Do Saints Cry?

Now you may think this question has an obvious answer, but apparently the answer is not so obvious to many people.

How often have I been at a funeral and heard various speakers attempt to console the attendees by telling them that they should not cry, they should not shed tears, that they should not be sad, but be happy.

Okay, maybe some of these speakers at funerals are speaking metaphorically, or maybe they are saying that we can be sad but just not to the point of losing faith in God. However, some Christians seem to really think that it is wrong to be sad about the death of a Christian who dies.

Case in point:
I was sitting next to a preacher at a funeral. The preacher was a close relation of mine and he had just lost his mother. As the funeral service progressed, this preacher, this beloved son of the woman being funeralized, quietly and discretely lowered his head and shed a few tears for his saintly mother whom he would not see again until the resurrection. Another minister, who happened to being walking past where the family was sitting noticed the son’s tears and began to bark at the son in a rebuking tone because the minister felt that the son shouldn’t be showing signs of sadness; it was as if this inconsiderate minister felt it was ungodly to show normal grief.

And, this is not the only time I have seen this type of thing occur where someone sheds tears over a loved one who has died and another Christian treats the shedding of tears as though it was something not to be tolerated.

Don’t misunderstand, I am not advocating that people allow their grief to prompt them to extreme behaviors. You have some people who allow themselves to become so grief stricken that they have to be physically restrained by other mourners to keep them from doing themselves bodily harm; or, to keep them from knocking the casket over while they are having an hysterical fit. In some ancient cultures people might even commit suicide in a misguided attempt to show love and devotion to a dead spouse. Let none of us Christians exhibit such extreme behaviors even in the depth of sadness at losing a close loved one.

Also, remember that even a funeral service should honor the departed loved one, and honor God most importantly. And, funerals being a religious service, we should conduct ourselves according to I Corinthians 14:40 “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

Now, lets look over some scriptures that describe persons in the Bible showing sadness to the point of even shedding tears.

When Jesus’ friend whom he loved, in the person of Lazarus, died – graveyard dead, Jesus beholding Lazarus’ sister weeping “...groaned in the spirit...” (see John 11:33) possibly partly due to Jesus being disturbed that the mourners were so discouraged and defeated in spirit. Jesus then asked the mourners where the body of Lazarus was, for Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

A notable thing happens next; Jesus sheds tears (“Jesus wept.” John 11:35). Despite the fact that the Son of God is creator of the universe, despite the fact that Jesus knows he is going to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus’ tender sympathy is moved to the point of shedding tears. Despite how you explain exactly why Jesus shed tears, three things are certain: 1) Jesus’ tears were an indication that he is not only God, but human at the same time. 2) Everything Jesus did and does is 100 percent appropriate and in order, even when he shed tears. 3) Jesus’ type of crying is not an indication that he feels the situation is hopeless and out of God’s control for Jesus is the Resurrection and proved it by raising Lazarus from the dead, just moments after shedding tears.

Were these tears of Jesus a once in a lifetime occurrence? The Holy Spirit directed the prophet Isaiah centuries prior to The Son of God taking on flesh to speak of him as “...a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief...” Sadness, even to the point of tears, is a human indication that one is experiencing severe pain; whether that pain be from a physical injury or an emotional wound to the soul. Christ, who was determined to fully complete his mission which included unimaginable suffering “...offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears...” (Hebrews 5:7) Might I add that he received strength to endure victoriously in all things and in every point (e.g. Luke 22:43).

Someone might try to argue that it is only okay for Jesus to cry because he suffered in bearing the sins of all humanity like no other person ever will.

Let us consider Timothy, who was a great leader whom God allowed the Apostle Paul to mentor from his youth up until Timothy became a mature and powerful force in the Body of Christ. In   II Timothy 1:4 the Apostle Paul makes reference to remembering Timothy’s tears.

And, what about the call Paul made from Miletus to Ephesus desiring that the elders of the church would meet with him for a sort of farewell exhortation. Act 20:36-38 says:

"And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship."

In this passage, the reason for the weeping is due to the fact that these saints will miss the Apostle Paul whom they dearly love, whom they believe they will not see again this side of heaven. I cannot say that this weeping is due to lack of faith in God or some spiritual deficiency, but I believe these saints weep at the recognition of the loss (emotional pain) they will soon feel in not continuing to have the beloved Apostle Paul available to come and fellowship periodically with them, or to continue to write them encouraging letters.

When my sickly grandmother passed away, I was glad that this saintly woman finally was in the presence of God enjoying the glory of heaven. However, I was not glad for the pain and sickness that resulted in death; and the resulting parting from my grandmother that means I will not see her until I myself stand before God.

If I am wrong, then that means Christians would desire all doctors to come into a patient’s room laughing heartily and grinning whenever the doctor has to deliver a prognosis indicating that a patient is about to die, or when the doctor has to inform the family that the patient has just died. In reality, if a doctor smiles at all during these sad moments, it is usually a soft gentle smile with sympathetic eyes in recognition that the moment has been touched with sadness of the loss of a loved one.

A Christian mature in thinking is not necessarily in love with the process of physical death. God calls death an enemy. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”
I Corinthians 15:26.

Truth be told, if God gave us the choice not to experience physical death but to be translated at the end of our stay on earth like Elijah in II Kings, Chapter 2, how many of us would really turn down riding into heaven in a heavenly chariot of fire pulled by heavenly horses of fire?

We should recognize our grief, express our grief, and yet maintain our faith, defying every hopeless thought of despair that would try and overwhelm us in our moments of loss and sadness.

Even the Old Testament supports the truth that we can grieve and be sad and still trust in God.

Job 1:20-22
"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

In the midst of Job’s grief at losing his children he was plagued with a horrific sickness and a wife who had turned against Job and told him to “curse God and die” in Job 2:9.

Job still trusted God while expressing his grief and sadness. And God, not only sustained Job through the valley of the shadow of death, but rewarded him in the end with more than he had before his trials began.

The answer is that “Saints Do Cry” in the midst of our grief, yet maintaining trust and worship of God Almighty, knowing that one day He shall wipe away all tears from our eyes in the place that neither death nor pain can touch all those who have accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord.