A Kingdom for the Brokenhearted
For Meditation (corey Widmer)
“Who are the mourners? The mourners are those who have caught a glimpse of God's new day, who ache with all their being for that day’s coming, and who break out into tears when confronted with its absence …. The mourners are aching visionaries.” – Nicholas Wolterstorff
We are exploring the upside-down Kingdom of Jesus through the lens of the beatitudes. Through these counter-intuitive blessings, Jesus is turning our understanding of the “blessed life” on its head, and giving us a different picture of what it means to flourish. In this second of his nine beatitudes, Jesus blesses the person who is mourning, grieving and brokenhearted.
How could this be? Avoiding grief and suffering is practically an American pastime- how could Jesus bless those who mourn? Jesus seems to be tapping into the Old Testament prophetic tradition of lamentation- naming what is truly wrong with our lives and the world, in order that we might more deeply yearn and hope for God's healing to come. Those who grieve the most, yearn the most for a new world.
And Jesus promises comfort for those who grieve. This promise is in the future tense “They will be comforted.” And yet, we can know the comforting presence of God even in the midst of our sorrow. The good life is available to those who are brokenhearted.
In preparation for worship this week, read and reflect on Isaiah 61:1-4, and imagine how it may have influenced Jesus' words in the second beatitude.
Matthew 5:1–4
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.”