The Mourners
The Posture of Beatitude – Study
I remember being asked as a 7 year old whether i “want a Werther’s.” I don’t recall there ever being a time i said no. I mean, who’s going to turn down the caramel goodness of a Werther’s Original?! Granny Edine (My Great-Grandmother) was always so generous with her Werther’s – and with her time! My mother is a single parent, but she never had to raise me alone. I will never forget peaking through our banister to see if she was STILL ironing the clothes…she was: now watching ANOTHER carry-on comedy from before my time. It’s strange, how much i enjoy those memories. I know that the times i spent with her had many more notable moments, but those seem to describe who she is – always on hand with a treat, and always willing to take the tasks that nobody else wants.
After being in America for a year, attempting to play collegiate level soccer – a venture made possible in part by my aforementioned Granny Edine – I got a call from my mother. Granny Edine had passed away. What to say about that moment? It’s vivid. My mother made me give the phone to a close friend of mine, to make sure that i didn’t keep it to myself. I told her that i was fine, and after hanging up the phone, I told the roommates what had happened and loaded up another bong hit (paraphernalia that allows you to consume a single intense amount of marijuana)…That sounds like an appropriate response…I jest. I refused to confront, embrace, or give place to the ‘negative’ emotions. I refused to grieve.
I am attempting to use this story to bring light to something else – the dangers of not grieving. It is a downward spiral that can only be undone by doing one thing…grieving!
It was not healthy. My grades slipped and the memories I have of Granny Edine became toxic. I cried like a baby when i saw her in the casket, but still refused to speak about her for any meaningful amount of time. Pent up emotion would leak out in the form of smashed mirrors, excessive marijuana consumption, and reckless abuse of alcohol. I lost a person that raised me for the first time in my life, and i was imploding.
Now, Jesus DID do what you are expecting me to say He did, and that is the reason why we are here. However, I am attempting to use this story to bring light to something else – the dangers of not grieving. It is a downward spiral that can only be undone by doing one thing…grieving! There is no getting around it. And this is what is being said by Jesus in the beatitudes. “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” On face value, it can mean exactly what it shows itself to mean. Those that suffer the loss of a loved one, will receive comfort from others, comfort from God. And though I am here to tell you, that is true, the target of the statement is not only for the one that is mourning the loss of a loved one – it has deeper implications then that.
The word “mourn” has been translated from the greek word “pantheo”, and it means to lament, to mourn, or to bewail. What is interesting about the use of this word in particular, is that the word “Lupeo” has not been used instead. The significance of this is that “lupeo” is used to specifically describe a person that is sorrowful, sad, or grieving without an outward sign. This is to imply that the absence of an outward sign is just the feeling without the release. And just as when someone holds in their grief for too long it makes everything around them toxic, when a person holds in their sin, or the guilt of their sin for too long it has the same effect.
However, ‘it’ stays an eternal matter, and one that must lead to a singular definitive answer; I choose God.
I know it hurts, it is meant to hurt. This is a part of you! Something that could even be called a sub-personality. You have built it, enjoyed it, labored for it, invested in it, or known it for a lifetime, and God is asking for the death of it. The eternal implications of this decision make ‘it’ a trivial matter, but letting go of ‘it’ never feels trivial in the moment. ‘It’ might be smoking, alcohol, gossip, cussing, unforgiveness… or what about the things that seem less obvious like movies, music, video games, or sports…not easy. However, ‘it’ stays an eternal matter, and one that must lead to a singular definitive answer; I choose God.
The absence of this answer, is the absence of life, because if that thing God is calling you to eradicate does not die, then you will die. This is why Paul says that we should be mourning for those that are not in the faith; consumed by their sins. Their sin is the death of a person that God desires to see saved, and by proxy we must seek that person’s salvation also.
And that is where this all leads. When we assume a posture of beatitude, we mourn: which leads us to be comforted. Though just as with mourning, it is not comfort as one would suppose. So might I stick with the notion that what we are taking a deeper look at here has eternal implications? That the reward that we are to receive is not merely a feeling of peace, love and security – desired yet fleeting on this earth – but are the express manifestation of those things…allow me to explain what i am trying to say here.
If to receive comfort, is to receive the Spirit of God, then to mourn is a prerequisite of receiving the Holy Spirit
Jesus promises us that we will be comforted – by him. He says this in a couple of different ways; “peace i leave with you, my peace i give unto you”, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” These are two of my favorite quotes in the Bible. They are not the only examples of when Jesus said that he would be our comfort, but the second of those is all we will need for this particular dive in to Tehom – stay with me here, because we are about to launch! The first of the revelations is that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Jesus. Earlier in this passage, Jesus tells us that he will be sending “another comforter” to be with us forever, and dwell within us; and that comforter is the Spirit of Truth. What he finally says in verse 18 of chapter 14 is the aforementioned quote. This is massive! “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Can i say it this way, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall Receive Comfort,” Receive it from who? Comforted by who? The Holy Spirit – by Jesus!
HOLD ON, it gets better! If to receive comfort, is to receive the Spirit of God, then to mourn is a prerequisite of receiving the Holy Spirit (mind blown emoji). We see once again that a vital part of our receiving the spirit of God, is in fact our repentance. BUT WAIT, it gets EVEN better. When we mourn we are comforted, our comfort comes from the reception of the Holy spirit, to receive the holy spirit is to be partakers in the gifts and promises of God. And that is why this is more than a feeling, more than the peace that the world gives, or the security that it offers. This is the fruit of the spirit, and the gifts of the spirit; this is the spirit of adoption, the earnest of our inheritance, becoming sons of God, being heirs with christ. This is Eternal Life!
Do not decline to mourn, for yourself and for others – our eternity depends on it.
Daily Reading
Psalm 32; James 4:1-10: 2 Corinthians 1:4-7; John 14:16-18; Ephesians 2:1-3; John 14:27