Death Still Stings

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

Don’t misunderstand this Beatitude. Many have misinterpreted this to make it sound like Jesus would go to a funeral and say:

“It’s all good!”

“Don’t worry; be happy!”

“Turn that frown upside down!”

That’s not what Jesus would do. He wouldn’t pretend like death doesn’t hurt. He would acknowledge that it’s ok to be sad, and that tears are appropriate. Death is painful. Death has nothing to do with life. So death hurts and death still stings.

“Blessed are those who mourn” does not mean quit mourning. Press release: mourning is acceptable. Tears are not a sign of faithlessness. Grief is understandable. Granted, God doesn’t want us “to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)  But, it’s not something we can just gloss over or ignore.

Jesus mourned. Two examples…. First, at Lazarus’ funeral, Jesus mourns over a close friend. The shortest verse in the Bible says it all, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) Also, when Jesus pronounced judgment on the city of Jerusalem, he expressed his grief with these words: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37, emphasis added) It takes a lot of insensitivity to not hear His grief there. 

Jesus mourned over the death of His friends and over the destruction of His enemies. Both grieved Him enough that He was willing to die so to remove death’s sting. The Beatitudes show us that we follow Jesus wherever He goes for us. Since He mourned, His disciples will mourn with Him.

In fact, as we follow Jesus we may feel death’s sting even more acutely than others, because we will become more and more aware of just how out of place death is in our lives. We will develop a deep longing for the day death is destroyed.

While we mourn with Jesus, with our blessed Savior we will also be blessed – even in the middle of our mourning. We will long for the day of comfort that this Beatitude promises. We will long for the Day of Resurrection when “the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’” 

Right now, death still stings. Tears fill our eyes. But, those tears will be wiped away. (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4) Don’t grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. But don’t forget that, for now, it’s ok to grieve. 

Lord - reassure us that mourning is ok.  Help us to find our comfort in you and in your resurrection.  Amen.