The Good Life: A series through the Sermon on the Mount Good news for those who mourn Intro: my whole life has been one of denial. A friend once deeply wounded me, and I didn t know how to handle it. Lazotitude: Blessed are those who suck it up. In my more recent years, this Lazotitude has proven to be destructive. It ate away at me, and eventually gave way to bitterness. All because I didn t know how to mourn rightly. Define mourning Context is the exile in Isaiah 61:1-3 (ESV) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; Matthew 5:4 (pray) he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion Mourning in this context has to do with an intense sense of loss and helplessness 1 Cultural problems with mourning Instead of facing hurt, pain, and loss, people try to avoid it at all costs. But you can t avoid suffering, so when it comes, we medicate instead of mourn. Alcohol Drugs Work Pornography Television Social media Sleep Jesus response: expect to find in the kingdom those who ve been mourning because of loss New schedule Facebook 1 Robert A. Guelich. The Sermon on the Mount: Foundations for Understanding. (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982) p.100-101 1 of 7
How this effects mourning in the church We don t know how to mourn. So this beatitude is lost on us. We see this in The way we deal with our own tragedy e.g., funeral celebrations The way we deal with the tragedies of others 4 ways we comfort those who are mourning 2 I. Correction A. Example: Don t be sad; God is in control, everything happens for a reason, etc. B. Interpretation: being sad is not biblical, and feelings are sinful unless they are super spiritual, so buck up, worship God, and move on with your life. II. Hijacking A. Example: You know, I had a similar experience once let me tell you all about it. B. Interpretation: Your situation isn t that bad; you should sympathize with ME. III. Explanation A. Example: God is sovereign, and he has a reason for doing this. B. Interpretation: You re doomed by a God who doesn t care, so stop crying. IV. Enthusiasm A. Example: God is good It s gonna be OK Praise the LORD Hallelujah Wowie B. Interpretation: I am not in touch with reality, or your situation; your sadness is depressing and is making me uncomfortable. I am going to numb the awkwardness by singing worship songs to myself, and quoting scriptures about victory in Christ. All of these are common, and they all have one thing in common: We think grief is wrong. But the Bible uniquely embraces grief and mourning 3 Job AP Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth (3:1) In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. (1:22) you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. (42:7) Elijah AP And he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers (1 Kings 19:4-5) 2 Taken from my blog post. 5 Wrong Ways To Comfort Hurting People. April 24, 2012. http:// doctrineontap.com/2012/04/24/5-wrong-ways-to-comfort-hurting-people/ Accessed Oct 3, 2014 3 Of course, this is not to be confused with feelings of self-pity, but a godly grief. 2 of 7
King David AP The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice (2 Samuel 19:4) He also wrote many Psalms, half of which are laments. Jeremiah AP Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail? He also wrote Lamentations about the sin and judgment of Israel (15:18) The apostle Paul AP I am speaking the truth in Christ I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (Romans 9:1-3) For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10) But we see mourning most vividly in Jesus, himself Jesus wept over the death of his friend, Lazurus (John 11:35) Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and wept (Luke 19:41) When his cousin was beheaded, he withdrew by himself (Matt 14:13) God often speaks most deeply in the midst of our grief and mourning C.S. Lewis We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains 4 C.S. Lewis You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life or death to you 5 This type of mourning is all over the Psalms The Laments Psalm 142 Psalm 88 > anyone feel awkward? Why? Because the Psalms are more real than we are. The Psalmists face their hurts, pain, suffering, feelings of despair, and bring it before God in all the honesty they can muster. This isn t just real, it s worship to God, because it assumes He can handle it. I was not there, so I began praying the Psalms. 4 C.S. Lewis. The Problem of Pain: How Human Suffering Raises Almost Intolerable Intellectual Problems. (New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1962) p.93 5 C.S. Lewis. A Grief Observed. 3 of 7
e.g., Psalm 55 - how I prayed this back to God Also from church-culture: Don t listen to your feelings. But the Psalms contradict this 6 Peter Scazzero (Emotionally Healthy Spirituality) When we do not process before God the very feelings that make us human, such as fear or sadness or anger, we leak. Our churches are filled with leaking Christians who have not treated their emotions as a discipleship issue. Grieving is not possible without paying attention to our anger and sadness. Most people who fill churches are nice and respectable. Few explode in anger at least in public. The majority, like me, stuff these difficult feelings, trusting that God will honor our noble efforts. The result is that we leak through in soft ways such as passive-aggressive behavior (e.g., God made your feelings. He gave you your emotions. He enabled you to feel grief. Before we can understand this Beatitude, we must address our assumptions. Grieving is healthy. But this Beatitude takes mourning to another level What s the difference between mourning and being poor in spirit? showing up late), sarcastic remarks, a nasty tone of voice, and the giving of the silent treatment. 7 Poor in spirit refers to the awareness that something is wrong. Mourning refers to the remorse over what s wrong. 8 Mourning in Matt: Grief over evil, sin, suffering. Life isn t supposed to be this way. - A son who isn t following the Lord - A loved one who is caught in addiction - A homeless person on the street - The abortion clinic - ISIS - Human trafficking Isaiah 22:12 (ESV) AP In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth Hosea 5:15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me. 6 It should be noted that while we should listen to our feelings, they are not authoritative God s Word is. 7 Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash a Revolution in Your Life in Christ. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2006) p.143-144 8 John Stott, on this Beatitude: It is plain from the context that those here promised comfort are not primarily those who mourn the loss of a loved one, but those who mourn the loss of their innocence, their righteousness, their self-respect. It is not the sorrow of bereavement to which Christ refers, but the sorrow of repentance. This is the second stage of spiritual blessing. It is one thing to be spiritually poor and acknowledge it; it is another to grieve and to mourn over it. The Message of the Sermon on the Mount. (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1978) p.40-41 4 of 7
Daniel 9:3,5 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes we have sinned and done wrong Either repentance for personal involvement, or general grief over the falleness of everything Romans 8:22-23 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Ecclesiastes 3:4 a time to mourn The good news of the Kingdom: those who mourning because the suffering of this life is out of your control, and you know it, and are broken over it you will be comforted. God doesn t just sympathize with our pain, He entered into it. Romans 8:3 (NLT) AP He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have John 1:14a (ESV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Galatians 3:13 (ESV) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree Isaiah 53:4-6 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. But how? Colossians 2:15 (ESV) He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. 5 of 7
1 Corinthians 15:24-26 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. The story of the Bible is that our God grieves with us over suffering, enters into our suffering, and is doing something to bring suffering to an end. So when we mourn and grieve, we do it differently it s not just a pity-party. We grieve out of hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) God comforts us, not by removing us from the grief of this present age, but by teaching us how to embrace him in the midst of it all Timothy Keller (Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering) There is a tendency for us to say, I am afraid of the grief, I am afraid of the sorrow. I don t want to feel that way. I want to rejoice in the Lord. But look at Jesus. He was perfect, right? And yet he goes about crying all the time. He is always weeping, a man of sorrows. Do you know why? Because he is perfect. Because when you are not all absorbed in yourself, you can feel the sadness of the world. And therefore, what you actually have is that the joy of the Lord happens inside the sorrow. It doesn t come after the sorrow. It doesn t come after the uncontrollable weeping. The weeping drives you into the joy, it enhances the joy, and then the joy enables you to actually feel your grief without its sinking you. In other words, you are finally emotionally healthy 9 Job 42:5: I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Comforting others Not by denying, escaping, or controlling. But by entering into the sufferings of others. We weep with those who weep. We mourn. We listen. We pray. In doing so, we show hurting people that their experiences are real, and worthy of attention. We show them a God who does not deny suffering, but enters into it with them. We show them by entering into their sorrow with them. It s often those who know how to mourn well, that also know how to comfort well. 9 Timothy Keller. Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. (New York, NY: Penguin, 2013) p.253 6 of 7
[call worship team] I [Lazo] was wrong. It s not those who suck it up who are comforted by God. Nor is it those who are simply bereaved who are comforted by God. It is those who are overwhelmed as they look at their pain, sin, brokenness, spiritual poverty, and despair, and are broken by it. and driven by a desire to see things set right To these who mourn in this way, God promises comfort. But perhaps you don t know how. Uncomfortable silence Some of you are hiding deep wounds. Some have been there for years. God wants to heal you, restore you, lovingly shepherd you. But you must learn to mourn over what s not right. Not right in society. Not right in your family. Not right at work. Not right in relationships. But most importantly, what s not right in you. It s easy to let the celebratory nature of our worship gatherings conveniently allow us to passover the uncomfortable pain in our life. We can even use something as beautiful as worship music to do that. But today, we re going to take the promise of Jesus at face value, and create a space for morning to happen. Don t worry Only like 2 minutes of SILENCE. But it may be the most uncomfortable 2 minutes of your life. Let the HS investigate your heart, mind, and soul. And if there s something there, perhaps you need to let it rise to the surface, to be grieved over. And eventually to be healed. This may be scary. But the promise of God reassures us Isaiah 42:1-3 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench 7 of 7