“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
In John 16:20-22, Jesus gives an example of a difficult experience that ends in comfort and joy. The intensity of labor seems like it will never end, but new life lies on the other side. In Revelation 7:13-17, the martyrs who suffered greatly for their faith on earth, have come to receive comfort from the Lamb of God. Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
When Jesus says blessed are those who mourn, it is easy to latch onto the promise of comfort. On the one hand, this is good. A promise of comfort can give people hope to endure hard times. But remember, the beatitudes describe the righteousness of the kingdom. Yes, there is hope that the faithful will receive comfort in the end, but how are mourning and weeping righteous?
Mourning and weeping are signs of righteousness because they show that one is in touch with the pain of the world. Jesus knew the pain of the world. He was born into poverty, in a stable, as an immigrant, welcomed by lowly shepherds. He lived among the working poor and suffered because of the corruption of church and state for the sins of the world. Jesus was the word made flesh in this sin-sick world, and he knew the deep sorrow, pain, and darkness of the world. In order to be the hands and feet of Jesus, the church must also be in touch with the pain of the world.
This is why weeping and mourning are considered righteous. The church cannot communicate the truth about Jesus if it does not also know the suffering, sorrow, and sin of the world as Jesus knew it.
Nothing can be so off-putting to a person who is mourning than another person who acts like everything is just fine. As Jerusalem was crumbling, the prophets of old scolded the leaders of the establishment for claiming “peace, peace, when there is no peace (Jeremiah 6:14).” Those invested in the status quo want to cover up and deny any sign that things are not ok. They lack the ability to lament because lamented requires an acknowledgment that something is wrong. But Jesus knew how to lament, and he came to comfort those who mourn.
Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was martyred for comforting those who mourn. He spoke up for the suffering poor in his country who were living difficult lives at the hands of an elite ruling class and multinational corporations.
Romero once said that there are certain things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried. Archbishop Romero understood the second beatitudes. He understood the righteousness of those who mourn. He mourned with them, as Christ does, and he gave his life for them, as Christ also does.
How has the suffering and the sorrow and the sin of the world impacted you? How has it caused you to weep?
Some of us weep for the loss of a loved one.
Some of us weep the loss of a memory.
Some weep for the struggle of being poor and of having everything you try not work out.
Many in the black community weep for their innocent children shot by police.
Many in the Arab community weep for being victims of Islamophobia.
Many immigrants weep for sanctuary and a place to be safe.
Many affluent people pose the world’s riches but weep for despair.
Not all of us have experienced all those things, but can we weep with those who weep? Can we recognize their sorrow, and see through their eyes? Can we be a source of comfort to them, or will we deny and downplay their pain?
Jesus weeps for them, just as he wept for Lazarus, just as he wept for Jerusalem.
He does to this day.
Jesus often said that those with eyes to see should see. Maybe he means that in a literal kind of way. Maybe it’s not just about a mental exercise in which we come to “see” certain spiritual truths. Maybe instead Jesus is talking about the righteousness of weeping with those who weep; to actually have eyes to see through their eyes.
We each in our own way have wept. When our tears meet the tears of others, the righteousness of Christ’s kingdom has drawn near. That is where we can find comfort on earth, even as we await it in heaven.
May Christ’s righteousness be made perfect in us.
May we be the righteousness of Christ.
And may sharing in one another’s tears lead us to the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may comfort others with the comfort that we ourselves have received.
May it be so
AMEN.
Joel Shenk is the pastor of Toledo Mennonite Church and lives in Toledo with his wife and two daughters. Originally from Scottdale, PA, Joel studied at Hesston College, Eastern Mennonite University, and Fuller Theological Seminary. He has been pastoring since 2010 and is also an amateur blacksmith apart of the RAW Tools disarming network turning guns into garden tools. He likes baseball and is an avid fly angler.
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