Sometimes, the One Who Weeps Is the One Who Sees
Sometimes, we want to rush through our times of sorrow. But there is a time to embrace our grief and to remember we have a Savior who meets us there.
“They’ve taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve laid him” (John 20:2).
That’s what Mary said and, suddenly, the race was on. And yet, when Simon Peter and the beloved disciple reached the tomb, they found no answer, only more questions.
But they weren’t alone there at the tomb.
Mary Magdalene had apparently trailed along behind the two of them. She hadn’t participated in the beloved disciple’s smirkworthy footrace with Peter (John 20:4)—but she was there. And, when Peter and John gave up the quest and headed home, she stayed (20:10–11).
“Mary stood weeping outside the tomb” (20:11).
And, when she stooped to take one last look, she saw.
Through her liquid veil of grief, she saw two heavenly messengers.
I don’t know for certain, but I suspect that the angels were every bit as present when Peter and John stepped into the tomb as they were when Mary glimpsed them on that cold stone shelf where Jesus had lain. Perhaps there are some realities that grief alone can reveal, and Mary had eyes to see what Peter and John could not.
And then, when she turned from the tomb, Mary saw again.
This time, the one she saw was Jesus himself (20:14–18).
The one who stayed and wept was the one who saw the Lord.
Sometimes, we want to rush ourselves—and others—through our times of sorrow. Staying and weeping seems like a waste. “Get on with your life!” “Don’t you think it’s time for you to stop thinking about the past?” And, to be sure, there are times when we need to move forward. But there is also a time to embrace our sorrow and to remember we have a Savior who meets us there.
The one who lingered in her lament was the one who saw the Lord.
If you are in a season of staying and weeping right now, don’t be ashamed of your sorrow. Look for the heavenly messengers, and wait for your Lord to appear.
And he will.
Maybe not in the time or in the way that you expected, but he does and he will.
Sometimes, the one who stays and weeps is the one who truly sees.
Somehow there is a song in this....
Agree completely!