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Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Who do you
imagine Jesus was talking to when he said those words? Matthew tells us
that this was the very first sermon ever preached by Jesus, as he sat
down on the side of a mountain with the crowds pushing in, straining to
catch every word. And what words they were. New words, new ideas for a
new world. If your heart is broken, it will be made whole. If your life
is a shambles, it can have meaning. If the bread you eat is
unsatisfying, if it tastes bitter even as you swallow, the sweetness of
comfort is right around the corner.
Who among us does not need to hear that comfort is on
the way? When we think of those who mourn, or grieve, naturally in our
mind we see those who have recently lost loved ones to death. But
mourning is much more varied than that. We mourn the changes in our
life, like getting old or sick. We mourn for relationships that have
gone bad, when angry words and stubborn pride got in the way. We mourn
over the state of the world today, a world that seems to get more
bewildering every hour, more broken. And maybe sometimes we mourn over
our own sins, our own failures. Everybody mourns. Everybody needs
comfort.
In the Book of Genesis we read the angry words that
God intoned as he drove Adam and Eve from the Garden into the outer
chaos: “Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its
yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring
forth to you as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your
face shall you get bread to eat until you return to the ground from
which you were taken; for you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.”
In other words, you will live in a fallen and broken world, and the
bread that gives you life will taste bitter in your mouth.
To this day when the Jewish people celebrate Passover
and gather for their Seder meal, the menu includes items like roasted
lamb and boiled egg that remind them of their deliverance from slavery
in Egypt. But it also includes bitter herbs that symbolize their misery,
and how God heard them weeping and rescued them. Christians take that
story and build on it, knowing that the promise of rescue would be
fulfilled by the presence among us of God’s son Jesus Christ. The Bible
says he was a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief. He understood
what it’s like to mourn, and he longed to help those whose hearts were
filled with pain. He said, “God has sent me to bind up the
broken-hearted and to comfort all who mourn.” He also said, “As a mother
comforts her child, so I will comfort you.”
Guess what, folks? Jesus is still the one—the only
one—to turn to when your heart feels like nothing but a pile of broken
glass that rips open your inner being with every agonizing breath you
take. Look up and see his face when you need comfort.
There once was a Scottish missionary named John Paton,
who fell ill and dying. His friend came to visit him, but was overcome
by the sight of a formerly robust man lying close to death. The friend
blurted out, “I am sorry to see you lying on your back.” Smiling, Paton
asked, “Do you know why God puts us on our backs? So that we may look
upward.” The Jesus that I picture delivering the sermon on the mountain
is the one whose heart is filled with compassion for everyone who heard
him, knowing that all had tasted the bitter bread of life in a broken
and fallen world. To every one of their hearts he whispered the good
news of his message: “Comfort is coming.”
So I’d like to offer you four quick points to
remember whenever life pushes you close to the edge: 1—God is near to
those who cry. Psalm 34 says that God is close to us, but never more so
than we weep. He counts every tear. His heart breaks when our hearts
break. Even when things seem overwhelming and impossible to you, comfort
is coming.
2—God uses suffering and sorrow to draw us closer to
himself. Also in Psalm 34, we read that David called on the name of God
to deliver him from all his fears. Someone put it this way: “You’ll
never know if Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”
Comfort is coming.
3—We grow faster in hard times than we do in good
times. Paul reminded us in his letter to the Romans that suffering leads
to perseverance, which builds character, which leads to hope. Comfort is
coming.
4—Our pain helps us to comfort others. When we weep,
and especially when we weep over others’ pain, then according to Paul in
his second letter to the Corinthians, God will comfort us “so that we
can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have
received from God.” Comfort is coming—and it may be you.
If any of you are grieving this morning, and odds are
that you are many, I beg you to hold on to the promises of scripture.
Here are a few passages that I think are especially moving and healing:
From the Book of Isaiah: “The Sovereign Lord will
wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his
people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.”
From the Book of Revelation: “He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying
or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
And my favorite, from Psalm 30: “For his anger lasts
only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the
night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Larry Libby, whose wife died after 25 years of
marriage, wrote about what he heard in the words of a Jesus who said
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted:” “If you are
filled with grief today, don’t give in to black despair. Cling to my
promise: it will be better. The worst is here now, having its day. But a
better day is coming. Comfort is coming. I tell you, it’s almost here.”
My dear brothers and sisters, you who have tasted the
bitterness of life, come forward this morning and taste the sweetness of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you aren’t sure whether you are
saved, if you haven’t accepted Christ as your personal rock to build a
life upon, if you have been reluctant to give yourself totally into his
protection and care, today’s the day. Blessed are those who mourn, Jesus
said; they will find comfort in his arms.
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