The Beatitudes: They Who Mourn
Sorrowful, mournful, melancholy….These words elicit memories of things gone wrong, accidents, missed opportunities, and bad decisions. These are not the best feelings to have. Then why does Jesus say that they are called blessed? Remember what I said in the part one, ‘happy’ can replace ‘blessed’ in all the beatitudes. Why are the mournful happy? What does this mean about the teachings of Jesus, and their message to us?
Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
The Greek word for ‘mourn’ is pentheo meaning “grieve and wail.” People in the time of the Bible mourned like mad people. They would beat their chests, scream, and tear their garments. Grieving is to feel sorrow unlike any other sorrow. Grieving means to feel an impassioned suffering and sorrow for something. These are serious emotional reactions, and they could last days, weeks, months, and even years. Sons and fathers killed in war and husbands lost at sea are grieved. However, grieving is not reserved for just a deceased loved one, but it can extend to the absence of that loved one, or the absence of a loved object or feeling.
But what is our cause to mourn? Should we always be blessed because we are mourning? What if the comfort doesn’t come? That is because the mourning action taken in those situations is not the action blessed by God. We are not blessed when we mourn over a lost loved one or thing.
Mourning over our own condition is the sorrow blessed by God…Not a ‘oh woe is me’ negative attitude, but a realization of the sins we have committed, and the pure heart sorrow we feel because we are doing things against God’s will. If we desire salvation, we realize that we are doing things that are evil, vile, dirty, sick, and dangerous! We are losing the battle against the devil and our own flesh unless we realize our sins. We must also recognize the sins in the world. However, it is possible for us to turn away from that evil, and that is by mourning our sinful nature and seeking God to change us, and by changing us, we can change the world.
Repentance (Greek: metanoya) means to have sorrow for anything done or said, or pain, regret, or affliction felt on account of past conduct. We feel the pain and sorrow of repentance because we are offending God and dishonoring Him. But what should we do with that sorrow? Should we just live life with this sorrow built up inside? All regrets and no changes to make it better? We must realize that God would tell us to take a step and change. This change is to repent.
Can you see the similarity in the meaning of ‘mourn’ and ‘repentance’ in the context of the verse and using the Greek word meanings? They can be swapped and the verse can read, “Blessed are they who repent…”
Mark 1:15
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
To Repent (Greek: metanoeo) means to turn away. Literally, turn away from past sins, past mistakes, and focus on a Godly life. It’s that simple. Read the Bible, seek out other Christians, and stop doing all those things causing pain and sorrow in your life.
Looking back at the beatitude again, from where does this comfort come? Does it come from the Kingdom? Jesus calls everyone to repent and seek the Kingdom. Maybe that’s the answer? That’s part of it, but here is a cool insight into the most literal meaning of the words said by Christ.
Comfort in Greek is parakaleo, which means “to call near, invoke, invite, beseech, implore.” In reality, not only is Jesus calling everyone to be happy in their pious sorrow, but also He is calling everyone to Him to have a personal relationship. Comfort comes from Jesus having a true presence in our lives!
We that mourn are blessed, because we will be comforted. We are comforted because we are called by Jesus. Not just called either; Jesus implores us. He stretches out His hand to touch our lives, and we can experience His presence if we are sorry for our past sins, repent from them, and take steps toward Jesus. In the end, the verse can be understood like this…
The Buzz Version:
“Happy are those who sorrow over then turn away from their sins, for they will be called by Jesus to have a personal relationship that will give them all the comfort they need.”
Buzz
March 24th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Buzz wrote:
“But what is our cause to mourn? Should we always be blessed because we are mourning? What if the comfort doesn’t come? That is because the mourning action taken in those situations is not the action blessed by God. We are not blessed when we mourn over a lost loved one or thing.”
To which I ask, “Says who?” Says Buzz, apparently, but only Buzz. Your line of thinking that I quoted is only that - your line of thinking. It’s not fleshed out by any other Scriptures. it’s an interesting thought (even edifying), but not one that should be taken as doctrinal.
I believe its fair and helpful to see the similarities between “mourn” and “repentance”, and it’s good to expand our thinking of how this Beatitude should be applied. But the interpretation or application should not be limited to “The Buzz Version”, especially since you only argue that it should rather than giving actual Scriptural basis for it.
March 24th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Thanks for the comment. You raise a good point.
First off, don’t think I’m indoctrinating my own thoughts on the masses. I’m just trying to find understanding in the message of Christ and pass it on to others. I have no problem with my line of thinking, because it makes sense to me. I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with it. Adam Clarke has the same understanding of this Beatitude, if you care to look up his commentary of the Bible.
My lines of thinking have helped me in my walk with Christ. I’m naturally inquisitive and always looking for new perspectives and understandings.
Looking at my quote, it is not my intention to say that God doesn’t comfort those that mourn the dead, but even Jesus says ‘let the dead bury their dead’ - Matt 8:22…He’s not concerned with the natural dead as much as those that are dead to the spirit.
I call attention to the similarities between ‘mourn’ and ‘repentance’ because of the obvious similarities in their definitions.
I see your problem with scriptural references to such a thing being thought, but Jesus calls all to repentance (Mat 4:17, Mark 6:12, Luk 13:3, 17:3). Can repentance be thought of as mourning over our past sins, but then turning away from them? Yes. Grieving over past sins but going towards God? Yes.
2 Cor 7:9 - “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.”
We are supposed to have a turning of heart, contrition, and remorse for our actions against God. And that’s good for repentance to work inside us. That’s why I see the mourning in this Beatitude as being derived from sorrow for repentance, and that is why Jesus says they will be comforted. Jesus cares about sorrow over what we’ve done against Him, more than any sorrow for those things that pass away or are lost and are not carried with us to Heaven. (Mat 6:19)
March 25th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Thanks for the well-spoken reply and the spirit in which it was delivered (which, admittedly, was more tempered than mine). It really fleshes out your perspective, Scripturally.
I’ll simply reiterate that my only concern was that you were limiting the context of the Scripture and what it was speaking to (repentance only), but thank you for helping alleviate that concern. I embrace your take to also think of it beyond the usual “comfort” or “mourning” themes and put it also in terms of repentance; it’s likely a paradigm shift for many believers, but a good one.
January 5th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
I’ve been searching out the Beattitudes over the past several months in preparation for a sermon series I’ll be delivering. I’ve scoured multiple sources, sermons, editorials, blogs, and so on. And they all seem to give the exact same reading, and “in” reading into the Beattitudes. By “in” reading, I mean, that the authors and commentators site other later scriptural sources or other similar definition (as the one given on this blog) and infer Jesus’ meaning to again be a reference to the state of Sin in mankind and “blessedness” of our awareness of that state.
Blessedness is related to happiness, and the Sermon on the Mount then begins with a “how to list” of achieving this state of happiness.
I’ve come to the conclusion that our modern understanding is a complex integration of 2 schools of thought. 1. Our ingrained sinful nature, IE original sin and the deplorable nature of all Mankind…2. Our modern desire to achieve happiness and contentment.
So we tend to read the Beattitudes as “you want to achieve happiness, then this is how”…and I don’t think Matthew attempt to share the message that was so revolutionary at the launch of Jesus’ public ministry would have been this. I don’t think that Matthew 4:25 concerning the variety of people present and following Jesus would have been doing that because of that kind of message. Jesus was up to something else.
“Blessedness” is not so much about finding happiness, as it is a reference to the abiding presence of God. God’s presence is with those who are “poor in spirit”. God’s presence is with those who are ‘in mourning”…and so on.
I’m becoming more convinced that this passage, in particular this section on “mourning” is about God’s presence coming to us, no matter what our circumstance or situation, even in the complexity and confusion and sadness of death, God’s abiding love and presence comes to us in that moment. He doesn’t run from the confusion that arises in death, God’s presence embraces us in that moment, and gives us comfort. In that moment of depression and aloneness and emptiness after someone we love has been taken from us by the harsh realities of our finite humanity…when all of the questions about life and purpose and meaning and futility and frustration start to creep in, God’s abiding love doesn’t leave us…He comes alongside us, (parakleo) He comforts us.
My 2 cents. enjoy.