Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4)

This is one the strangest of the beatitudes.

It almost is like a paradox - how is it a blessing to mourn?

We have to remember that these relate to Christ.  These statements cannot be divorced from the relationship to Christ.  Here are a few of my thoughts.

Spiritual mourning - needing Christ
On one hand, it is about spiritual mourning.  It is a blessing to mourn, for then, you realize you need Jesus.  Jesus is the answer to mourning.  Jesus is the comforter.


Earthly mourning - seeking the comforter
It can definitely apply to earthly mourning and seeking Jesus as the comforter.  I found a few places in the Bible where God promises to turn sorrow into joy:

• You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.  (Psalm 30:11)
• I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. (Jeremiah 31:13)

The promise of resurrection - Christ is risen
With Christ, there always remains the promise of Resurrection.  As I pondered this passage, I thought of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, when Jesus died.  Mary was outside the tomb when angels up her.  From John 20:13-16:

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

The promise of resurrection - the Afterlife
We have all lost friends along the way.  Death is not the final end, for with Christ, there is a promise of the Afterlife.

Here is from one of my favorite passage of the Bible, where the valley of dry bones become living humans.  From Ezekiel 37:1-14:

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.  He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.   I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’  Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”