Tears of Joy

For Valentine’s Day, here is a story of great love and deep gratitude and the most exquisite water we know.

She was a woman who got invited to men’s homes for only one reason. But she heard about another man who was different – a giver not a taker. He himself had a reputation for socializing with people like her and maybe she had met him somewhere – maybe overheard him telling another harlot that God heals the broken-hearted, washes away tears of shame and forgives debts long overdue.

How could she know for sure? And how could she honor him – this man who looked past her disgrace and saw worth in her beyond what she could see? How could she express the gratitude and affection welling up inside her?


She made her way to a dinner where he was a guest of honor. She stood behind him as he reclined at the table and she lost all composure.

Her salt-tears fall on him like rain and she bathed his feet with adoration. She kissed his feet and dried them with her hair and poured perfume over them. She could not contain her over-flowing joy and gratefulness.

Jesus understood and explained to his host, “her many sins have been forgiven – that is why she shows such love. Those who have been forgiven deeply, love deeply, but those who are untouched by grace rarely feel gratitude.”

I think tears are the most exquisite form of water in human experience, like the most compact gem in the Gospel – 'Jesus wept'. The Bible has 150 references to tears and weeping – tears of grief, sadness, shame and regret. But this is the only story I can recall about tears of gratitude and joy.

God’s mercy to us is an undeserved feast – and Jesus is the host. Pondering this story makes me want to sit down and watch Babette’s Feast again.

God of Amazing Grace,
Flood my heart with the tears Jesus wept over my brokenness. Let me know how deeply I have been loved and forgiven. Soften my heart, heal my wounds and clear away my dullness. Set my spirit free and release in me a river-flow of joy and thankfulness. Amen

Photo credit: Tears