A Sacred Cry
This summer, I have visited more than 170 patients as a hospital chaplain. Throughout these encounters, I have witnessed a wide range of human emotions. I have noticed that uncertainty often makes people anxious, tense, worried, and, at times, scared.
I have offered my calming presence. I have cried with patients, laughed with patients, and held their hands when needed.
A cry can be a powerful gift. When a baby is born and enters the world, the first cry is very important, as it opens the lungs and signals healthy adaptation. It is the beginning of life outside the womb.
Jesus cried for his friend Lazarus in John 11. I see compassion for a companion as a sacred experience. I strongly believe that crying is a profound emotional expression of the self, and crying with our companions is even more sacred.
Like a newborn’s first cry, tears can become a sign of openness, healing, and healthy adaptation as we journey through life’s uncertainties.
Uncertainty is part of life and cannot be avoided. Even if we wish to escape it, we cannot. It is simply part of the human experience. Grief, sorrow, tears, pain, loneliness, confusion, restlessness, annoyance, and anger are all natural human emotions. The more we express these feelings, the more authenticity we bring into our lives and relationships.
Jesus wept when Lazarus died. Lazarus meant a great deal to Jesus. If the Messiah—fully divine and fully human, the Incarnate One and the Savior of the world—could break into tears for his companion, then why should we hesitate to cry with our neighbors in times of pain, sorrow, and grief?
The more we normalize crying, the more we create space for genuine human emotions to be expressed.
I see tears as beautiful. A cry can be sacred. A cry can be a plea and a prayer. Crying is a sign of opening up and healthy adaptation. Through my tears, I have come to understand my own emotions and those of others more deeply. I believe crying has helped me become more aware of my own emotions and has deepened my capacity to understand the emotions of those around me.
The psalmists describe crying as prayer—crying to God in distress, for help, comfort, and peace.
Psalm 39:12″Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears.”
Psalm 77:1–2″I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.”
I believe a cry is like a melody in a minor scale, and sometimes even in a major scale. A cry is powerful. It can help us calm our hearts, channel our minds, deepen our faith, and make us vulnerable before God. I strongly believe that our cries reach the highest heavens. Tears are beautiful.
May we not be afraid to cry in the grief of ourselves and our companions. May we have the courage to be fully present with them, offering our presence and compassion, and, when words are not enough, even our tears.
Romy