I Sat Down and Wept
On Tuesday night we prayed and interceded into the area of human trafficking.
On Wednesday night I read about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
On both nights I sat down and wept.
For most of our lives we walk around not seeing the injustices that lurk just beneath the surface of society. If we are privileged to not be impacted by these injustices on a personal level it is easier not to see. And so we get on with our lives, we worry about minor inconveniences that face us, we distract ourselves, and we don’t see. We convince ourselves that it’s safer this way and the problems are too big anyway and there’s no point in becoming so broken by all of this that we become no use to anyone. And, even if it didn’t break us there’s nothing we could do in the face of problems that are this big anyway.
And so where are the people who will sit and weep?
In any case why would we want people to weep? What value is there in weeping? Surely that doesn’t help anybody? If we are to move away from this overly feminised version of Christianity (as people protest our faith has become) and encourage more men to pray surely we should be moving away from all this crying!
I always thought that maybe it was just me - my nickname did used to be crying girl after all. Maybe weeping was just a weak and useless response that I turned to but shouldn’t encourage in others. But then I looked in the Bible: Paul wept, David wept, Joseph wept, Nehemiah wept, Isaiah wept, Hezekiah wept, Jeremiah wept, Jesus wept. Kings, priests, prophets, leaders, even Jesus: they all wept.
So what is the value in all this weeping?
Well in and of itself weeping has no special power but it is a sign that you have seen. That you have really seen and allowed your heart and your emotions to engage with what is not right in this world. That you are moved with compassion. That you have allowed yourself to let down the walls of comfort and safety that you have built to protect yourself and have been impacted by what you see.
Our greatest calling as believers is to love. This is the heart of who God is and the heart of the gospel.
As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
Even justice without love is not enough.
We cannot love well without seeing and so we are called to be a people who see. But we also cannot love well without feeling and engaging with our emotions and so we are also called to be a people who weep. Seeing and weeping are necessary and valuable parts of the journey.
But weeping isn’t where the journey ends. It’s an important part but it’s not the goal.
On Mondays my plan is to explore thoughts about prayer; one of my favourite things to talk, write and teach about. I planned to write something entirely different as a first post on the topic but in light of this last week I’m not going to rush on I’m just going to leave myself (and whoever wants to join me) with these questions:
Will I be one who learns to see injustices?
Will I be one who is moved by injustice?
Will I know and care enough to sit down and weep?
Will my intercession spring up from this place of heart engagement?
Will I be one who loves?
On Wednesday night I read about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
On both nights I sat down and wept.
For most of our lives we walk around not seeing the injustices that lurk just beneath the surface of society. If we are privileged to not be impacted by these injustices on a personal level it is easier not to see. And so we get on with our lives, we worry about minor inconveniences that face us, we distract ourselves, and we don’t see. We convince ourselves that it’s safer this way and the problems are too big anyway and there’s no point in becoming so broken by all of this that we become no use to anyone. And, even if it didn’t break us there’s nothing we could do in the face of problems that are this big anyway.
And so where are the people who will sit and weep?
In any case why would we want people to weep? What value is there in weeping? Surely that doesn’t help anybody? If we are to move away from this overly feminised version of Christianity (as people protest our faith has become) and encourage more men to pray surely we should be moving away from all this crying!
I always thought that maybe it was just me - my nickname did used to be crying girl after all. Maybe weeping was just a weak and useless response that I turned to but shouldn’t encourage in others. But then I looked in the Bible: Paul wept, David wept, Joseph wept, Nehemiah wept, Isaiah wept, Hezekiah wept, Jeremiah wept, Jesus wept. Kings, priests, prophets, leaders, even Jesus: they all wept.
So what is the value in all this weeping?
Well in and of itself weeping has no special power but it is a sign that you have seen. That you have really seen and allowed your heart and your emotions to engage with what is not right in this world. That you are moved with compassion. That you have allowed yourself to let down the walls of comfort and safety that you have built to protect yourself and have been impacted by what you see.
Our greatest calling as believers is to love. This is the heart of who God is and the heart of the gospel.
As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
Even justice without love is not enough.
We cannot love well without seeing and so we are called to be a people who see. But we also cannot love well without feeling and engaging with our emotions and so we are also called to be a people who weep. Seeing and weeping are necessary and valuable parts of the journey.
But weeping isn’t where the journey ends. It’s an important part but it’s not the goal.
On Mondays my plan is to explore thoughts about prayer; one of my favourite things to talk, write and teach about. I planned to write something entirely different as a first post on the topic but in light of this last week I’m not going to rush on I’m just going to leave myself (and whoever wants to join me) with these questions:
Will I be one who learns to see injustices?
Will I be one who is moved by injustice?
Will I know and care enough to sit down and weep?
Will my intercession spring up from this place of heart engagement?
Will I be one who loves?
Comments