John the Seer wept in the book of Revelation. “I shed many tears because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to examine it.” Jesus wept over the Holy City. “As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it.” We can conclude that not all tears are bad, that grief and a sense of loss merit tears at times. If Jesus wept, certainly we can too. But the tears that lead to genuine healing are most often the ones we shed for others. Jesus wept because he saw the suffering in store for his people. We are invited to be wary of tears for poor, pitiful me and to welcome tears of compassion and empathy toward another.
