light
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What do you guys think about that? It seems like mourning is definitely a bad thing.. I always think of it as selfish to mourn, because you’re not bringing anyone up around you but rather bringing them down with you. It just seems so selfish to me to take pity on yourself. So what does it mean exactly then when it says “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted”? Does it just mean that those that mourn will mourn no more when they turn to Spirit?
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Annette-D
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To me it means if you mourn, you’re blessed, because right in that place of despair is the comfort of omnipresent, divine Love.
It certainly doesn’t mean you have to mourn to BE blessed. :)
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Benjamin
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Heya sister @light, I love this genuine idea of understanding our spiritual nature: “trials are proof of God’s care.” It’s alright to be working through some rough ideas.
@annette-d, I think you’re on the right track with that, but let’s refine the idea a bit. I don’t think you NEED to mourn in order to be blessed.
Take a look at the form of that beatitude. It says “blessed” – not they will eventually be blessed, or blessings will come to those that mourn. The -ed form indicates past tense of bless. So what does this mean? The mourning have already been blessed. God already looks upon that person as whole, complete, comforted, and able.
Moot point: God sees that person as divinely complete. He ain’t spendin’ no time focusing on that persons sorrows, or anything that shows him anything less than how God made him.
I think the challenge with most people isn’t asking God to see them perfectly, it’s to see themselves as perfect in God. I think it’s perfectly fine to mourn, to show pain or disappointment. I don’t think it’s wise to stay in that state for too long. It’s a very honest position that readys you for change. It may be a very preliminary sign of humility, really.
I think about repentance as well. To mourn and to repent are not far off from one another. Repentance is a beautiful idea to do some personal research on.
So what about the “for they shall be comforted” part? I think comfort is the natural result of better understanding your God-like identity. It’s the natural result of healing work.
Ben
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This reply was modified 110 days ago by Benjamin.
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Gordon
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This is a fantastic question, @light ! And yes, I definitely think you’re onto it when you say that they will no longer mourn when they turn to Spirit. Look at the second clause of that beatitude, the “because…” part. Jesus says “for they shall be comforted.”
If someone was always mourning over everything in an excessive “Woe is me!”, my life is so hard with all my first-world problems, sort of way, then you’re right that it would be a selfish mentality. But I don’t really think that’s the kind of attitude Jesus was talking about here. I noticed yesterday that a young lady named Stephanie posted something on the TMCYouth Facebook page reaching out for help because her father just passed away. And immediately some friends responded by linking her to some helpful articles that other authors had written about how they handled things when their loved ones passed away. I was very happy to see the outpouring of love and support for this individual.
And that’s more of the state of thought that Jesus is really speaking to. If your mom were to die, that might make you want to cry! And there’s nothing wrong with that mourning period, because that kind of thing can be very sad to think about. One of the things that speaks to me is that even if you do find yourself in an unfortunate circumstance like that, where someone you love and care deeply about has been taken away, that there is a divine law that says you are especially blessed and will be comforted. Mrs. Eddy talks a bit about angels in Science and Health, and says this: “These angels deliver us from the depths. Truth and Love come nearer in the hour of woe, when strong faith or spiritual strength wrestles and prevails through the understanding of God.” Because it’s in those times of mourning, or “the hour of woe” as she calls it, that we really need to feel Truth and Love the most! How wonderful that there is a divine decree that Truth and Love will and do come nearer to us through those trials.
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Chet
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I think Ben touched on a really important point: the idea of repentance as a huge step toward feeling closer to God, i.e. comforted. When we shed some honest tears about ways of thinking or behaving that are unlike our true nature as God’s children, then we discover who we really are. Think of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet w her tears – her reward was spiritual rebirth as Jesus helped her see her true individuality. I also agree w others about how the idea of mourning as it relates to losing people or things we love is what often turns us from matter to Spirit. Mary Baker Eddy wrote about this in her autobiography, “A realization of the shifting scenes of human happiness, and of the frailty of mortal anticipations, — such as first led me to the feet of Christian Science, — seems to be requisite at every stage of advancement” (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 81).
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MikeDavis
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I think it’s helpful to consider this beatitude (and the rest of them) in their historical context. A position taken by many mainstream Bible scholars is that the historical Jesus was a Jewish apocalyptic prophet who proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God, and that he and his followers believed that the Kingdom was even then beginning to break into human experience through his healing work. Early Jewish and Christian apocalypticists believed that the full coming of the Kingdom would involve the absolute destruction of Satan and all his works. Sin, sickness, and death were viewed as primary “works” of Satan that would no longer have any claim to existence when the presence of God’s kingdom, or reign, was completely demonstrated. Jesus’ apocalyptic teachings about the Kingdom involved the idea of radical reversal. Those who were striving to live in accord with God’s law, but were burdened by sickness, for example, would no longer be so when the Kingdom was fully come. Sickness could have no claim to existence when God’s government of His universe was completely apparent. Scholars feel that the beatitudes (stated even more starkly in Luke’s gospel) illustrate this principle of reversal. In the case of the beatitude being considered in this thread, those good people who mourn will inevitably be comforted because death itself is slated for absolute destruction. It cannot exist in the Kingdom of God, and anything it claimed to have taken from these people will be restored. Thus, they will be comforted. In fact, in the presence of Jesus the Christ (Messiah), some were already being comforted through having their dead raised by Jesus. This was a foretaste of what was (is) to come for those who inherit the Kingdom.
So, as I see it, Jesus, in making this statement was probably not thinking that there is a technique that people might be able to use to get them through rough times, nor was it a recognition that people often get over their grief because of the sheer passage of time. Jesus and the early Christians knew that those who mourn would inevitably be comforted because death itself (and all that it claimed to do) was being wiped out. Jesus’ raising the dead was a foretaste of the final destruction of death itself.
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Annette-D
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Wow, Mike! This is really useful info. I’m going to take a closer look at the beatitudes w/ this in mind. Cool. Thanks for sharing that w/ us.
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Gordon
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@MikeDavis , I LOVE what you’ve said here! “Christians knew that those who mourn would inevitably be comforted because death itself (and all that it claimed to do) was being wiped out.” And pointing out that this passage has nothing to do with the passage of time — basically that time is only mortal measurement and not a healer — is so stellar. Thank you!
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SpiritualWeaver
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I look at this beatitude in the light of spiritual development to see why “mourning” and “blessedness” are coincidental, — occurring at the same time.
When i was just learning math as a child, I used marbles or blocks, (some kind of form) to illustrate that 2+2=4. As I advanced in my understanding these forms were no longer needed. Had I continued to rely on them through attachment, I would not have been able to continue to higher mathematics.
Just so, in the light of SPIRITUAL development, forms disappear ONLY as we have sufficiently developed to be able to imbibe the essence and spirit of what those forms represented in our individual lives.
Jesus taught us this most clearly when he said, “If I go not away the comforter will not come unto you.” He knew that we must imbibe the spirit of his life and ministry into our own hearts. We cannot continue to rely on the form if we are to advance spiritually. He knew that “attachment to form” results in mourning. Yet, he also knew that if he went away, that mourning would be turned into joy when we recognized the spirit of Christ alive in our hearts.
Therefore, the seeming disappearance of form is truly the appearance of its essence and spirit in our own heart. It is divine proof that spiritual development has occured. Even as we mourn we are blessed. The parent or grandparent who represented wisdom, guidance, love, — appears to have changed form, — has already risen in the heart. Divine Love now calls forth these qualities to be expressed in our own life and heart.
Why seek ye the living among the dead? — he is not here (in form), but is risen (in our hearts) (Luke 24:5)
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Gordon
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@spiritualweaver , I just have to say that I love your reply here. I really got A LOT out of it! Thanks so much. :D
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