Consider tears. Consider them in...
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Consider tears. Consider them in a culture which believes it is a virtue to "Keep a stiff upper lip" in times of adversity and grief.
Both Testaments are filled with the accounts of people weeping. Tears are shed for sins, for grief, remorse and pain. One woman anointed Jesus' feet, it is said, "with her tears." Indeed, such an anointing was considered a gift by Jesus for what it told him of her soul. They were undoubtedly a welcome sight compared to those whose hardness of heart prevented them from sharing in the gift of tears.
Jesus shed tears when he saw that his friend Lazarus was dead and when he lamented the spiritual condition of his beloved Jerusalem. Perhaps the most poignant description of tears in the New Testament were those of Mary Magdalene. Weeping at Jesus' tomb, she mistakes his risen presence for the gardener. It is possible that her tears blurred her vision beyond the ability to recognize who was standing before her.
This passage is often read at funerals with the great promise to those who weep --and all that their tears symbolize --that God promises the removal of all grieving at the end of time. Like a mother comforting a fretful, wailing child, God will wipe away all tears. Our vision will be eternally clear! Brahms' German Requiem sings the radiant promise of the 126th Psalm, "He that goes forth in weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."
--Hedahl
Both Testaments are filled with the accounts of people weeping. Tears are shed for sins, for grief, remorse and pain. One woman anointed Jesus' feet, it is said, "with her tears." Indeed, such an anointing was considered a gift by Jesus for what it told him of her soul. They were undoubtedly a welcome sight compared to those whose hardness of heart prevented them from sharing in the gift of tears.
Jesus shed tears when he saw that his friend Lazarus was dead and when he lamented the spiritual condition of his beloved Jerusalem. Perhaps the most poignant description of tears in the New Testament were those of Mary Magdalene. Weeping at Jesus' tomb, she mistakes his risen presence for the gardener. It is possible that her tears blurred her vision beyond the ability to recognize who was standing before her.
This passage is often read at funerals with the great promise to those who weep --and all that their tears symbolize --that God promises the removal of all grieving at the end of time. Like a mother comforting a fretful, wailing child, God will wipe away all tears. Our vision will be eternally clear! Brahms' German Requiem sings the radiant promise of the 126th Psalm, "He that goes forth in weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."
--Hedahl
