By Chris WittsWednesday 25 May 2016Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
The beautiful story in Luke 7 introduces us to a woman with a doubtful reputation who came into a setting where Jesus was with Simon, the Pharisee, quite unexpectedly, causing huge embarrassment to Simon the host. Luke says she stood at his feet weeping and began to bath his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Here was such an extravagant expression of feeling, and tenderness of feeling. But what about the tears?
It certainly was uncomfortable for Simon to see a public display of emotion. How would you have felt ? Remember in those days women had no status, and here she was. She lost control, overwhelmed with gratitude for once, that she was understood, forgiven, and accepted. Her expression of thanks to Jesus overflowed with many tears. It was beyond words.
Simon the Pharisee was clearly ill at ease, mumbling to himself why doesn’t He do something? She is unworthy of my hospitality. But what he didn’t know was this. In his discomfort with this emotional, inferior woman, he casts judgement on her and on Jesus. But she knew Jesus could forgive her, and He said ‘because of your faith, you are now saved. May God give you peace” (v50).
How do we respond to unchecked displays of tears today? They express sadness, grief, joy and relief. Even at funerals we tend to respect those who are ‘strong’, but they don’t allow their honest grief to flow.
We get uncomfortable when people cry. For many of us, to cry is to lose control. It is misunderstood as a sign of weakness. Until a few decades ago, for a man to cry was to be less than a man, to be ‘womanly’, God forbid.
Most of us, especially us guys, are deeply programmed to be ashamed of our tears, and we do everything we can to withhold them. We even feel uncomfortable when others cry. At the garden of Gethsemane, we know Jesus himself openly wept, falling to the ground, allowing his whole body to pour out his fear and distress.
So can tears be really that bad? No.