The Sacramental Power of Tears

written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski

“Jesus wept.”

— John 11:35

I am regularly on the lookout for descriptions of the Church that speak to the sacredness of community with God. In his book The Tears of Things, the Roman Catholic priest and spiritual writer Richard Rohr offers a beautiful description of the Church with great depth. “The sympathy that wells up when we weep can be life-changing, too, drawing us out of ourselves and into communion with those around us.”

One of the key expressions of a faithful church is its compassion. When compassion is valued, tears follow. I’ve served Westminster in Des Moines for over fourteen years. Long enough to bond deeply with people, to offer God my tears when friends I care for suffer and die. Because God calls us to compassion, our tears should be the third Protestant sacrament.

We teach our children and youth to open their hearts to others. We teach them how to offer God our Intercessory Prayers. We help them see all people as children of God. We are teaching them to suffer. As children grow in their spiritual empathy, they take on more pain. Caring is a painful business. That may be why we are living in a time of selfishness. When society views tears as weakness and selfish ambition as the greatest virtue, our world becomes ever more calloused.

It takes spiritual strength to possess tearful empathy. Like Jesus choosing to sacrifice himself on the cross, our tears are a sacramental statement of our willingness to sacrifice selfish happiness in support of others. Our tears also remind us that we cannot control our deepest desires. Pain, injustice, and death remain an active power in our world. A prayerful tear shows that this world has not hardened our souls, but we continue to share our tender, loving, and grieving compassion for others with the God we trust to make all things new. Embrace your tears and celebrate your tenderness as a sacramental strength the world’s bullies are too weak to wield.