“You Who Weep, Will Laugh.”
An ancient guru is reputed to have inquired of disheartened and dispirited people, those who
were knowing no pleasure or joy in life--
“When did you stop dancing? When
did you stop singing?”
By this unique line of exploration he often arrived at the
origin of their unhappiness. Their loss
of vitality often harked back to a major grief in their lives; the death of a
dear one, loss of a job or fortune, a significant illness, or some other major
blow.
Some didn’t even realize they had stopped singing or
dancing, which this teacher regarded as the symbols of loss of joy. Their zest for life had just quietly trickled
away leaving them dry, dispirited shadows, of their old selves.
Grief can do that. It
can slowly drain us of our vitality.
Jesus says, “Blessed are you who mourn for you shall be
comforted.” That is the version in
Matthew’s Gospel. Luke puts it this
way: “Blessed are you who weep now, for
you will laugh.” This is The Lord Jesus’
promise: healing and happiness can
follow mourning. Proper, natural weeping,
and sorrow, leads to renewal. Weep
first, laugh later, Jesus implies. Psalm
30 puts it this way: “weeping may remain
for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
This teaching of Jesus creates a safe place to be real,
which is a must for proper mourning. Also,
knowing the Lord weeps with us is a major encourager, as we shed our tears and
grieve. Jesus said “Inasmuch as it
[happens] to the least of these my little ones, it happens to me.” Psalm 23 helps with these thoughts: “Yea though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.”
Little comforts as much as kind people “walking with us”,
“sitting with us”, “weeping with us”. They
are the Lord’s presence, embracing the hurting.
Joy then comes “in the morning”.
No comments:
Post a Comment