Man Enough to Cry

December 28, 2007

Yesterday I read this article from ESPN.com about Jameer Nelson, who played college ball at St. Joseph’s and now plays for the Orlando Magic. In August, Nelson’s father passed away in a mysterious accident at work.

The article talked a lot about how Nelson is coping with the pain of losing his father, who was his best friend. It was a heartbreaking story. One of the things that I found most heartbreaking is the way that it describes Nelson’s unwillingness to let others into his pain. It said that he would go out of his way to cry only in private, and not to show his emotions to others. He learned this, the article said, from his father.

I do not mean this to say anything negative about Nelson or how he is handling his sorrow. That would not be my place. But as I read this article I found great admiration for Jesus. Because while our society tells men to suppress their emotions and suggest that crying in front of others is effeminate, Jesus let others into His pain, and was not afraid to let others see Him cry.

He was a perfect Man, the only perfect Man, and when told of Lazarus’s death in John 11, and upon seeing the pain that this situation caused the others who were involved, we’re told, ‘Jesus wept.’ Right there in front of a crowd, the Son of God broke down in tears, showing the world that crying is masculine.

I pray that Jameer Nelson would have the strength to imitate Jesus, by allowing others to see him cry. I pray he would know that we were not made to cope with grief in isolation. And I pray that he would find comfort in his sorrow in the Son of God, who wept tears of sorrow, so that in the life to come ours might be wiped dry.

Posted by Larry | Filed Under Links, Random Musings, Seeking Him