LECTURE 28
OF THE USEFULNESS OF TEARS AND OF WHY WE OUGHT NOT TO SORROW AS THEM WITHOUT HOPE.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” Thessalonian 4:13-18
The sudden demises we encounter with the flight of time are a good incentive for tears. The sudden death of our friends and relatives have always and will always trigger down a thousand tears upon our cheeks. It will always flood our heart with sorrows and make us broken. I love weeping for one reason; it is a delightful and a refreshing exercise. EST QUAEDAM FLERE VOLUPTAS, that is to say, there is a certain pleasure in weeping. No Bible teacher will dispute this fact about weeping, especially those ones which flow from the sacred memories of departed loved ones.
It is never wrong to weep and sorrow for our dead friends and relatives, and it will never be wrong as long as the world stands. No, not when the Scriptures are concerned. It has nothing to do with masculinity and femininity neither has it anything to do with who is strong and who is weak or who is emotional and who is not.
I, for one, am terribly afraid of the man who suppresses his tears and keeps a dry eye even when you can see from his face that his heart is bleeding profusely with pain and anguish. Only God knows what harm that man is doing to himself. For even when the skies are heavy with clouds and can hardly move, they release themselves by raining drops of water above our heads. And more often than not, they are interspersed with thunderings and lightenings. They would give out all their burden till they feel lighter to move again.
“Sorrow”, indeed as the preacher says, “is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Ecc 7:3)
I believe so much in tears and in its sacred ability to lift up burden. Even Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, wept his heart out at Lazarus’ memorial. He couldn’t just contain His spirit in that holy mood of sorrow and grief that filled the household of Mary and Martha, there in the city of Bethany. What did he do? We have but a very concise answer there in the scriptures – HE WEPT.
Yes, Jesus wept. I mean ‘The Comforter’ and ‘The Consoler’, ‘The Healer’ and ‘The Reliever’, wept freely. He wept to the amazement of the Jews present. They couldn’t just believe their eyes; they couldn’t just believe it was the ‘Man of Miracles’ weeping there in the public. They were utterly surprised to see ‘Israel’s Comforter’ weeping Himself there beyond comfort. I guess they in rumor did say among themselves, “What a different Man we see today!”. They were just surprised to see Jesus (the Second Person of The Triune God) also weeping among the crowd, with His handkerchief in hand to wipe away the streaking tears and the drooping phlegms.
But should any of us be curious to know why the King of Kings did become that sorrowful to the point of weeping, this very answer from the Jews will do – “. . . He loved him.” And indeed Jesus loved Lazarus so much. If Our Lord did weep for his departed, who are we to hold back our tears in times of grief.
There is indeed nothing wrong with sorrowing and shedding tears for our loved ones whom death snatches from us. The sacred memories and the wonderful times we had with them are not to be banished from the heart because they are not evil. As often us we feel their absence around us, we are free to let the tears flow and relieve ourselves of any emotional burden. I can say without any fear of contradiction that, it is a holy sorrow and it works great virtue and tenderness in us.
Contrary to what many Bible teachers interpret, St. Paul, the Apostle in his letter to the saints in Thessalonica, never admonished them to deal harshly with the sacred thoughts of their departed loved ones. Neither did he instruct them to forego the sorrows that dawn upon them in calling to mind the memories of their dead brethren. He couldn’t have done that for he did know the usefulness of godly sorrows. Only that he sought to instruct them not to sorrow as though they were without hope.
And truly, God wouldn’t have us sorrow as though we no longer have faith in the final resurrection or doubt His power to resurrect them in the last day. All St. Paul meant to say was – “Friends, there is no need weeping and sorrowing for the departed saints as though they will never be restored to you again or as though they are forever gone and would never be seen. I wouldn’t have you sorrow in such a manner which is devoid of hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him in that they are only asleep in Christ. You are free to sorrow and weep by calling to mind the good times you had with them. Let such thoughts inspire you with the hope which is yet to he attained. Only be careful not to sorrow as though you had no hope. Let the hope of the resurrection be your comfort.” That is all the Apostle Paul meant.
And truly, all our dead ones in Christ are only asleep. One day we shall see the sons and daughters we painfully lost, running to embrace us from a distance there in the father’s kingdom. Our dead ones in Christ will be restored to us and we shall see and live with them again.
“Blessed indeed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them”
WEEP NOT
By B. Schmolk, translated by Sarah Findlater
Weep not--Jesus lives on high,
O sad and wearied one!
If thou with the burden sigh,
Of grief thou canst not shun,
Trust Him still,
Soon there will
Roses in the thicket stand,
Goshen smile in Egypt's land.
Weep not--Jesus thinks of thee
When all beside forget,
And on thee so lovingly
His faithfulness has set,
That though all
Ruin'd fall,
Every thing on earth be shaken,
Thou wilt never be forsaken.
Weep not--Jesus heareth thee,
Hears thy moanings broken,
Hears when thou right wearily
All thy grief hast spoken.
Raise thy cry,
He is nigh,
And when waves roll full in view,
He shall fix their "Hitherto."
Weep not--Jesus loveth thee,
Though all around may scorn,
And though poison'd arrows be
Upon thy buckler borne,
With His love,
Naught can move;
All may fail--yet only wait,
He shall make the crooked straight.
Weep not--Jesus cares for thee,
Then what of good can fail?
Why shouldst thou thus gloomily
At thought of trouble quail?
He will bear
All thy care;
And if He the burden take,
He will all things perfect make.
Weep not--Jesus comforts thee,
He yet shall come and save,
And each sorrow thou shalt see
Lie buried in thy grave.
Sin shall die,
Grief shall fly,
Thou hast wept thy latest tears
When the Lord of life appears!
WEEP NO MORE, ZION
By James Montgomery
Weep no more, Zion, dry thy streaming tears,
The Eternal is thy God, dismiss thy fears;
Rest in the land of peace for thee remains,
Jehovah leads thee, Israel's strength sustains.
He will restore thee, ev'n as from the dead,
O'er ruin'd heaps the vine and olive spread;
He will rebuild, as in thy happiest hours,
Thy city walls, thy battlements and towers.
A day will come, a day when from on high,
Mount Ephraim's watchmen to the tribes shall cry,
Return, ye rebels; 'tis your Sovereign's will
That calls you; come and climb his holy hill.
Rise, unforgotten by thy Lord above,
He loved thee with an everlasting love;
That love, at trumpet's sound, in joyful throngs,
Thy sons, O Zion! now extol in songs.