The Beatitudes – Blessed are those who mourn
This is the third day that I have chosen to write on one of the Beatitudes which in my mind are consistent with the teachings of Buddha and other wise teachers. Again I want to give credit to Michael Longley, the poet, who in a November 2016 conversation with Krista Tippett on On Being, referred to Jesus as the “proto-socialist.” This prompted me to revisit and meditate on the Beatitudes. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted is my focus today.
Of all the Beatitudes this seems to me the one least open to misinterpretation or confusion. Certainly all of us understand the concept of mourning The Greek word is pentheò – to mourn or lament. It can also mean to feel guilt Some scholars remind us that we could be grieving a personal relationship that ends because of death or for other reasons; we could be grieving the loss of a dream/hope, a possession or a faculty. As we are aging we might mourn the change in hair distribution, the ability to easily move about, or the ability to recall words, events or other information. Humans, being human, often deeply feel the loss of something or someone. Some losses one never survives – the death of a child, the death of a soul mate, or the death of that person to whom he did not make amends – that person from whom he did not beg forgiveness. As noted above the Greek word used here is pentheò: to mourn or to lament. The word lament is intended to imply a passionate expression. Although not as comprehensive as the Greek word thrénéo, the word does suggest weeping and wailing.
The implication here is that the person mourning has found the strength to mourn and has not just given up or escaped into a catatonic state. They carry on as best as possible. despite the fact that it may feel impossible to imagine a life without that which has gone. Coming to term with the fact that life does not move backwards; that we cannot correct the wrong we have caused someone; we cannot have one last moment to make amends or undo the foolish action we have done; we cannot have one more attempt to save that adored child.
No, mourning implies that we will, in all our pain, move forward – perhaps inch by inch, but we will move forward and attempt to do whatever we are here to do.
Jesus does not imply any restrictions on how long they will be comforted. He does not say, “Well, we will comfort those who mourn as long as they do not make us uncomfortable. We will comfort those who mourn as long as they do so privately or only for the time which humans decide is permitted.” No, he simply says, “Blessed are they who mourn, but they will be comforted.”
I was also thinking that Jesus does not imply that comfort should be withheld from those who “merely” mourn the loss of their illusions. For example, there are still those who mourn the loss of innocence over mistreatment of certain groups; who mourn the loss of assurance that, in fact, one can be on a spiritual path and still think that some are less worthy because of race, age, sexual orientation, religious framework, or other socially constructed labels. This person, Jesus, seems to often carry his beliefs to the extremes. He apparently forgets that some are more deserving than others; that we can measure the “sin points” of each other and assure ourselves that person X is more sinful than person Y. Jesus would, as would Buddha, make a terrible presidential candidate. He would find it difficult or impossible to judge the other candidates. He would be restricted to focusing on positive suggestions for how we share resources equally among all of us. He would not use words like lazy, shiftless, disgusting, deplorable, or others descriptions of those underserving souls who are opponents.
Some have suggested that the pain of those who will lose certain jobs or career paths is their own fault; have suggested that we do not need to mourn with them. Some suggest that to mourn with them is to tell them lies such as “We can go backwards. We can pretend that black lung does not have an equivalent for the environment.” We can pretend that we will again have a civilized society in which we ignore racism and other isms. We can pretend that the often the wealth of those who are such generous benefactors was gotten on the backs of many others.”
No, the love which Jesus, Buddha and others advocate is not patronizing. Respect demands truth and not lies. Yet, it also demands comfort for all who mourn their loss.
Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.
Written November 6, 2016
This is the third day that I have chosen to write on one of the Beatitudes which in my mind are consistent with the teachings of Buddha and other wise teachers. Again I want to give credit to Michael Longley, the poet, who in a November 2016 conversation with Krista Tippett on On Being, referred to Jesus as the “proto-socialist.” This prompted me to revisit and meditate on the Beatitudes. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted is my focus today.
Of all the Beatitudes this seems to me the one least open to misinterpretation or confusion. Certainly all of us understand the concept of mourning The Greek word is pentheò – to mourn or lament. It can also mean to feel guilt Some scholars remind us that we could be grieving a personal relationship that ends because of death or for other reasons; we could be grieving the loss of a dream/hope, a possession or a faculty. As we are aging we might mourn the change in hair distribution, the ability to easily move about, or the ability to recall words, events or other information. Humans, being human, often deeply feel the loss of something or someone. Some losses one never survives – the death of a child, the death of a soul mate, or the death of that person to whom he did not make amends – that person from whom he did not beg forgiveness. As noted above the Greek word used here is pentheò: to mourn or to lament. The word lament is intended to imply a passionate expression. Although not as comprehensive as the Greek word thrénéo, the word does suggest weeping and wailing.
The implication here is that the person mourning has found the strength to mourn and has not just given up or escaped into a catatonic state. They carry on as best as possible. despite the fact that it may feel impossible to imagine a life without that which has gone. Coming to term with the fact that life does not move backwards; that we cannot correct the wrong we have caused someone; we cannot have one last moment to make amends or undo the foolish action we have done; we cannot have one more attempt to save that adored child.
No, mourning implies that we will, in all our pain, move forward – perhaps inch by inch, but we will move forward and attempt to do whatever we are here to do.
Jesus does not imply any restrictions on how long they will be comforted. He does not say, “Well, we will comfort those who mourn as long as they do not make us uncomfortable. We will comfort those who mourn as long as they do so privately or only for the time which humans decide is permitted.” No, he simply says, “Blessed are they who mourn, but they will be comforted.”
I was also thinking that Jesus does not imply that comfort should be withheld from those who “merely” mourn the loss of their illusions. For example, there are still those who mourn the loss of innocence over mistreatment of certain groups; who mourn the loss of assurance that, in fact, one can be on a spiritual path and still think that some are less worthy because of race, age, sexual orientation, religious framework, or other socially constructed labels. This person, Jesus, seems to often carry his beliefs to the extremes. He apparently forgets that some are more deserving than others; that we can measure the “sin points” of each other and assure ourselves that person X is more sinful than person Y. Jesus would, as would Buddha, make a terrible presidential candidate. He would find it difficult or impossible to judge the other candidates. He would be restricted to focusing on positive suggestions for how we share resources equally among all of us. He would not use words like lazy, shiftless, disgusting, deplorable, or others descriptions of those underserving souls who are opponents.
Some have suggested that the pain of those who will lose certain jobs or career paths is their own fault; have suggested that we do not need to mourn with them. Some suggest that to mourn with them is to tell them lies such as “We can go backwards. We can pretend that black lung does not have an equivalent for the environment.” We can pretend that we will again have a civilized society in which we ignore racism and other isms. We can pretend that the often the wealth of those who are such generous benefactors was gotten on the backs of many others.”
No, the love which Jesus, Buddha and others advocate is not patronizing. Respect demands truth and not lies. Yet, it also demands comfort for all who mourn their loss.
Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.
Written November 6, 2016
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