Matthew 5:4::Happy are the Sad?!?

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

What?  That doesn't make sense.  I get that only people who are sad need comfort, but when you see that blessed is actually a joyous term, how can you say that we are happy when we are sad?

I guess, we have to look more closely at the words used.  "Mourn" is the focal word for me when I read it.  What does that mean?  Is it simply sadness?  Isn't that what we do at funerals?  Yes, but the word is much more loaded than that.  The Greek word is actually pentheo and it caries with it a similar understanding to what the big fish did to Jonah...that's right - spit up, vomit, hurl, blow chunks.  The understanding is that there is something on the inside of us that is hurting us, so we have to get it out.  Sometimes this can be ugly, but it is definitely needed.  So, here's my new translation: "You will be happy when you hurl, because you will feel better."  Okay, maybe not.

Take the first in context with verse three, though - blessed are those at the end of their rope.  If there are things eating us up on the inside, we must have a place where we can get those out.  We must have a community that will see our end-of-rope status and still love us.  We have to have a community where we can get things out, so that we can be comforted.  We must.  Many of us walk around everyday with pain and hurt and mistakes bottled up on the inside that are eating away at us.  Eventually, those things will build to the point where they spew out - and you cannot help it.  The smart thing for us would be to find that community of Christ-followers that will listen as we "mourn" with them.  They will hear our hurts and through their willingness to be used by God, will over us comfort.

Our communities must be this way.  Jesus is teaching his inner circle that this is the kingdom he is ushering in.  In a culture where the religious would do everything they could to hide their problems, Jesus brings an honesty and openness into the equation.  Blessed are you when you get out on the outside what's killing you on the inside because only then will you get the comfort your soul needs and support for the journey.  It's not just about letting it out though.  Those who hear the confession, must be willing to bring a glass of encouraging water or offer a towel of admonishment to the one confessing.  That's the set-up.  We don't just come into a group, vomit all of our problems and walk away.  God speaks through the community to bring hope, healing and strength to the confessor.

I want to be part of an honest community - one that is comfortable at the end of the rope, but understands the value of healthy confession.  I think we all have an innate longing for a place to know and be known, love and be loved...to confess and to be confessed to.