Richard Rohr often offers insightful perspectives that challenge me, and The Tears of Things is certainly no exception. The book is an examination of the Old Testament prophets and invitation to wisely respond to injustices and tragedy within our own day. Yes, the prophets often began angry, even vindictive, but then they moved into mourning and grief and ultimately compassion. The same can be true of is, and this is undoubtedly a timely invitation/examination in a time of rampant outrage.

I felt this book was an expansion on some thoughts in his book Jesus' Plan for the New World (published in 1996), particularly where he said, "'The weeping mode' allows one to carry the dark side of things, the 'tears of things' as the Latin poet said, to bear the pain of the world without needing to define perpetrators or victims, but instead recognizing the tragic reality that both sides are usually caught up in. I must hold these contradictions, I need to suffer them, I let them transform me. The weeping mode of life is quite different than the succeeding mode, the controlling mode, the fixing mode, the climbing mode, or even the explaining mode."

Here we are now, nearly 30 years later, wrestling with the same thoughts on how to respond to the world's brokenness. To be fair, the prophets remind us we are here some thousands of years later wrestling with same brokenness. And, so, while this subtitled for "an age of outrage," I'm not certain we have known any other age. It, then, perhaps not only timely but perhaps timeless in this way.

I did find some of the writing difficult to follow at times. It won't necessarily be an easy read, by any means. But, it is a fascinating and challenging (personally and intellectually) read. I'm thankful to NetGalley and Convergent Books for the advanced readers' copy in exchange for my honest review.

I alway enjoy Richard Rohr's writing. He teaches me new things, helps me see Scripture in a new light and I feel inspired when I finish his books. This book did not disappoint. He works through the prophets in the Bible and how their wisdom is still needed in our current times. He shows how they often start out vindictive, then mourn and then rejoice following the pattern of order, disorder, reorder. I have seen this pattern in my own life so it was interesting to see it in the prophets. Rohr shows how the prophets decenter ourselves and help us not make a god in our own image but a God of love who wants people to turn to Him.

"The Tears of Things" concerns the biblical prophets and how they challenged injustice. Rohr examines the way they responded that takes into consideration both history and our interconnectedness with each other. Richard Rohr is a great thinker, writer, and a voice of reason for our time. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Pub Date: March 4, 2025.

#TheTearsofThings

This thought-provoking guide to the prophetic stream of Judeo-Christian spirituality inspired me to start reading those difficult and often angry books, seeing them in a new light. The path from anger to tears to compassion, asserts Rohr, is the way of a true prophet as well as of the God of the Bible, and of all who read the Bible with love. Although there are parts I don't agree with, and I think Rohr's conversational style could use some more rigor and fact-checking, his overall message seems spot-on for where our culture finds itself at the moment. We need to embrace holy disorder so that a new order, more integrative, more whole, can arise ... knowing it will be overturned in time, but that it is a step in our spiritual maturing. A great book to read when so much anger is flying around, showing a way past and through that defensive emotion, letting tears do their healing work.

Man, do I love some good Christian philosophy. Even better if it's wrapped in the stories of the prophets and the patterns of speaking truth.

There were points at which I was fairly confused, thinking that the author was working his way toward a specific point only to pull back and make no point at all but simply to leave the reflection there for the reader to pick up. Perhaps my mind has been too jaded by the world; I used to relish in this sort of thing, but there was something in me that wanted to call it "unfinished." That said, I appreciate that it was left that way because we're living in a world that is so busy trying to tell you WHAT to think that most persons have forgotten HOW to think, and the role of the prophet is to be a thinking person - a reflective one. One who can see and understand and interpret and not simply mimic or repeat or accept.

I have studied the Bible, and the prophets, and Christian philosophy fairly extensively over the years, as matter of personal devotion and professional exercise and just general curiosity and a certain leaning toward the world, and yet, there were still things in this work that caused me to see something in a new light or to think in a new way. It had me reflecting on my own understandings and postures, as well as those of persons I allow to speak into my life in some way, shape, or form.

I am very appreciative of this book. It was by no means an easy read - fairly dense in many places - but such a worthwhile one.

Interesting perspective on the prophetic writings of Scripture and how that can impact the relationship between anger, compassion, and grief in uncertain times.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

I found this to be an interesting study of Biblical themes and motifs to our current reality. The focus is on both Jewish and Christian scriptures and is well handled by a master teacher

I began reading Richard Rohr's "The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage" in the days following my latest Tenderness Tour event. For a little over a week, I wheeled along the trails of Indiana in my wheelchair, over 150 miles total, raising money to eliminate medical debt for Hoosiers. Along the way, I encountered those who were hopeful and those who experienced despair. I encountered anger and I encountered joy. I encountered those filled with gratitude and those praying for a miracle.

In short, it felt like I was experiencing a world that would prepare me for reading "The Tears of Things," a book that easily becomes my favorite Rohr work because of its wild intelligence, absolute heart, immense hope, and incredible accessibility.

"The Tears of Things" is grounded within the timeless wisdom of the Hebrew prophets and explores a world in which we are called to somehow figure out how to live compassionately while being surrounded with violence and despair and anger and injustice. Rohr, with extensive research and remarkable insight, reveals how some of the lesser-read books of the Bible offer us a crucial, surprisingly clear path forward.

Rohr doesn't do this blindly. He vividly portrays the strengths and weaknesses of these prophets and realistically portrays their spectrum of human maturity. What he captures, and what nearly brought me to tears quite often, was how human beings evolved and grew into their spiritual maturity and abilities to serve.

For Rohr, these prophets exemplify the ability to practice what he calls "sacred criticism" - a distinct approach to confronting evil and justice that acknowledges the fullness of history, our interconnectedness, and the reality of a divine, universal love. Rohr offers inside into these prophets, an insight presented with such wonderful clarity that it feels as if they come to life within his pages. I found myself learning from and loving his words.

I must confess that I have not always found Rohr's writings accessible. While I adore his lectures and teachings, I've often struggled with his writings. Yet, there's been no struggle here - nothing but sacred learning and spiritual enchantment. While Rohr always writes with a pastoral voice, there's a warmth in this writing that perfectly complements his extensive and engaging biblical scholarship.

As I prepare for my next Tenderness Tour event, "The Tears of Things" prepares me to better engage in a compassionate way with a hurting world.

For this, I give thanks.