This is a series on the Lord's "Beatitudes" (Mt. 5.3-12). Click on the following links to explore the various installments (part one, "Spiritual Beggars," contains an introduction to the Beatitudes):
The second beatitude Matthew records is this:
“Congratulations to those mourning, for they shall be comforted!” (Mt. 5.4).
The Condition: Mourning
“Mourning” (pethountes) is the “strongest word” for sorrow in the Greek language (Barclay, p. 88). It has to do with lamenting, as in grieving the death of a loved one.
Generic Sorrow
In a general way, sorrow can be a blessing. An Arab proverb reminds us:
“All sunshine makes a desert.”
Both sunshine and rain have their uses. In balance, they both create good things. But too much of one or the other can harm our ecosystem.
Equally so, both happiness and sorrow can be a blessing. But with too much sorrow, men tend to curse God. That was the response of Job’s wife when she and her husband lost everything (Job 2.9). Thus, Jesus reassures those who mourn that “comfort” is available.
On the other hand, with too much happiness in this world, men tend to forget God. God warned the Israelites of this very possibility. When he brought the people into the land of Canaan, he gave them “large and beautiful cities” they didn’t build, “houses full of all good things,” and several other items of material wealth for which they did not labor. After filling up their hearts and bellies with these things, they ran the risk of “forget[ting] the Lord who brought [them] out of the land of Egypt” (Deut. 6.10-12; cf. Deut. 8.11-18). And so the wise man wrote:
“Better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of all men;
And the living will take it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth” (Ecc. 7.2-4).
Sorrow may be unpleasant, but it gives us the wisdom to see life as transient — that we are not meant to be here forever — and that better things are awaiting us beyond this vale of tears. Sorrow forces us to look up to Heaven, even if only to ask “why?”. And if we allow it, sorrow can create inside us an indomitable will determined to do better and be better.
In his novel, Redburn, Herman Melville wrote:
“Not till we know that one grief outweighs ten thousand joys, will we become what Christianity is striving to make us” (Melville, p. 367).
Even our Lord was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53.3). Yet he promised his disciples that their sorrow over his sufferings “will be turned into joy” (Jn. 16.20-22).
“I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she,
But, oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me!”
Sorrow For Sin
Not only does sorrow for loss help us grow in wisdom and character, but sorrow for sin is all the more beneficial. Still, there is a right way to mourn for sin and a wrong way.
In 2 Corinthians 7.10, Paul notes that there is a difference between “godly sorrow” and the “sorrow of the world.” Whereas “godly sorrow” “produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted,” “the sorrow of the world produces death.”
The “sorrow of the world” is a type of attrition, which is motivated only by the fear of punishment, whereas “godly sorrow” is rooted in contrition, which in deep remorse is determined to put away sins for good. It is one thing to mourn the consequences of sin — quite another to mourn the commission of sin. A “godly” individual will mourn ever perpetrating a sin, while the “worldly” individual will only mourn the punishment of sin.
When the people of Judea were guilty of sins, God called them to repentance:
““Now, therefore,” says the LORD,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God…” (Joel 2.12-13)
In this passage, repentance is demanded “now.” Too, it must be a genuine expression of the “heart” in mourning (not merely an outward display of rending the “garments”). And finally, this type of contrition will lead us to “return to the Lord” — i.e., change one’s behavior. Repentance, then, must be immediate, genuine, and active.
In Psalm 34.18, David said:
“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
The person who always seeks mirth and joy is neither wise nor godly. There is a time for laughter, but there is also a time for sorrow (Ecc. 3.4). Sin especially is not something to be taken lightly. It is a grievous matter, meriting serious contemplation.
The Blessing: Comfort
Those who allow themselves to mourn — whether for sorrows generally or for sin specifically — will come out of the experience better off. Jesus says they will be “comforted.”
The term (parakaleo) literally means to “call beside.” It has to do with “calling” upon someone to be “beside” another to cheer them up. For example, when Paul was in prison, his dear friends in Ephesus were concerned about his well-being. In response, Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus to “comfort [their] hearts” — i.e., assure them he was alright (Eph. 6.21-22).
God himself is a comforter (Jn. 14.16; 2 Cor. 1.3-5). We may abound with suffering in this life, but that means we can also abound in the “consolation” of Christ (2 Cor. 1.5). Indeed, we may be obliged to “weep now,” but later we shall be able to “laugh” (Lk. 6.21; cf. Ps. 126.5).
A friend of mine recently fell and injured her arm. At the time, there was great concern and sorrow over her anguish. But once we learned her injuries were not serious and that her pain had subsided, we were able to feel relief (not to mention crack a few jokes). The laughter that comes from mere mirth can be sweet but shallow; whereas the laughter that comes from sorrow can warm the heart, heal the soul, and deepen the focus of the mind.
Likewise, God has promised to “wipe away every tear” from the eyes of those who follow the lamb and accept God as their God (Rev. 7.17; 21.3-4). Everlasting bliss awaits those who sober up and mourn over their sins!
Conclusion
Sin and its attendant ills should not be mocked or ignored. Rather, to receive the comfort of Heaven, we must learn to be serious-minded, whether we must deal with suffering generally or the guilt of sin specifically.
In either case, if we allow ourselves to take the pangs of sin and suffering seriously, we will then be able to open ourselves up to the comfort of God.
Thus, the messianic kingdom is seeking serious-minded people, who crave the consolation of Heaven. We do not exist merely for our own amusement, for in mourning we learn that life is hard, that we are not in total control, and that we need someone better than us, stronger than us, wiser than us, higher than us, to lean upon for help in times of deep desperation. Only then will we find the
“God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1.3-4).
