GabrielWithoutWings
2nd September 2006, 03:19 AM
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The Pinnacle Of Tears
The loftiest picture of tears is the saying of the Bible in the
story of the raising of Lazarus from death: "Jesus wept." (John
11:35)
It is the shortest verse in the Bible, but perhaps at the same
time it is one of the most deepest verses in the Bible. Perhaps a
similar one to it in its effect is:
The weeping of the Lord Jesus Christ over Jerusalem
(Luke 19:41)
They are tears which are deeper than all of our
contemplation. They contain love, impact, gentleness and
sensitivity of heart, compassion and perhaps also grief.
They contain other meanings which I do not know...
Who can reach their depths?
The Beatification Of Weeping
E The Lord Jesus Christ beatified weeping.
He said, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall
laugh." (Luke 6:21) "Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted." (Matt 5:4)
E Psalm 126:5 says:
"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy."
E Solomon's book of Ecclesiastes says,
"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to
the house of feasting...The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
(Eccl 7:2, 4), It also says: "Sorrow is better than laughter, for
by a sad countenance the heart is made better". (Eccl 7:3)
Here we can point out that the Church calls us to weep
over our sins everyday, in the second service of the "Midnight
Prayer, where it says: "Give me, Lord, fountains of many
tears as you did in the past to the sinful woman" and "Make
me worthy to shed my tears on your feet, which took me to the
right path and offer you the best of perfumes. Grant me to live
pure and repentant..."
11
In this way the Church places in front of us the Gospel of
the sinful woman (Luke 7), to pray everyday at midnight, and
to learn a lesson from her tears and repentance. Each one of us
will stand to pray in front of God and say: "Give me, Lord,
fountains of many tears to weep over my pride, anger,
harshness, impurity, negligence and over the many sins of my
tongue, heart and mind. Also, for my lack of love of your
people, for my lack of seriousness in my spirituality, and for my
carelessness in keeping your laws. Give me also fountains of
many tears to weep for my lack of love."
God asks us to weep regularly and says to us in the Book
of the Prophet Joel: "Turn to me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." (Joel 2:12)
In the Book of Malachi the Prophet He says: "...You cover the
altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and crying."
(Mal 2:13)
We are in need of these tears as long as we are on earth, it
is sufficient that the Lord Jesus Christ said in His beatitudes,
"Blessed are you who weep now..." (Luke 6:21), and the word
(now) means here on earth and the phrase "for they shall be
comforted" means there, in heaven.
Hence, amongst the fruits of tears is comfort.
12
Full version here. (http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/tears/index.html)
The Pinnacle Of Tears
The loftiest picture of tears is the saying of the Bible in the
story of the raising of Lazarus from death: "Jesus wept." (John
11:35)
It is the shortest verse in the Bible, but perhaps at the same
time it is one of the most deepest verses in the Bible. Perhaps a
similar one to it in its effect is:
The weeping of the Lord Jesus Christ over Jerusalem
(Luke 19:41)
They are tears which are deeper than all of our
contemplation. They contain love, impact, gentleness and
sensitivity of heart, compassion and perhaps also grief.
They contain other meanings which I do not know...
Who can reach their depths?
The Beatification Of Weeping
E The Lord Jesus Christ beatified weeping.
He said, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall
laugh." (Luke 6:21) "Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted." (Matt 5:4)
E Psalm 126:5 says:
"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy."
E Solomon's book of Ecclesiastes says,
"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to
the house of feasting...The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
(Eccl 7:2, 4), It also says: "Sorrow is better than laughter, for
by a sad countenance the heart is made better". (Eccl 7:3)
Here we can point out that the Church calls us to weep
over our sins everyday, in the second service of the "Midnight
Prayer, where it says: "Give me, Lord, fountains of many
tears as you did in the past to the sinful woman" and "Make
me worthy to shed my tears on your feet, which took me to the
right path and offer you the best of perfumes. Grant me to live
pure and repentant..."
11
In this way the Church places in front of us the Gospel of
the sinful woman (Luke 7), to pray everyday at midnight, and
to learn a lesson from her tears and repentance. Each one of us
will stand to pray in front of God and say: "Give me, Lord,
fountains of many tears to weep over my pride, anger,
harshness, impurity, negligence and over the many sins of my
tongue, heart and mind. Also, for my lack of love of your
people, for my lack of seriousness in my spirituality, and for my
carelessness in keeping your laws. Give me also fountains of
many tears to weep for my lack of love."
God asks us to weep regularly and says to us in the Book
of the Prophet Joel: "Turn to me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." (Joel 2:12)
In the Book of Malachi the Prophet He says: "...You cover the
altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and crying."
(Mal 2:13)
We are in need of these tears as long as we are on earth, it
is sufficient that the Lord Jesus Christ said in His beatitudes,
"Blessed are you who weep now..." (Luke 6:21), and the word
(now) means here on earth and the phrase "for they shall be
comforted" means there, in heaven.
Hence, amongst the fruits of tears is comfort.
12
Full version here. (http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/tears/index.html)