Jesus knew that from mourning comes encouragement

In considering the beatitudes found in chapter five of the Matthew gospel, the reader must constantly be reminded of what it means to be blessed.

Short definitions of the blessed estate all fall short. Accepting the dangers of oversimplification, it is that state when a person is whole, complete and deeply satisfied.

Jesus was not a big fan of the 10 Commandments. His criticism of those who wanted everyone to keep a long list of rules was scathing. Keeping rules may help people stay out of trouble, but seldom does rule-keeping lead a person to the truly complete and satisfying life. Jesus did not hesitate to break the religious rules of his day. He was much more interested in loving and helping people experience the joy of a full life freely lived.

I suspect the spirit of Jesus is pained every time a well-meaning American tacks up a copy of the 10 Commandments in a public place.

The nine beatitudes are the declaration of Jesus about how to achieve a truly full life. The writer of Matthew understood this. It is notable that the Matthew writer puts the beatitudes at the beginning of his summary of the teachings of Jesus. Further, it is notable that these sayings are delivered from a mountain top.

Moses received the 10 Commandments at the top of Mt. Sinai. Jesus’ challenge to law keeping could not come from a seaside sermon, a synagogue declaration or a teaching session by the Jordan River. It had to come from a mountain setting.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This is the second beatitude.

Our society does not place a priority on mourning. There are times when we accept mourning as temporarily appropriate. In my own lifetime, the nation mourned the death of President John F. Kennedy. Most, but not all, of the nation mourned the death of Martin Luther King Jr. We mourned because the deaths of Kennedy and King represented more than the loss of human life. With each, we saw idealism, compassion and justice die. The deaths of these two men were truly tragic in the eyes of many.

Mourning should be our natural response to the loss of anyone or anything that is essential to the thriving of the human race. In the Jesus understanding of the kingdom of God on earth, mourning is an essential ingredient.

When there is a lack of mourning, it is a signal there is a lack of awareness of the reconciling work that needs to be done among human beings.

I have always been a fan of Bill Cosby. He is in the news now because of a new book he has written in conjunction with a Harvard professor. Cosby is in mourning. He mourns for what is happening among African Americans. Too many are school dropouts and too many are ending up in jail.

Cosby, I truly believe, cares about what is happening to his fellow African Americans. He has plenty of money and fame. He could withdraw and live “the good life.” But he cannot. He cares too much and the caring leads him to mourning.

His mourning continues because we Americans know what to do to address the problems, but refuse to do it.

Many things would change if we had enough people mourning our American tragedies. Take your pick. Our insane war in Iraq. The stupidity of rationed health care, reserved for the select classes that can afford it.

The selfish lack of funding for a first-rate education system for every American. The callous denial of fair treatment to poor people in our judicial system. The injustice of low wages that leaves hard-working people in poverty. The entrenched racial bigotry prevalent in America.

I hope Cosby can be successful in his pursuit of justice for African Americans. For that to happen many more Americans need to join him in his mournful plea.

In the Jesus scheme of understanding, there is no hope for positive change until people care enough to mourn the things that are wrong.

In this beatitude, there is found a hopeful promise; “for they shall be comforted.” How can a person find comfort in mourning? I took a quick look in my Greek New Testament to review the translation. While the Greek still leaves us a language away from Jesus (he spoke Aramaic, a linguistic cousin of Hebrew), the Greek gives us some help. The phrase could be translated “for they shall be encouraged.”

When we find ourselves in mourning, it is a signal we care about something important. Out of caring comes encouragement because we know we are on the right side of things.

The fulfilled life is boosted when we care enough to mourn the things that need to be changed.

The Rev. Howard Bess is the pastor of Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.