Christian Weeping

The Many Reasons We Cry

What does the funniest joke you have ever heard, a wedding day, and the passing of a loved one have in common? They all bring tears to our eyes. I find this fact to be rather fascinating because these three tear-filled events are accompanied by very different emotions. The humor of a gut-busting joke is not the same as the joy and hope of a beautiful wedding and both certainly don’t correspond to the sorrow and heartbreak of a loved-one tragically dying. However, I think the reason why these vastly different life experiences, as well as many others, feature tears so prominently are that they are moments of overwhelming emotion.

There are at least 64 Biblical verses about weeping. While most are instances of mourning, there are examples of weeping brought on by other causes. Some of the most famous verses featuring weeping would include David weeping over the death of his treacherous son Absalom (2 Samuel 18:31-33), the four instances in Matthew where Jesus depicts hell as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8, 22, 24, and 25), Peter weeping after his denial of Christ, the prophecy in Revelation 7:17 that there will be no weeping in heaven, and the shortest passage in Scripture: “Jesus wept.” as he learns of the death of Lazarus. Some lesser-known instances would be the reunion of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 33:4), the reunion of Joseph and his family in Egypt (Genesis 45), the commitment between David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:41), and God’s promise to turn mourning into joy (Jeremiah 31).

With all of this biblical weeping, I feel right at home. My family can confirm that I’m a rather prolific crier and a rather ugly one at that. An embarrassingly large portion of my wedding day was spent with the waterworks running quite well. Despite seeing Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi over 400 times, I failed to hold back the tears the first time I watched it with my wife when we reached the end when Darth Vader is redeemed and saves Luke from the Emperor. (This is a moment that she can’t recall without laughter or at least a smile about to this day.) Following the deaths of my two grandfathers, I was heartbroken and wept on numerous occasions. While I might be on the more extreme end for at least some of these instances, let me make the case why a good cry is often a good thing.

First and foremost, all of the biblical references to weeping show us that it is in accordance with our nature to be brought to tears. We are emotional creatures and in times of great emotion the proper response seems to be to weep out of sadness, regret, or joy.

Secondly, weeping can demonstrate just how much we care about something or someone. When those close to us die, we naturally will have spells of weeping, and when we come together at a funeral we can weep together and find comfort in this. Those around Jesus recognized that he loved Lazarus by pointing out how he wept upon hearing of his death.

Lastly, certain situations simply result in weeping being the most appropriate response. The most obvious of these situations is during a time of great loss whether that is an individual or a house fire that destroys all your family treasures. Another situation would be a wedding or birth of a child. Finally, when we harm those close to us, we should be drawn to tears while we ask for forgiveness. This is most especially true when we harm our relationship with God through sin.

With Good Friday only one week away, I would recommend that we prepare ourselves for holy week by not only going to confession and making that final commitment to your Lenten penances but also watching The Passion of Christ (See my brother’s article from last year). If you plan to do this and are anything like me, make sure you have a box (or two) of Kleenexes nearby. The overwhelming emotion of revisiting the events of Christ’s Passion results in tremendous sorrow and anguish. The weight of my sins hit me like a ton of bricks, and as CCC 598 tells us, “Sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured.” We should weep at the damage our sin did to Christ.

However, there is another reason we should weep for the crucifixion of Jesus. We should weep that God would not have had it any other way. For out of love of us in our brokenness, God offered His Son as a sacrifice, and Jesus submitted to the will of The Father. We should weep tears of joy for the immense gift of salvation received at the cross because without it we would have no chance to spend eternal life with God. On Day 24 of the Bible in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike reads about the reuniting of Joseph and his family in Egypt and their tears of joy. He says he was told by a wise individual that “We weep (tears of joy) because we know it could have been otherwise.” Should I persevere to end, I think God could permit me one last cry before passing through the pearly gates as I realize it could have been otherwise.

God Bless,

Mitchell Godfrey