Theology of Weeping

Theology of Weeping

Luke 19:41 And when Jesus approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,

Introduction

This morning I want us to walk through a fun little exercise. We will ask one simple question and see if we can come up with the answer. However, the answer is not the only objective of our study. Instead, a main point of our study will be the process. That is, I want our study to demonstrate the fruitfulness of thinking through an issue in a God-centered manner.

Our question this morning is why do we cry when we are hurt, scared, or upset (I have absolutely no answer for you as to why girls cry when they are happy)?

Now if we take the usual Materialistic-Evolutionary approach the answers we get go something like this:

-We cry because our tears keep the eyes moist and clean them of impurities. However, upon reflection that answer is not the answer to our question. Instead, it is the answer to the question why do our eyes water and why do we blink.

-from an evolutionary stand point we are told that we cry because it gives us a competitive advantage. So babies that cry are far more likely to get the help and food they need. But that is utter nonsense. No dad ever woke up from a deep sleep because his child’s eyes were watering. It’s not the tears but the squawking that brings a bottle at 3am.

In fact, crying creates a competitive disadvantage. Think about it: when you are hurt, frightened, or scared you need all your senses clear and ready to respond. The last thing you need is blurry vision. Blurry vision is a competitive disadvantage.

Important: as we step back and listen to the usual materialistic explanations what we find is that their answers missed the very thing they were trying to explain. We answered blinking and squawking but not crying with its fundamental union of tears and emotion.

So this morning I want to rephrase the question and ask it from a theocentric (God-centered) vantage point and see if we can come up with an insightful answer without losing sight of the very thing we are trying to explain. So let’s rephrase our question

Why did God make us so that we cry when we are upset? ^FN#*  

1. First, notice that we do not begin our study with rosy colored glasses or with some cheap, romanticized, sentimental approach to the subject. Instead, when we turn to Scripture we are at once reminded that the first thing that tears/weeping tell us is that life is broken. As such, life is full of threat, sorrow, and hardship.

Genesis 3:17 Then God said to Adam, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil (pain, adversity, grief and sorrow) you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 

In other words, the first thing we find is that we cry because there is a reason to cry. Life is hard and broken. Notice then throughout Scripture tears/weeping come to represent or signify this very brokenness/struggle. ^FN#1

Psalm 6:6 I am weary with my sighing; Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears. ⁷ My eye has wasted away with grief; It has become old because of all my adversaries.

2. The second thing we notice is that weeping/tears give outlet and expression to our grief (we find this in our own experience. We also see it taught in Scripture).

Psalm 119:28 My soul weeps because of grief; 

John 20:11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; 

Importance: as an expression and outlet, tears/weeping are fundamentally a form of communication. That is, weeping is not first and foremost private. It is not a concealing of the self. Rather, it is an opening of the self to others (in fact, this is why we often try so hard to hide our tears from those around us).

1 Samuel 1:8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad?

John 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled (Lam 2:11)

3. Notice the result: weeping (as an expression and an opening of the self) is a communication that God designed specifically to draw a response. That is, God intends weeping to draw the care and sympathy of others. It is no surprise then that the God who wove this call for help in us, is the very God, who commands us to give that help. God intends our weeping to be heard and answered.

John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. ^FN#2

Notice then, as we respond to one another’s needs, we see a reflection of the God, who gave us weeping and created us in His image to show compassion. Thus, in the caring of the creature, we have assurance of the caring of the Creator who made them.

1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; when we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is made complete through us.

Importance: in the end, God has made us to weep so that (even when it is done in solitude) it points us to the truth that there is someone who always hears our sorrow and responds to our brokenness. In other words, who we are and how we are matter to the one who created us and made us to cry out for help.

Exodus 3:7 And the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.

(also Ps 56:8; 145:16; Matt 5:44-45) ^FN#3

4. Finally, the manner in which God has designed weeping is significant: notice then, the tears and water that are involved in weeping suggest cleansing and healing. In fact, the very act of weeping often brings relief. Thus, weeping points to the greater healing, cleansing, and relief that God offers.

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

Notice then, in the very midst of our sorrow, God has built in hope and an invitation to seek His mercy and grace. For the believer, weeping reminds us that we are not alone. God is with us and the very cleansing and healing we seek will one day be given in full by the one who has promised to “dry every tear”. ^FN#4

Revelation 21:4 and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Bottom Line: when we begin at the throne of God and think through the life that He has created, we discover the incredible ways that the whole of creation in all its details proclaims the glory of God.

Footnotes

*] Augustine originally posed this question in the Confessions [Book IV. V(10)].

1] Importance: crying is not simply a matter of private, internal feelings. Instead, crying has a corresponding basis in objective reality. In other words, it tells us as much about the world as it does about our current manner being within that world (i.e. crying not only tells us how we are but also how the world around us is).

Ecclesiastes 2:23 For all man’s days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest.

Simply put, crying locates us in a broken and fallen existence.

2] In turn, our crying with another (be it at a movie, while listing to a touching story, or crying with someone over their situation) communicates our compassion and genuine concern, that we have heard their situation, share their sorrow, and are there in the midst of the situation to help and comfort

Proverbs 18:24 A man of many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.

3] Notice then, as weeping responds to the brokenness, death, and sorrow that binds all life, it reminds us of our desperate need to find that one who hears and redeems.

Isaiah 45:22 “Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.

4] It is no coincidence that the God who created us to weep (to cry out for help amid our distress) is the one who ultimately answers our cry and dries every tear from our eyes.