The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 206 -
The Three Tears Acceptable To God
NOW THE LONGER Tullia held the little One on her arms, the more she recognized the mistakes she made in her life and therefore wept much from time to time.
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Here the little Child sat up and said to Tullia, 'Listen, My dear Tullia! That is something I also do not like about you, that you are constantly weeping now when, after all, you have Me upon your arms.
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Be glad now and rejoice - for I take no pleasure in the tears of mankind when they fall where there is no need of them.
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Do you really suppose that your tears will cleanse your heart of all sin before Me?
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Oh, that is a foolish thought! The tears do indeed glide over your cheeks and dim your eyes, which is even harmful to you -
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but the tears do not glide over the heart and do not cleanse it either! Instead they often cause it to become sealed up, and then neither anything good nor bad can enter into it.
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And behold, that also brings with it the death of the spirit, which lives in the heart;
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for a sorrowful person is always an offended being, and as such is not receptive to anything.
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'Only three tears have I laid into the eye of man, and these are: the tear of joy, the tear of pity, and the tear of pain.
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These alone do I care to see - but the tear of sorrow, the tear of regret, and the tear of anger, which tears arise from false sympathy for oneself, are fruits of one's own fundamental ego and have little value with Me.
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'For the tear of sorrow springs from an offended heart and demands consolation - if this is not forthcoming, such an emotion is easily changed into secret anger and finally into a feeling for revenge.
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'The tear of regret is of similar origin and only appears after a sin has been committed, if the sin has afterward drawn a chastising lesson with it.
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And then it did not fall because of the sin, but only because of the chastisement and therefore also because of the sin, since this brought the chastisement with it.
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This tear also does not make the heart better - for then man does not flee sin because he loves Me, but because he fears punishment, and that is worse than the sin itself!
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'And as concerns the tear of anger, it just is not worth My speaking one word about it - for it is a fountain from the pit of hell.
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Of course, it is not this tear which now moistens your eye, but only the tear of remorse.
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So I say to you: Dry this tear from your eyes also; for you can see that it does not please Me!'
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Here Tullia wiped her eyes dry and said, 'O Lord, how infinitely wise and good You are!
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Oh how happy and glad I could be if I were no sinner -
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but while in Rome I worshiped an idol at the word of the emperor, and this continues to torment me in my heart!'
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And the little Child replied, 'i already forgave you that long before you did it.
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But you were jealous of the love which Cyrenius had for Me - and that was a gross sin! I have now forgiven you everything and you have no more sin because you love Me again - so be glad and full of good cheer!' 23: At this Tullia and the others again were full of good cheer, whereupon they all went to the evening meal.