Last time we saw that being poor in Spirit is a frequent occurrence in life, and that we are blessed by God, who has given us the kingdom of heaven because of his never-ending-love.
The second beatitude is a direct complement to the first:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt:5:4).
Mourning can mean many things – a “downer” feeling wrung from the ills of life; sorrow on account of committed sins; death of a loved one; or in today’s world, a great overpowering loss caused by world events, mass shootings, and political mayhem.
Poor in spirit is the feeling of “I am losing the battle,” while mourning is the resulting expression external to our hearts: “Woe is me, I do not know what to do or were to go.” Mourning is an outgrowth of spiritual poverty, the first beatitude, almost as cause and effect.
Mourning, too, happens often in life. The loving care God offers in blessing us, this time in the future more than the present, is comfort.
That comfort is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, promised by the prophets hundreds of years before he appeared:
“…the Lord has appointed me to bring good new to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…” (Isaiah 61:1)
Those who are poor, who have broken hearts, and are bound in prison are not historical characters of Isaiah’s time. Jesus is yet to come, but the promise stands strong.
This is for you and me, whenever we face the trials in life that mature us and age us like fine wine:
“…this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2).
The comfort promised in this beatitude comes to the poor in spirit (humble) through mourning, which is really repentance (contrite heart.)
And the comfort involves healing (binding up), being set free (through sincere repentance), and eliminating our personal prison (restoration of our situation) entirely!
But while the kingdom of God is with us in the present because of our belief in Jesus, our comfort will come in stages in the future, in the Cycle of life, as we face various crises of spirit.
Did I just say Cycle?
Is there a parallel pattern emerging here?