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

Here we go again, Christ is telling us something that doesn't seem natural, in fact seems weird and distorted. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. If we look at this the same way we did those who are poor in spirit we know Christ is actually telling us how to be happy. Happy are those who mourn. I feel like happiness and mourning together make an oxymoron. I feel like this truly perplexed the crowds he was speaking to; if nothing else they stayed around to hear what the loon had to say. Is it really loony? Is Christ contradicting himself here? How is it possible for anyone to be happy because of their mourning?

Blessed are those who mourn
The sermon on the mount builds ideas on top of each other. To those who do not understand what Christ meant by becoming poor in spirit, this mourning and happiness statement do make Christ look like a loon. When discussing the beatitudes it is important to realize that you cannot comprehend one beatitude without first comprehending the preceding beatitude. Those who do not embrace being poor in spirit cannot comprehend happiness for mourning. This is not saying you have to be perfect when it comes to the preceding beatitude, but this process does require sanctification, a work that can only be completed by Jesus Christ.

So what does it mean to be mourning? When we look into the face of sin and see how it has absolutely ravished our lives we mourning because of the sorrow we have in our hearts in light of the gospel. We mourn over injustice. We should have sorrow to sin, with our eyes on Christ. Mourning is also about repentance.

This mourning is also present in physical sins. At the fall of man, evil was let into the world. Things like terrorism, death, cancer, and hurricanes that kill hundreds of people are a direct result of sin. These injustices are to be mourned over. When you get a call from a policeman saying your wife was just in a head on collision and her and your 3 little baby girls are now dead because of a drunk driver the proper response to mourning. Its injustice. Its wrong, this is not how the world was meant to be.

Examining sins in our own lives bring us to this state of mourning. We see in Psalm 51 (link to ESV) where David has committed adultery with Bathsheba. The entire Psalm is a cry, a mourning out to God for him to create a clean heart in him. David is so distraught by his sin that he is crying and yelling out for forgiveness in light of who God is. David know he has sinned, he knows God is holy and he knows that without God he cannot stand before him dirty.

for they shall be comforted
In response to this spiritual mourning over sins in our lives and physical sins we are promised that we shall be comforted. I think John Calvin sums this section up very well. In his commentary on Matthew 5 he says this:
"[Christ] shows that their very mourning contributes to a happy life by preparing them to receive eternal joy and by furnishing them with excitements to seek true comfort in God alone."

As Christians, we will be comforted, justice will be served and we will spend eternity in peace with Christ, he is our eternal hope, joy and peace. Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.