Grief Re-Examined

As we approach the second installment of our series on the Beatitudes, I cannot help but be struck by the fact that almost all of the Beatitudes are promises of something to come in the future. As I reflected further on this concept, I began to recognize that I believe part of the reason we struggle so much with various aspects of the Christian faith is we live in a society where we want everything, and we want it NOW.

There is no real disagreement about the fact we live in a time now full of much pain and mourning on the part of so many people for so many reasons. In a text conversation the other day with a good friend from high school, the observation was made people are worn out because it seems almost every discussion these days winds up in a fight. No matter where you are on a given issue, there are people who will get downright vitriolic in their attempts to not only disagree with you, but do their best to destroy you in the process. If Matthew 5:4 is at all accurate, then it seems we’ve all found a home here, for we will be comforted.

Or will we? Is that, in fact, to what Jesus is referring here? Here are Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 5, verse 4:

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

This is one of those times where we had better be careful trying to bring a text forward to meet our context and construct; to get a better grasp on this we are better served to revisit the times in which Jesus was speaking here.

Mourning in this context is actually a deeply scriptural concept that goes back to long before Jesus’ time. In addition to many Psalms of lament, there is an entire book of the Bible known as Lamentations. Dive into Isaiah 61, and you’ll see a witness to the traditional understanding of mourning rooted not in what it is that people are personally losing; the mourning and lamenting, in fact, is not about the individual at all except in their status as people who are living in a world that is not yet reconciled to God.

This begs of us another question, one that strikes at the root of so many of us. I alluded to it in the introduction to this lesson. So often, we find ourselves mourning because there are things we want and things we believe we need, and, for whatever reason, we do not have them. We mourn because of what we are missing - people, places, things, opportunities…I could go on and on. 

The point is that when we look at a biblical understanding of mourning, especially when Jesus is talking about those who are ‘blessed’ or ‘happy’ are those who mourn, it is not at all about what we do or do not have. This is yet another place where we MUST remember that the Bible is not about us in any way, shape, or form. Scripture is God’s story. Period. To focus on this verse about mourning as what we are missing is to miss out on a deeper revelation.

Time does not allow me to unwind all thoughts on this, but I do think it is healthy to mention that when we talk about mourning the world is not as God intended it, that is not a partisan political statement to be used as a club in the culture wars that seem to dominate so much of, especially, American Christianity of all stripes.

The promise for those who mourn - that they will be comforted - is a word of hope for those who might believe all is lost. Those who mourn will be comforted because at some point God’s work in Christ will be completed when Christ comes again in glory and creation will be reconciled with the Creator.

In other words, keep the faith. Embrace the concept of mourning that we are not yet in a place where everything is as it should be according to God’s plan. In the midst of that mourning, though, never lose heart - Jesus is returning!

Grace & Peace,
Lamar