Gospel Commentary: The Tears of God

By Fr. Paul Scalia
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of  10/30/03)

One of the most profound passages in Scripture is also the shortest: "Jesus wept." (Jn 11:35) Jesus Christ — God Himself — was moved to tears at the death of His friend Lazarus. Even as He wept, however, He knew not only that He would raise Lazarus from the dead but also that He would conquer death itself by His Resurrection. At the very moment of His weeping, therefore, He was certain of victory, which indicates that tears of sadness do not exclude hope. Indeed, these two — sadness and hope — although seemingly contradictory, should characterize our mourning for the dead.

Obviously, death brings sadness. At funerals the congregation typically (and the priest sometimes) wears black to express sorrow. When someone dear to us dies, never to be seen in this world again, never again to give us the joy of his company, we ought to be sad. St. Paul tells us to "weep with those who weep" (Rom 12:15). The Gospel does not require an end to legitimate human affection or emotions. Only a callous and cold heart would not suffer at the loss of a loved one.

But there is a deeper significance to the sadness in Catholic mourning. We should be sad that death is in the world. God did not create death nor does He desire it. Death entered the world as the punishment for Adam’s sin. "Blessed are those who mourn," because they recognize that death is an intrusion, an interruption of God’s design, the result of sin. All sorrow at death should also be sorrow for sin. We are sad at funerals, not only because we have lost someone we love, but even more because God’s original design for us has been marred by sin.

This sadness, however, cannot be without hope. Indeed, St. Paul warns us against grieving like those "who have no hope" (1 Thes 4:13). Hope — the expectation that God will keep His promise of eternal life to the faithful — prevents sadness from becoming despair. Jesus has triumphed over sin and death. He has transformed death from the punishment for sin to the entrance to eternal life.

As hope keeps us from despair, it also restrains us from presumption. Hope looks forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises. It does not presume that they are already fulfilled. There is a temptation (at almost every funeral) to ease the sadness of death by declaring that the deceased is already in heaven. Hope keeps us from this presumption. We do not know the state of an individual soul at the moment of death. We cannot make the judgment that a particular person is in heaven any more than we can conclude that he is in hell. As good as a person may appear to us, God alone knows the state of the soul and what is still needed to prepare that soul for heaven.

Hope therefore places on us the obligation to pray for the dead. Because we have confidence in God’s promise of eternal life, we pray for its fulfillment. Those who die repentant and forgiven may still need purification to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven. We must not deny them our help. The offering of Masses, prayers and penances assists the dead in this purification. It would be a grave injustice to deprive the dead of the prayers that help them to the joys of heaven.

"Jesus wept." Our tears for the dead ought to resemble those of Christ. They should express our affection for the person and our sorrow for sin. They should also contain hope, keeping us from despair and prompting us to pray — that the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, will rest in peace.

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