Matthew 5:1-11
“Grief is unbearable heartache, sorrow, loneliness,” writes Rabbi Earl A. Grollman, a pioneer in crisis intervention. When you are in deep mourning, Rabbi Grollman says, “You find no pleasure in anything or anyone. You feel naked, unprotected.” (Living When a Loved One Has Died, p. 14 & 43.) We have all felt the raw emotion of mourning a loss. Mourning the loss of someone or something (a pet, dream, job, or hope) is very painful.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4 NRSVUE)
This is a tough beatitude to read. I have to admit that my first response--my gut response-- to Jesus’ words in this verse is bewilderment, disbelief, and even anger. How can mourning--how can feeling deep sorrow--be connected to blessing? To even suggest that connection almost feels like Jesus is glossing over the pain of grief, like he is glibly uttering some kind of platitude like, “Don’t worry, be happy… Chin up--It’s not that bad... Tomorrow’s another day.”
But, thanks be to God, that is not what Jesus is saying. Participating in an online webinar, the presenter helped me understand these words in a new way. She said that the meaning of his words becomes clearer when we look at them in the original language that Jesus spoke, Aramaic. She referenced the book “The Hidden Gospel” written by scholar and mystic, Neil Douglas-Klotz.
Neil Douglas-Klotz offers these translations based on the original Aramaic:
- Healthy are those weak and overextended for their purpose; they shall feel their inner flow of strength return.
- Healed are those who weep for their frustrated desire; they shall see the face of fulfillment in a new form.
- Tuned to the Source are those feeling deeply confused by life; they shall be returned from their wandering.
- Aligned with the One are the mourners; they shall be comforted. (D-K, pg. 51)
We know what that’s like, don’t we? We know what it is like to experience deep pain, to mourn a loss, and, in our mourning, to share a deep connection with the people around us, in whose faces we see compassion and recognition. I dare say that is part of why we come to church. We come because we know that we are not alone. Those who worship with us have also experienced both the pain of loss and the joy of healing. We know they walk with us in faith and understand what we are going through. In worship, we experience together the joy of smiling through our tears because we believe in God’s promise that death, that loss, is not the final end of things. “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”
Listen:
- Blessed (Tony Alonso) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPYUOZRcPPI
Question for Reflection:
- There is an old Swedish proverb that goes something like this, “Joy that is shared is doubled; sorrow that is shared is cut in half.” Has this been your experience?
Prayer:
Blessing God, may we live in the promise and truth that you are always blessing us so that we may be a blessing to others. Amen.
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