4 OT A ~ "Being Comforted" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, Ph.D.

The Beatitudes all open with the familiar word, “Blessed.” Those who endure oppression and hardships as well as those who are of Christ-like character …both are called blessed. The trials and tribulations include those who remain in grief, mourning some devastating loss. But those who are poor in spirit are also named as blessed. On the other hand, we live in a world where to be “blessed” means to be filled with the means for happy lives. With such blessings we can achieve prosperity and gain favor with the celebrity class or some in the political class.

Think about the commercials we watch in the midst of a sports event or one

of our favorite shows. The products advertised show the outcome of buying and

using some product or other. In some cases, the “before” state--which is not

blessed or happy--is brutally displayed. So, perhaps a hefty woman is shown, also

beset with wrinkles and bad hair. Then, there is a spotlight on the amazing

product, or products. Then comes the “after” display. Same woman svelte, hair

stunning, and wrinkles,…gone! And if the product is a cure for that bad hair, the

“after” shot features our friend now with really thick hair, healthy sheen, and, most

of all, a radiant happiness. Yes, the word we translate as “blessed” can also mean

“How happy are you.”

But, our world’s notions of happiness are not what Jesus speaks of when we hear the Beatitudes. Nor are the Beatitudes about the notions of being materially “blessed,” as in many pious circles today. There is simply too much of this worldly meaning of blessing in such a religious view.

Trustworthy biblical scholars certainly do help clear the deck for our engaging with the Beatitudes. They share that the Greek word translated “blessed” refers to those who live out the vocation they have received from the Lord. And, alongside this faithfulness, the blessed are deeply graced with the character and virtues of Christian discipleship. We think of the Holy Virgin. She comes to as One fully blessed. At the Annunciation, she responds to the archangel Gabriel, saying “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” In Mary’s song, The Magnificat, she proclaims her own Beatitudes; Divine mercy will be with those who fear God while the mighty are brought down from their thrones and the humble ones exalted. In the Blessed Virgin Mary, vocation is fulfilled and her character is revealed as that of a disciple. We are called to be such a blessing in our own calling and character. Mary is the model of our discipleship.

But now, Jesus inaugurates his own ministry by calling Peter and Andrew and

James and John to abandon family fishing boats in order to follow him. So, sitting there up on the mountain, Jesus teaches these first disciples. “Blessed are they who mourn,” he announces. “For they will be comforted.”

Mourning is something most of us know. There are so many losses, and as they

mount up, we grieve. Of course, for many, the death of a close family member

comes immediately to mind. We remain stuck in a kind of half existence; things

are not the same and will never be “normal” again. And especially when we are

battered by the loss of a child, the loss can simply remain fresh and terrible. The

cartoonist who brought us the comic strip, Pogo, for many years would pause in

the midst of some insane going on in the Okefenokee Swamp on or near October

31 st . He and his wife, Sephanie, had lost their infant daughter on that date. In the

comic strip on that date, a bug appeared, poling a little raft with a birthday cake

containing one candle. The little bug was looking for someone whose first

birthday needed celebrating. But the bug remained alone there on that tiny raft

with the big birthday cake and its one lit candle unattended by grieving parents.

Beyond such loss within a family, some of us also grieve the loss of land, our homesite, now bulldozed level for some new construction. Others here may be in

deep grieving as we look out at a country so deeply divided politically. Anger and

rage seem to be what is shared in common. Clearly, as most of us know, there is

no expiration date on our griefs, our mourning, our brokenness.

What follows are the words, “for they will be comforted.” Two questions come to mind. On one hand, our thoughts turn to the “when” of the fulfillment of this promise. Will we find comfort only in the far future as God brings the curtain

closed on this present age? That time when “all flesh shall see it together”? Well,

on one hand, yes. In that day, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. (Rev. 21:4)

But there an interesting double-meaning to the word we translate as “comfort.”

The Greek word literally means “to call near” or “to bring near.” “Counselor” is a

word that has become engrained in our legal and therapeutic terminology: a

lawyer of therapist comes near to advise us, to guide us, and support us---our

counselor. In times of mourning, Jesus is teaching us, his Holy Spirit will bring

“comfort,” will come near, and will never abandon us to grieving alone. But such

“coming near” has another dimension as well. In our grieving, as our God comes

near, we also are bid to “come near” with each other. Put this way, the Beatitudes

are all about the community in Christ. When one of us is in sorrow, all grieve.

St. Paul put it this way:

If one member suffers, all suffer together;

If one member is honored, all rejoice together. (1 Cor. 12:26)

But even more immediately, our risen Lord comes near at every celebration of the

Holy Eucharist. As we receive the Body and Blood of our Savior in gratitude, we

also offer our burdensome griefs to Him. In return, we are again graced with his

abiding presence that comforts, brings cheer, and gives new and eternal life. This

is a profound, sacramental expression of God’s comfort in Christ Jesus. What is

given now, in the midst of life and its sorrows, is a token of what is promised when

all the previous things have passed away. A new heaven and a new earth! And

now, as the Body, we are called forth to be as Christ in the world, blessing those

who grieve and need comfort.

Our Teacher, Jesus, has taught us what it means to be a true disciple, to be

blessed. How we respond remains the heart of the matter ever since our Lord

spoke these words to the four disciples up there on that mountain. We pray for our Lord to bless us with courage and purity of heart that we may reply with Mary,

“Let it be with me according to your word.”

Amen.