The Greek verb brechō (βρέχω) means to rain, to wet, or to wash. It appears seven times in the New Testament and carries both literal and metaphorical meaning. The word describes rainfall from heaven, the wetting of feet with tears, and by implication the grace-gift of heaven that comes down upon both the just and the unjust.
Jesus uses brechō to make one of Scripture's most radical statements about love for enemies: "[God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain (brechei) on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45). Rain as a universal gift of common grace becomes the proof-text for indiscriminate, enemy-loving kindness. In Luke 7:38, the sinful woman "wet" (ebrechsen) Jesus's feet with her tears — an act of costly love that Jesus contrasts with the Pharisee's cold hospitality. Rain from heaven and tears from a broken heart become the same verb — both are gifts that fall where they are given.