January 5, 2002

• Those Who Mourn . . .

  
  

  Sometime back I did a couple of Xanga posts on the Beatittudes.  They were meant to be the first two in a series, but I never finished the series.  In the spirit of keeping New's Years Resolutions, I have finished the third post.  I updated the time stamps on the previous two so that you can check them out immediately below.

  
  

  The Beattitudes are the opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew presents this sermon as the first preached by Jesus in his gospel account.  The statements Jesus makes in his introduction are familiar enough in our culture that we are at risk for missing how very odd they would have sounded to first century hearers.  But each of the Beattitudes contradicts a corresponding "common sense" saying of the Greek/Roman world.  Just imagine if someone were to claim that "Power Sanctifies and Absolute Power Sanctifies Absolutely."  We'd have a hard time hearing that because we KNOW that "Power Corrupts."

  
  

  The second Beattitude doesn't have to be explained to us as a counter-intuitive teaching.  We live in a culture which resists thoughts of death.  We put our senior citizens in "nursing homes" so we are spared the sight of the dying process.  (I know that not everyone does this, and nursing homes aren't necessarily evil places, I'm talking about a general trend in our culture.)  But Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted."

  
  

  The opening part of that phrase already sounds odd to us.  Blessed are those who mourn . . .  I've heard some pastors teach that Jesus referring to those who feel sorrow for their sin.  This is an interesting application, and I certainly don't think that it's inappropriate fo people to feel remorse, but this is not at all what the verse says.  The word used for mourning here is a very specific Greek term.  (Greeks could be misunderstood, but the Greek language contains very few ambiguous terms.  There are nine different words for mourning.  There is a word for remorse.  This isn't that word.)  The Greek word used in this verse very specifically means "to mourn a death."  We might say, blessed are the bereaved.

  
  

  But then he ends it with, for they shall be comforted.  The comfort of God is unlike the comfort we receive from people.  When we want to extend sympathy, we send a card, or flowers, or maybe a casserole.  (And by the way, if anyone reading this contributed food last week when my Granny died, I want you to know it was much appreciated.  We managed to make it completely through the funeral and the follow-up settling of the details without having to cook anything, or even wash a dish.)  Little Miss Mutt deserves a special note of thanks from me.  I left Indiana in such a hurry that I forgot to pack a dress.  She brought over a half dozen outfits and I was able to attend the funeral looking much nicer than if I HAD remembered to take my funeral clothes.

  
  

  As great as these expressions of sympathy are, they fall short of what God does.  You get a flavor of the difference if you look up the Greek word used for comfort.  It means to "bring close."  Literally, when God gives you comfort, He brings you close to Himself.  I have previously talked about how "blessed" means filled with God.  When you are mourning, God doesn't just fill you, He surrounds you.

  
  

  A scene from my favorite movie of all time illustrates this.  In Steel Magnolias, there is a funeral scene.  If you haven't seen this movie, rent it.  If you are dry-eyed after Julia Roberts dies, then you are made of stronger stuff than me.  But, you wanna know why this is my favorite movie of all time?  The very next scene has Olympia Dukakis trying to persuade Sally Field to slap Shirley McClain.  I have never once watched this without "laughing through tears."  The comfort of God goes beyond mere laughter to real joy.  The paradox of life with God is that in our darkest moments, we experience the deepest joy.

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