Makarios in Mourning

 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”   (Matthew 5:4 NRSV)

How can you experience Makarios in mourning?

This past December, four loved ones passed: two of them, still young in their early twenties, and one, just six years old…gone.

How can I experience Makarios in that? How can a family, who is mourning the loss of three family members in an instant, be in a state of sublime happiness?

In Jesus’ day, people were experiencing loss as a way of life. Under Roman rule, oppression was the order of the day. Remember, Jesus was a real man living in a historical time. Children, in those days, seldom reached adulthood. People, men, women, and children, living under extremely harsh conditions were dying. Existing in horrific circumstances was all Jesus’ listeners knew, to mourn was their reality.

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4…

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of everyone, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Drawing from this passage in Ecclesiastes, Jesus was helping His audience then and us now, to understand that “makarios” is in our compassion, it’s in our care and lovingkindness toward others, it is in our ability to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).

There is no “blessed” in only mourning for yourself, not having a thought for others.

“Blessed are those who mourn…”

Loss teaches us something. We learn that it’s not about what to cherish but who to cherish. We recognize that those around us matter much more than the things we possess. A lost possession can be replaced but not the people in our lives, they are irreplaceable.

Another translation says,

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” (MSG)

Jesus is telling us that when we mourn, we will be comforted by the only One from whom genuine lasting comfort is provided.   

“…for they will be comforted”

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:4 NRSV)

We have no control over loss and suffering and we mourn over our inability to do so but we have a God who comforts us. We can rely on Him to provide the comfort that’s needed.

Only God can turn our mourning into joy, comfort us, and give us gladness for sorrow. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. (see Jeremiah 31:13) 

What I have presented to you here is just a tiny pixel of a much bigger picture. There is so much more to unpack from Matthew 5:4, but chew on this for today.

 

Amen!

Shelley Johnson "Makarios in Mourning" © January 21, 2025