Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4
Jesus continued the Beatitudes with “blessed are” or “O the joy of” one who is mournful. How on earth could mourning possibly be an occasion for joyfulness?
The word that Jesus used for “mourn” is the strongest word for mourn in the Greek language that he could have used. It expressed mourning for the dead, Jacob’s mourning for Joseph, and grief that cannot be hidden because it flows down the face in unrestrained tears.
But who was Jesus thinking about when he said “the one who mourns.” It might have been those who cry because of the difficulties of life: the addiction of a loved one, the bitter loss of a job, one’s house burning down, or experiencing the loss of a divorce. All deeply personal pains.
Or it could refer to the deep sorrow for a suffering world. We often see this sort of mourning acted out on our television news in events such as the brutal death of George Floyd, the bombed-out ruins of Gaza, the tiny wrist of a starving child being measured by a doctor, or the evil actions of a corrupt government anywhere in the world.
Given the context of this beatitude, it most likely refers to the desperate sorrow for one’s sins and failings. This mourning arises from poverty of spirit – absolute emptiness in one’s being. Looking like repentance, which was the opening word of Jesus – “repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
This type of mourning was present in the Prodigal Son of Luke 15:11-32. When the consequences of his dissolute life landed him in a smelly pigsty, eating the pigs’ food, then, and only then, did he recognize how low he had gone. That’s the moment when one understands this mourning.
Peter understood this mourning when he saw Jesus look at him after Peter’s third and final denial, punctuated by the crowing rooster. So did Judas, who betrayed Jesus and sadly decided to hang himself. David wrote the great Psalm 51 of mourning after his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, her husband.
Jesus promises comfort to the one who faces up to his/her sin and repents.
Prayer:
Jesus, you taught us how to mourn, not because of your own sin, but because of ours. You wept at Lazarus’ tomb. You wept over Jerusalem as you anticipated your death. And we imagine that you wept when your cousin John was beheaded, or when Peter so cowardly betrayed you. May we learn not to be afraid of sorrow knowing that it is the way to divine comfort. Amen.