On Our Mourning

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

Along with the poor, Jesus is always at the side of those who mourn. Our Lord and Savior knew great loss and sorrow and is always ready to comfort all those going through periods (sometimes lifetimes) of mourning. The role of comforter and counselor is at the heart of Jesus Christ and therefore must be at the heart of every Christ follower.

If we say that we are Christians and cause others grief and mourning, we are far from being good disciples, and we might even question if we are disciples at all. Furthermore, if we live in a nation that claims to have Christian principles at its core and yet strips all support for those in times of distress—including those impoverished, those needing refuge, and those without a home—then we are far from really having any form of Christ-likeness in our national identity.

In many ways, true Christ followers will always be outsiders in this present world. We are like pilgrims on a journey, seeking something more than what we’ve found here currently. We find ourselves mourning the world as it is, a world far from the destiny that God desires for it.

Those who mourn are blessed by Jesus Christ, and that blessing is so great that it transforms mourners into wondrous co-comforters alongside Christ. We pray and meditate, drawing closer to God in meaningfully melancholic ways. We do not stay in that space forever though. Instead, we find peace, hope, and joy directly from the Great Comforter and Divine Counselor. We then go on to spread those same blessings to all the world through our daily actions.

Miraculously, mournful wayfarers become chief architects and master builders. We become the doers of God’s restorative justice. We realize that while this world is not perfect, it is this exact world we are destined to renew and rebuild, into the Eternal Kingdom of God. Here, now, and in the ages to come.