These words were written to encourage and
comfort people who were suffering terribly for the sake of the faith. Let’s put
aside the thought that Revelation is a road map through Divine destruction with
promises of paradise for a select few and consider that the God who wipes away
the tears of a multitude too great to count might not want to eternally poke everyone
left behind in the eye. So maybe within the narrative of a persecuted people there is
a word that speaks to all of humanity created in the image of the holy. There are
innocents who suffer all of life as a great ordeal starving for food or shelter
or affection. Will God wipe away their tears? There
are those less innocent who scarred by neglect or abuse suffer the great ordeal
of lives doomed to misfortune and out of their pain visit it others. Will God
wipe away their tears? There are those not innocent at all but acting out of
selfish interest suffer the great ordeal that looks like prosperity but lacks
love and mercy and kindness and if they knew how impoverished they were perhaps would weep as well. Will God wipe away their tears? Can God wipe away
the tears from every eye and still be a God of justice? I don’t know but I
hope so and not because I need a happy ending to the sad human story but
because I believe and hope God does.
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