WEEK 3: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Jesus

We opened with a prayer and opened ourselves to examining more deeply two primary themes in this beatitude:

• What it means to MOURN
• What it means to BE COMFORTED

We began with an exploration into the old Greek used in the bible for these words as we were reminded that languages do not have one-for-one translations and that we must traverse tongues and ages to reveal the subtler messages in these verses~

"Translators of the beatitudes despair of finding equivalents in English."  Paul S. Minear, The Oxford Companion to the Bible

The classical Greek word used for the idea we translate now into english as "mourn" was PENTHEO.  This word denotes: 

• Grief and sorrow caused by profound loss, especially death.
• A mourning we cannot hide.  It is used especially with exeternal manifestations of grief (in contrast with the word "Lupeomi" which may be used of inward grief)
• Loud mourning such as the lament for the dead or for a severe, painful loss. 
• A continual mourning, rather than a sense of "one and done."

"The Greek Stoics regarded outward manifestations of mourning as something to be avoided.  The seeming pointlessness of it was even a popular theme in Greek Philosophy.  One imagines the shock of listeners, to read Jesus' words which can be paraphrased as "Happy are those who continually mourn as one laments over aloved one who had died."  John MacArthur

PENTHEO appears 45 times in the Greek Old Testament across more than 15 books and is used 10 times in the New Testament.   

Examples in the bible of the use of the word PENTHEO include: 

• Abraham mourning for his wife Sarah (Ge); 
• Jacob mourning for his son Jacob, whom he thought had been killed (Ge 37:34-35); 
• Samuel grieving over Saul and his failure to oben; 
• David for his son Absolom (2Sa 13:37, 19:1)

Next, paired off and discussed two questions~

• What situations and events do we mourn?
• Why do we mourn?

Examples of situations and events we mourn included:

• Death
• Divorce
• Loss of relationships
• Children leaving
• Loss of an opportunity 
• Loss of important or meaningful things (especially things that connect us to a loved one, present or departed)
• Sickness/Illness
• Moving from the familiar to the unfamiliar
• Regrets, Things we perhaps cannot change at this point
• Accidents/Tragedies
• Injustice

We noted that almost all of these have themes of loss.  Even seemingly joyful occasions such as a wedding can provoke mourning, because there may be undercurrents of loss.  We miss the person we love so dearly, and there may be a long period of mourning for this. We may mourn because we feel a loss of hope.  We may mourn because we feel powerless, helpless to alleviate the pain or suffering of others.   We may mourn because we are unable to change a circumstance where we grieved another. 

We then examined how we mourn~how our customs in the US may differ from those in other cultures or other times.  We cry.  We may experience depression.  We may separate ourselves.  We may shut down.  We noted in country, we tend to mourn privately.  We may memorialize our loved ones (create memorial events or rituals or special charity funds); we may create rituals where we remember and acknowledge the birthdays of loved ones.  We visit graves or attend to and visit final resting places of loved ones.  Someone noted the extravagant rituals of the ancient Egyptian Pharoahs who built Pyramids to memorialize.   We noted that in other countries, such as Ethiopia, mourning is a more public and more communal experience.  In Ethiopian traditions, family members and friends gather and sit silently with grieving families for days.  There are formal days where friends and family ritualistically gather throughout the course of the first year of mourning the loss of a loved one.  The grieving family may loudly and very publicly wail with grief.  There is a public witnessing to the pain unlike anything we have in this culture.  

We noted that feelings of sadness or even anger or utter numbness we experience in extreme loss are feelings.  We do not choose to feel our feelings.  We just do.  We considered the words of James Howell who suggests in his book, "The Beatitudes for Today," that the term mourning "elicits action or courageous engagement."  This suggests that rather than avoiding these sometimes scary feelings, Jesus is beckoning us right into the center of the storm~and encouraging us to 'courageously engage' through mourning, and promising even MAKARIA in this.  To not be afraid of this, and to know that it may even be that only in so doing, can we experience the fullest blessing of comfort.

"Mourning elicits action or courageous engagement."  

James C. Howell, The Beatitudes for Today

Next we explored what it means to be comforted. 

We first examined some of the ways we comfort one another humanly~

• Hugs
• Listening
• Bringing food
• Being there
• Praying with, or for, another
• Touch
• Cards
• Letters
• Logistical help with day-to-day needs

We then delved into the origins behind our modern translation~

 The Greek word used here - PARAKELEO - literally means "to call to one's side."  So it refers to the act of calling someone to one's side in order to help one (http://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew_54-5.htm).  

One of our new members, Tim, stirred each of our hearts when he shared the story of being by his father's side in the last weeks, days and moments of his father's life.  He recited (from memory) the prayer he prayed for and with his father in his father's final moments, blessing his father as he left this earth to be wholly with God.  The class spontaneously erupted with "Amen" in response.  

It is worth noting that Jesus does not promise that all pain will go away never to be suffered again.  Rather, Jesus suggests we will not be alone, that we will experience help, and that we will experience His blessing in this.           

John MacArthur observes in his bible commentary that the phrase,"Shall be comforted" is future tense, which might at first suggest one would have to wait until we see the face of Jesus in order to receive comfort." But bible historians note that the term used in Matthew 5:4 implies future only in the sense that the blessing comes after the obedience; the comfort comes after the mourning.   This particular word in Greek also is used to indicate certainty. 

Some biblical scholars believe this verse also refers to a state of spiritual mourning of our sins.  That, following the previous beatitude of "poor in spirit," where we may humbly see ourselves as we are before God, we may then mourn this and in so doing experience the comfort and grace of God.

As a final activity, we each took a sticky note and individually pondered how we might turn our own past or present mourning into action or courageous

engagement. 

[I will post these in the next day!]

HOMEWORK~

• What are some ways you could imagine "courageously engaging" with this beatitude could bless you?
• Write this week's beatitude on  note at home and put it on your mirror, or keep it where you can see it.  How do you feel it changing you.

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Short on time this week?  One of our class members feels Micah 6:8 offers a succinct summary of the Beatitudes~

"He has told you what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8