Blessed are those who mourn....

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" --Matthew 5:4 (NIV)
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you"-- Matthew 5:4 (The Message)

This second of the beatitudes is another blessing in reverse. After Jesus had said that those who are poor in spirit will be blessed with the kingdom of heaven, He then says something to those who mourn.
This verse strikes a chord with most of us. I have read these words as I have stood by a casket in the cemetery, looking into the faces of the people sitting in front me. Tear streaked, broken heart faces. Widows, orphans, parents, children. People who had been grieving, some for a prolonged period of time. And so I spoke these words of Jesus, this blessing even in the very face of death, that this was not the end, that there will be comfort coming. But only after a period of mourning.

I imagine the looks on the faces of the people who were hearing Jesus . Some of these probably weren't used to this type of blessing. Some of them might not have even wanted it. Some were surely confused as Jesus spoke, after all the blessings he pronounced had nothing to do with some of the ways that they had viewed being "blessed".
Being poor. Being in mourning.
But these blessings in the beatitudes transcend the circumstances that we find ourselves in.

But as with all things Jesus, I think He meant more here than just mourning over the loss of a loved one or any other physical or relational mourning. I think that of course this is partly the case. The only comfort that will completely heal and sustain us in times of loss and mourning comes from the presence and touch of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And as we offer comfort to those who are mourning we can be extending this presence of Christ also. But I think here Jesus is also referring to a spiritual trait.
Remember, the first blessing was to those who are poor in spirit, which to an extant means that they are empty of themselves, and in that emptiness they can then be filled with the things of God.
Here, Jesus says a blessing to those who mourn.
When we see what we are normally full of it, and we are asking God to fill us, there is a sense of mourning over who we are. When we see how far we have strayed from the path of God, when we see sin in our lives, and we mourn this state of being, then we repent. We ask God to remove the stains of those sins from us.  We turn away from what is separating us from God, and we begin to be filled with actions and thoughts of love and mercy and grace as we turn our attention to God and continue daily to be filled by Him.

Mourning will not last forever, even though it may seem like it right now.If you are experiencing a mourning in life from the loss of a loved one, a physical or relational issue, a divorce or separation, I want to promise you Jesus offers comfort to you today. Maybe not to take away all the mourning this morning, but to be with you in this process and time of your life.
Psalm 121 :1 says, "I lift my eyes up to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth".

If there is a spiritual mourning in your life today, then I want to promise you that Jesus offers to comfort you also. Perhaps this mourning is the first step in repentance in some area of your life today. Turn from it and ask God to fill you.
Psalm 51:1-2 says, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."

Today may all of us mourners be blessed, for we will be comforted.
#Blessed