Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4
μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται
This is parallel to Luke’s
Blessed are you who weep now,
Luke 6:21a
for you will laugh.
μακάριοι οἱ κλαίοντες νῦν ὅτι γελάσετε
“those who mourn (or grieve)” is a present active participle (nominative plural) of πενθέω (pentheō) to mourn or lament – from the root πένθος (penthos) mourning.
Jesus himself gives examples of grieving, of mourning, weeping at the tomb of Lazarus and over Jerusalem.
There is, slowly, a rediscovery of the place of lament. The regular/daily praying of the psalms can provide the emotional and spiritual alphabet – so many of them are laments. The book of Lamentations laments over the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus laments as his death draws near. Lament turns to God, brings our grief, seeks help, and trusts God in the midst of brokenness. Work your way through the psalms and discover how many of them are laments [try Psalm 88]. The whole creation is groaning in labour pains. We are right to grieve about the pandemic, unemployment, economic uncertainty, death, relationship issues, violence, poverty, inequality, injustice, loneliness, abuse, addiction,…
Is the reward in the present? Or is the reward of mourning in the future? Is God rewarding mourning, or is the reward intrinsic to mourning?
As this year the Sunday Gospel reading focus is on St Matthew’s Gospel, I thought I’d start some of my personal study and Lectio Divina with that Gospel. [NB. I am using ‘Matthew’ as a convenient term for the author of the first Gospel in the order of the Christian canon].
This is the thirty-fifth post in a series – you can begin here:
Matthew in Slow Motion 1
Matthew in Slow Motion 2
Matthew in Slow Motion 3
Matthew in Slow Motion 4
Matthew in Slow Motion 5
Matthew in Slow Motion 6
Matthew in Slow Motion 7
Matthew in Slow Motion 8
Matthew in Slow Motion 9
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Matthew in Slow Motion 11
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Matthew in Slow Motion 21
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