The Sermon on the Mount is challenging, hopeful, and life-giving; but it does not translate easily into our lives. One of the more difficult statements to understand and to embrace is when Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” We are left speechless, trying to comprehend what this means for us.
Mourning does not feel like a blessing. It feels like something to avoid. We want to run from it. We do not want to embrace it. A blessing is not supposed to feel painful. It is supposed to feel joyful and fulfilling, not overwhelming and debilitating.
When we are children riding our bike in the driveway, we inevitably have a crash on the pavement. We cry out for help because we skinned our knee! A parent overhears us from inside and comes running outside to check on us. Our parent scoops us up and takes us inside.
Sitting on the kitchen counter, our parent says, “Let me see it.” We clutch our knee, covering it up, refusing to let our parent see it. We fear it will hurt more if we expose it. But the only way to heal is to let our parent clean it and bandage it.
We mourn so we can allow healing to take place. We express our sadness and speak of our pain because it permits love to hold us and strengthen us.
We will gather on Thursday, November 6 at 5:45 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall for our Blessed Are Those Who Mourn service. Before the holidays, when families will gather, we often times feel the weight of grief. We will acknowledge the grief that lingers and the hope in front of us.
We will gather with others, acknowledging our grief and gaining strength from our solidarity. We will speak of grief and hope, so we can experience the love of God again.
-Tripp Martin