were executed in Syria this
month, in a single incident. There are more than 1000 endangered species in the
world today—even though the story in Genesis states that God created us humans
with the express command that we take care of all of life. Gruesome and
senseless murders made the news this week. People we love have died.
