God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. — 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
Christmas is usually seen as a time of joy, as summarized by the famous 1719 carol by Isaac Watts, “Joy to the World.” In contrast, Good Friday is when believers usually focus on the agony of Christ.
However, when we consider “Jesus was born to die” as the Savior of the world, born in human flesh to die on a cross to atone for our sins, we can see the role for tears in the Christmas story too.
A Reflection on the Tears at the Nativity—Christmas 2025
Your tears, O babe of Bethlehem’s stall
Did beckon then your Mother’s arms
You suckled there, with stilled alarms
And nourished, shielded from all harms
Of swirling wormwood, encroaching gall
Your parents wept with Your first tears
With joy they gazed upon Your face
Saw pregnant promises of grace
And newborn hope for Adam’s race
Light overwhelming hidden fears
Enfleshed, O Babe, within Your cry
All longings, groans and griefs are there
Man’s violence, tooth and claw, laid bare
Man’s sordid sins yielding despair
It is enough that You’ve drawn nigh
Drawn nigh! And still foreshadowing then
The beckoned Mother’s cries – bereft
Your tears of anguish, cruel death
Extending to the final breath
Creation’s groans all housed within
Yet hope bursts forth, tears not in vain
The tears are numbered as the tomb
Yields forth the living, like the womb
And light dispels the darkest gloom
The tears of loss wiped dry in gain
— by Dr. Scott Armistead
S.D.G./S.G.D.
