Scripture: Luke 6:20-26
“Don't throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again”
Peter Allen wrote that song in 1979 for the musical “All the Jazz”. The further time goes by the more true it has become. Movies are more likely to be re-makes or re-hashes of familiar themes than original stories. Songs are re-done or “sampled” (the horrible practice of playing part of an established song into your song then claiming you made a “new” thing). Political scandals, public romances and private divorces – all go round and round.
It’s not all bad, though. Sometimes more than bad films or obnoxious songs come back from history. Sometimes a beautiful idea is re-captured and presented to a whole new generation. One such idea is the Lachrymatory. Glass blowers from all over the globe have discovered the ancient tradition of the lachrymatory – a tear bottle – and have begun making them again. There are many places where you can buy modern versions of these tiny tear holders all created as a “blast from the past”.
A Roman Lachrymatory - circa 100 AD (CE).
“Don't throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again”
Peter Allen wrote that song in 1979 for the musical “All the Jazz”. The further time goes by the more true it has become. Movies are more likely to be re-makes or re-hashes of familiar themes than original stories. Songs are re-done or “sampled” (the horrible practice of playing part of an established song into your song then claiming you made a “new” thing). Political scandals, public romances and private divorces – all go round and round.
It’s not all bad, though. Sometimes more than bad films or obnoxious songs come back from history. Sometimes a beautiful idea is re-captured and presented to a whole new generation. One such idea is the Lachrymatory. Glass blowers from all over the globe have discovered the ancient tradition of the lachrymatory – a tear bottle – and have begun making them again. There are many places where you can buy modern versions of these tiny tear holders all created as a “blast from the past”.
A Roman Lachrymatory - circa 100 AD (CE). 
A modern Lachrymatory, from Timeless Traditions, 2008
A lachrymatory is a tiny glass or pottery bottle people would use to catch their tears in when someone died. After the bottle had been cried into, it would be placed on the crypt, burial place or memory stone of the loved one as a testament to how much that person (usually a child) meant. It started as an ancient practice, and many Hebrew scholars feel Psalm 56:8 “Put my tears in your wineskin” is an allusion to the idea. By the first century the Roman Empire and its conquered lands used lachrymatories as a culture rite of passage. In fact, rich people even hired mourners to cry into a lachrymatory so the deceased would be honored by a bottle filled with tears. For the poor, who did not usually have the luxury of a “tear-for-hire” service, friends and neighbors would gather their tears to place inside the bottle. After gathering tears in a bottle, they would present it to the widow or parent and say formally and compassionately, “Condolesco adactus” –“ I suffer with you.” (that’s where we get the word “condolences” from).
Imagine that – after a tragedy giving your neighbor the gift of tears. Certainly not something the good folks at Hallmark or flowers.com would encourage. Yet what a powerful thing it would be indeed - To grieve with someone - to mourn with someone.
We don’t value tears in our culture as much as we should. The weekend after the Virginia Tech Tragedy I saw a large banner at a concert I attended where people were encouraged to sign it in support. There were a lot of hopes, and “I’m praying for you” kind of sentiments – however I don’t recall seeing one note that said “I am crying for you” – although crying was what many of us did – and knowledge of that was a great healing gift to those who mourned and lost a loved one. Anyone can laugh with you, or pray for you. But it is a true brother or sister of spirit who can cry for you.
Even when we cry for ourselves and our own sorrows we tend to hide that fact. We don’t tell people about the times we cry over mean words, long silences, or serious betrayals. We don’t let on that we cry in the car on the way home from a bad day at work, and we rarely even admit the times we are so grateful for someone’s mercy or forgiveness that we cry then too. We are a family made of hiding criers.
The New Testament, particularly the stories of Christ, show how important tears are to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and would encourage us not to hide them. Think of the many narratives about crying.
Jesus weeps over the sins of Jerusalem
A woman’s weeping softens his heart to her plight and he heals her daughter
Jesus weeps tears like blood the night before his passion
A woman washes Jesus’ feet with her tears
And in the list of blessings in Luke (a synoptic version of the Sermon on the Mount) we are told:
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21 NIV).
Even Paul talks frequently about the tears he cries for the churches he loves and nurtures. Want to see how much he cries? Go to the http://www.biblegateway.com/ and type the word “tears” and choose “New Testament” – a whole list of Paul’s teardrops appears.
There is no worse feeling in the world that helplessness. When our friends or loved ones endure something we can’t fix, or experience something we can’t change that creeping awful helplessness crawls into our hearts and buries its deep fruitless longing. In those times its good to remember – if you can’t fix it, and you can’t change it – you can pray about it, you can support through it, and you can cry over it. Its not a bad thing – it’s a gift. The anger of helplessness is a natural reaction. Crying for someone is a spiritual action. Which do you think most befits the people of God?
So the next time someone tells you of a past event that’s harmed them, instead of wishing you could go back in time, find the person who caused the harm and pop them in the nose (a natural reaction) – cry for them, or cry with them, and pray for their healing and be inspired by their strength. The next time someone you love faces an illness, a job loss, a loneliness your care can’t seem to permeate –instead of slogans and suggestions designed to “fix” them (a natural reaction)– cry with them, cry for them, and pray at their side –holding their hand.
You don’t need to save your tears in a small glass jar for them to be of value – but when you recognize the value in tears you will be a part of Christ’s family, bringing the care of heaven to the children on earth. Tears are a rare and precious gift.
Imagine that – after a tragedy giving your neighbor the gift of tears. Certainly not something the good folks at Hallmark or flowers.com would encourage. Yet what a powerful thing it would be indeed - To grieve with someone - to mourn with someone.
We don’t value tears in our culture as much as we should. The weekend after the Virginia Tech Tragedy I saw a large banner at a concert I attended where people were encouraged to sign it in support. There were a lot of hopes, and “I’m praying for you” kind of sentiments – however I don’t recall seeing one note that said “I am crying for you” – although crying was what many of us did – and knowledge of that was a great healing gift to those who mourned and lost a loved one. Anyone can laugh with you, or pray for you. But it is a true brother or sister of spirit who can cry for you.
Even when we cry for ourselves and our own sorrows we tend to hide that fact. We don’t tell people about the times we cry over mean words, long silences, or serious betrayals. We don’t let on that we cry in the car on the way home from a bad day at work, and we rarely even admit the times we are so grateful for someone’s mercy or forgiveness that we cry then too. We are a family made of hiding criers.
The New Testament, particularly the stories of Christ, show how important tears are to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and would encourage us not to hide them. Think of the many narratives about crying.
Jesus weeps over the sins of Jerusalem
A woman’s weeping softens his heart to her plight and he heals her daughter
Jesus weeps tears like blood the night before his passion
A woman washes Jesus’ feet with her tears
And in the list of blessings in Luke (a synoptic version of the Sermon on the Mount) we are told:
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21 NIV).
Even Paul talks frequently about the tears he cries for the churches he loves and nurtures. Want to see how much he cries? Go to the http://www.biblegateway.com/ and type the word “tears” and choose “New Testament” – a whole list of Paul’s teardrops appears.
There is no worse feeling in the world that helplessness. When our friends or loved ones endure something we can’t fix, or experience something we can’t change that creeping awful helplessness crawls into our hearts and buries its deep fruitless longing. In those times its good to remember – if you can’t fix it, and you can’t change it – you can pray about it, you can support through it, and you can cry over it. Its not a bad thing – it’s a gift. The anger of helplessness is a natural reaction. Crying for someone is a spiritual action. Which do you think most befits the people of God?
So the next time someone tells you of a past event that’s harmed them, instead of wishing you could go back in time, find the person who caused the harm and pop them in the nose (a natural reaction) – cry for them, or cry with them, and pray for their healing and be inspired by their strength. The next time someone you love faces an illness, a job loss, a loneliness your care can’t seem to permeate –instead of slogans and suggestions designed to “fix” them (a natural reaction)– cry with them, cry for them, and pray at their side –holding their hand.
You don’t need to save your tears in a small glass jar for them to be of value – but when you recognize the value in tears you will be a part of Christ’s family, bringing the care of heaven to the children on earth. Tears are a rare and precious gift.
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