Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn

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

Public mourning is something that has died out (no pun intended) in our society. Most people don’t were black armbands anymore. We can’t identify a widow by her clothing. Our mourning has become quite different from that in Jesus day. This is not to say that we don’t mourn. It is just that we generally do it privately. The person who sat beside me on the bus this morning could have recently lost a loved one. I would have no way of knowing. In our culture we find each other’s mourning distasteful. We encourage people to take "personal days" till they get over it?

I have been thinking about how that changes our view of the beatitude. Jesus lived in a culture where mourning was group activity. I keep being drawn to the shortest verse in the Bible. "Jesus wept." John 11:35

John 11 is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is an interesting story. Jesus knows right from the start that "This sickness will not end in death" (verse 4). He even tells the disciples, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." (Verse 12). When the disciples don’t get it he tells them "Lazarus is dead" (Verse 14).
So if Jesus knows he is going to raise Lazarus, why does he weep?
John 11:32-35 (NIV) 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35 Jesus wept.

I would say most people react one of two ways when they see someone crying. They either flee or they try to get the person to stop crying. In Jesus case, he joins them in mourning. He doesn’t do what most of us would, and say "There, there, stop crying I am going to raise Lazarus". He weeps. I think this is a powerful lesson for anyone who works with people with developmental disabilities or in any ministry. Our first instinct should be to empathize. Empathy needs to precede care. Rather than solving whatever problem the person has we should first come along side them and get in touch with their sorrow. Isn’t that the best way to love them?

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

I find it comforting to know that when I weep, the God of the universe weeps, whether he takes away my problem or not.

Mark Wallace, Manager of Pastoral Supports Christian Horizons.