More than saline in Bible tears

The assignment was to come to class with a scripture memorized. And one young student had a trick up his sleeve. When it came his time to recite, he stood and quoted John 11:35 from memory.

"Jesus wept," he said, and then sat down.

There were snickers all around.

They didn't realize that quoting "Jesus wept" as a memorized scripture is the oldest trick in the good book. Chances are St. Peter's kids quoted it to their teachers, just as my great-grandkids will quote it to theirs.

And that's all for the good, I think. If they will take a moment to stop and think what they are saying.

There's a reason those two words were singled out and stand by themselves in scripture, I think. They sum up the core of Christianity — the desire to soften the heart to the point you can weep over the misfortune of others.

In Christianity and in other faiths, tears are the hallmark of spirituality.

Spiritual impulses spring out of people in many ways, of course — in joy-filled songs, in dance, in passionate outbursts and even in strange and unusual languages. But the most common telltale sign of spirituality is the tear — especially in LDS circles. The Bible itself is awash in tears. Jesus not only wept, but almost everybody else in the Bible has a good cry. Especially in the Old Testament.

I think too often we see the Old and New Testament as polar opposites. The Old Testament is the "harsh testament," the eye-for-an eye testament. The New Testament is the "soft testament," the love-thy-neighbor testament. But the truth is, there are more than a few softened hearts and tender feelings in the Old Testament and more than a few harsh moments in the New. In fact, when Jesus tells his followers to "love thy neighbor," he's actually quoting from Leviticus 19:18 — a chapter known to the Jews as "The Holiness Chapter." The Old Testament is also a testament of tears.

After hearing that young man quote "Jesus wept," I went to my Bible concordance and counted how often the word "weep" and its variations (wept, weeping) show up in the Bible. The word is everywhere. "Weep" appears 123 times in the Old Testament and 46 in the New. (The word "tears" itself appears 25 times in the Old and 11 in the New.)

As Michael Ballam would say, that's a lot of "saline solution."

On first blush, all that crying gives the impression the Bible must be the saddest book since "Old Yeller." And, indeed, the scriptures do have their share of sorrow.

But from personal experience, I think all that weeping is also the emblem of a truly spiritual book.

"Tears are the softening showers which cause the seed of heaven to spring up in the human heart," Sir Walter Scott said.

He might have been writing about the Bible. In matters of the heart, tears are emblems of sincerity.

Yes, "Jesus wept" is in the Bible. And as long as there are memorization assignments, kids will be quoting that scripture until kingdom come. But if they're wise, they'll hear an afterthought in those words. In matters of faith, they'll hear "Jesus wept (and so should you)."

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E-mail: jerjohn@desnews.com