Episcopal Relief & Development's 2025 LENTEN Meditation Journey . . . A COMMONPLACE Lent

There is a grief that is useful and a grief that is destructive. —Syncletica

Scientists have divided our tears into three categories: reflex tears, continuous tears and emotional tears. The first two categories are the kind of tears that help us remove toxins and debris from our eyes: smoke, onion vapers and dust. Those tears are predominantly made of water and protect our bodies from invasive elements. The last kind, emotional tears, contain different hormones and substances that are particular to the emotional reason we cry.

These tears protect us differently; they help to heal us emotionally and physically. They help us expel the hormones we don’t need, and they release the ones we do need. Good Friday seems like an appropriate day to contemplate grief and tears.

We can think about Saint Peter and the grief that led him to deny Jesus three times. We can think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her grief at the foot of the cross. And we can think of the two thieves, also dying on crosses to the left and right of Jesus. One, in his grief, lashes out in anger and bitterness. The other comes to Jesus with humility and openness. I wonder if the one who opened his heart to love was crying. Could it be that his tears helped heal his spirit while providing comfort to his dying flesh? What about the one who held on to bitterness and doubt? Was he stoic, clinging to his anger, unwilling to let the tears flow, refusing healing and comfort? In this picture, we see a community in pain, with Jesus in the center, and we see two different approaches. One is rooted in vulnerability, the other in control. One has the hope of resurrection; the other sees only despair. There is a grief that is useful and a grief that destroys. Both are a choice.

For REFLECTION:

Is there a point of pain in your life or your community’s life? How are you responding?

Click here to read the introduction to the 2025 Lenten Meditation "A Commonplace Lent."

The Lenten Meditations prepared by Episcopal Relief & Development invite readers to deepen their spiritual practice during the season of Lent, the time of preparation leading to Easter. Our 2025 meditations explore the idea of “A Commonplace Lent.” This concept reflects Episcopal Relief & Development’s tagline: “Working Together for Lasting Change.” We share in common the work of advancing lasting change in communities impacted by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change.

We also share in common spiritual practices that strengthen our faith—prayer, worship, love, grace, service and so much more. The author explores another meaning of common in the  meditations: finding God in the common and ordinary as well as in the extraordinary mountain-top moments. Each day begins with wisdom from desert mothers and fathers, monastics and other spiritual leaders who offer insight into our common path of faithful discipleship and service. Each meditation concludes with a question for deeper reflection.

Episcopal Relief & Development is the compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopal Relief & Development serves to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world.

This Lenten Meditation Journey is provided courtesy of Episcopal Relief & Development and was authored by Jerusalem Jackson Greer, co-executive director and agrarian minister for the Procter Center, an Episcopal farm, camp and retreat center in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. As former manager of evangelism and discipleship for The Episcopal Church under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, she co-founded the Good News Garden movement and oversaw Way of Love and Evangelism initiatives for the wider church.