The Mourning

"Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted."
                                 -Matthew 5:4

We don't particularly like the idea of mourning.  It brings up images of death, black, ashes, graves, depression and various other uncomfortable things.  We are blessed to live in a time and place where people generally live long and robust lives.  Even people who are very ill now have years where they once had days.  Sicknesses like pneumonia, strep throat, and flu are now little more than minor annoyances where they were once death sentences.  Major plagues like polio and small pox have been all but erradicated. 

But it wasn't all that long ago even in the US and Europe where death was all around.  Charles Dickens wrote his novels between 1830 and 1870, roughly 150 years ago and almost all of them include orphans, sick and dying children and the like.  These things were commonplace even then which is fairly recent in the span of human history.  There are places in this world still today where death is all around and mourning the norm rather than the exception.

But even in our priviledged time and place, mourning is near us.  We mourn the loss of loved ones to death, of course, but we also mourn the loss of friendships, career, innocence and many other things.  To dismiss the lament is to dismiss an important part of who we are.  Our sadness is felt by Jesus, who was no stranger to mourning himself.  He mourned the loss of his dear friend, Lazarus; He mourned for Jerusalem which had strayed like a child from the heart of God; He is called a man of sorrows. 

Those who mourn will be comforted by One who knows grief.  He holds them close and has an ear open to listen to their cries.  He sees where everyone weeps. 

So we, too, are called to comfort those who mourn.  We are called to bear each others burdens and to weep with those who weep.  As God's heart is tender to those who weep in their loss, ours' should be as well.  No matter who they are.  Even if our enemy mourns we should be prepared to wipe his tears.  I read recently that it is impossible to hate your enemy when you know where he weeps.  The compassion of Christ permeates us when we are there to comfort those who mourn; and we know that where there is mourning, Christ Himself is also there ready to comfort.