We have just celebrated the Fall Festivals—a time of great rejoicing and excitement, no matter how far one had to travel. Being able to spend the time in the company of God’s people—His family—is an uplifting experience. The Feast was intended to be a time of rejoicing, when we could express thanks to our Heavenly Father and His Son for their blessings. Highlights of the Feast are probably still a focus of our conversations with others. Elsewhere in this magazine, you will read uplifting accounts of the wonderful Feast experiences shared by our brethren.
However, I would like to present you with a conundrum. Here we are, focusing on our rejoicing in the Feast, an approach that follows the expressed will of our Father; but we also recall Jesus Christ’s assurance: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
So, how can we connect these two apparent opposites—mourning and rejoicing? What lessons can this teach us as Christians?
When we think of mourning, an immediate picture that comes to mind is of someone grieving—a common usage adopted in our current dictionaries. Grief can result from the loss of a loved one; over a broken relationship, a lost employment opportunity, or some other factor such as the onset of old age and the inevitable changes it brings. Or it may be caused by some other cruel event that can so easily overtake us and disrupt our lives. There is something inherently wrong with that imagery. Grief in the main can be healed, jobs can be replaced, relationships can be made well again or new relationships established, old age has its limits and life has an interesting way of providing new opportunities. Grief as we normally understand it is transitory—we may mourn and then feel the loss for a long time, but we live in hope of our future. As we endure, comfort can be provided through the help of those who care, and—of course and above all else—through the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit.
Comfort is available to those who grieve. Paul, writing to the Corinthian brethren, assured us: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5).
But how can we harmonize this view with this Beatitude? Clearly, our Father does care when we suffer in this life. When we examine the other Beatitudes, they all must be part of our lives on a consistent and continuing basis until the end. They are not short-term events. They become part of our real character or occur because of the character being created within us. We should never cease to be poor in spirit, meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers or to hunger and thirst for righteousness. As a result, with that character developing within us, we will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
So, when Christ spoke of mourning, did He have in mind something larger and more continuous for our human lives than just grief?
Let us consider this, and see how relevant this is to us as we reflect on the Feast we have recently celebrated.
The Deep Sorrow… of Repentance!
Turn a few pages more into the gospel of Matthew and consider something Jesus said to the disciples of John the Baptist. They had come to ask why the disciples of Jesus did not fast as they did. John the Baptist had been imprisoned by this point (Matthew 4:12), which had been a real disruption in their lives. We read: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast’” (Matthew 9:15).
Even His disciples were going to mourn. Jesus was very aware of the disruption that was to occur in their lives with His crucifixion. But that grief was short-lived, confined to those three days and three nights before He was resurrected. Their mourning became joy. So, why mourn now?
Maimonides, a noted medieval Jewish thinker and writer, made this comment about the blowing of trumpets on the Feast of Trumpets: “It is not so much a call to war as to the repentance of soul.” For the Jews, the concept of repentance is deeply embedded in the Feast of Trumpets as well as the days leading up to the next Holy Day—Atonement. Those days, known to them as the Days of Awe, are days in which observant Jews will fast to midday. They are to be a time of repentance and judgment.
We can dismiss that as inconsequential and of no concern for ourselves. We see the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords associated with the Feast of Trumpets and the removal of Satan as the god of this world portrayed in the Day of Atonement. But repentance is a requirement for each of us if we hope to have a part in the founding of the Kingdom of God on this earth, as shown by these two Holy Days. It is a requirement of us right now! As the Apostle Peter wrote: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’ Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:17–19).
How do we judge ourselves? We do not issue report cards each semester. It is largely a personal responsibility. And, when we judge ourselves, we find aspects of our life that are not in accord with the expressed will of our Father, so we need to repent. Repentance, therefore, does produce an element of mourning in our lives. We see ourselves as deficient, lacking in what we think we need. It is a process of seeing ourselves as being nothing—of no consequence without the power of the Holy Spirit given by our Father. Paul gave this exhortation to the Corinthians when he had to correct them for their tolerance of sin in their midst. “And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:2). Note that the Greek word here translated as mourn (pentheo) is the same term used in the Beatitudes.
James also laid this out as one of our responsibilities as followers of Jesus Christ: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:7–11).
James, like Paul, was addressing his words to Church members. Just because we are in God’s Church does not mean we are safe. We must maintain a constant state of willingness to be repentant as we find manifestations of the world in our lives. We cannot separate ourselves from that approach—or feel that we “have it made.” To the Corinthian brethren, Paul wrote of how this attitude had been present in his life: “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
To ignore such a repentant approach classifies one a likely Laodicean, of whom was written: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:15–19).
So the necessity for change in our lives requires a sense of mourning—we are not yet perfect. We must have a sense of repentance about us at all times.
What Does Repentance Bring?
Repentance should bring clarity to our understanding that this world is held captive by Satan. The God family does not yet rule it.
The Jews understand the need for repentance—but too late, after what will be the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings. The rest of humanity is presently blind to the need, yet they will have to mourn, as we will see.
But before we go there, let us continue to focus on ourselves. It is not only our repentance that should generate a sense of mourning in our lives. Ezekiel recorded a vision that he experienced that has relevance to us as well: “Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.’ And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’ To the others He said in my hearing, ‘Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the temple. Then He said to them, ‘Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!’ And they went out and killed in the city” (Ezekiel 9:1–7).
Because of our calling, we have a responsibility to see this world, its systems and its values (or lack thereof) from a Christian perspective. That is why people, even at the very altar of God, should be “sigh[ing] and cry[ing] over all the abominations that are done.” If I am sighing and crying, would I not be in a state of mourning?
What was the Apostle Paul doing when he wrote to the brethren in Rome? “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end [result] of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:1–4).
Was Paul not mourning over their spiritual ignorance?
A similar case can be made today because of the abject lack of biblical knowledge that exists even among people who consider themselves Christian. A recent article entitled, “Surprised? Shocked? Saddened?” addressed a survey of “evangelical Christian” people in their 20s. The survey found a total lack of understanding of any standards that the Bible establishes. The lament that Hosea was inspired to write comes to mind: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6). False religion and mistaken beliefs are just one problem that demands our mourning.
The Babylonian-inspired system that controls this world’s commerce, as well as education, should also produce within us a sense of mourning right now.
By way of example, about three years ago, a major fire occurred at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, which closed the airport. Immediately, the flower growers in Kenya were alarmed, as this meant they could not send fresh flowers to Europe. Flowers are perishable. They cannot sit in the hold of an aircraft for days until the airport gets reopened. The anxiety of the flower shippers was easily understood.
So what, you might ask?
One-third of the fresh flowers sold in Europe come from Kenya, so it is a major export by air. That may mean little to us but let me express it in another way. Kenya is to flowers what Bangladesh is to cotton clothing or China is to electronics. It is one of the cheapest places on earth to grow flowers. But to grow them that cheaply requires relocation of people into shantytowns to earn a pittance of a wage. Then the run-off of nitrogen-rich water from the flower farms into lakes and waterways chokes the lakes with weeds and impairs the fishing, a natural resource that the local people have relied upon for protein and employment.
Where fishing is still possible, the local people are priced out of the market, as the price for those fish in Europe is so much higher than can be obtained locally, so the fish is frozen and sent to the supermarkets in Europe. Now I am not saying that the brethren in Europe should not buy flowers to decorate their homes, or buy Nile Perch or Tilapia from Kenya. That is an exercise in futility. The whole system needs to change. But, we need to realize that we live in a corrupt system, based on greed and profit where people are simply inputs into the system. They are enslaved, often by their own leaders, who seek profit irrespective of the cost to the country.
That itself is a reason for us to mourn today.
The Apostle John described the end of this world’s systems with a consequence of mourning for those who have profited from it. Regarding the destruction of the Babylonian-inspired system, he wrote: “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore” (Revelation 18:11).
That mourning will not be passive. Rather, it is described a few verses later as wailing. “The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing.… They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate’” (Revelation 18:15, 19).
They mourn because of their personal loss. The mourning that Jesus is enjoining us to do is not for ourselves. It is not inward looking but focused outward on the needs of others. It is because of what humanity, cut off from its Creator and Savior, and totally blinded and deceived by Satan, is doing to itself. Do we view the world that way? If so, we can mourn for humanity—day in, day out—until the return of Jesus Christ.
Paul understood this situation, not in terms of flowers and fish, but in his ability to see the world in which he lived from a Christian perspective. Writing to the Romans, he made these comments about our world and humanly created problems: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:18–22).
How does the earth groan?
Isaiah goes on at length about the problems the physical environment will face at the end of this age and the grief it will create for those who seek to live by those resources (Isaiah 19:5–10). He prophesies the mourning of the land: “The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits” (Isaiah 33:9). Hosea likewise addresses this problem: “Therefore the land will mourn; and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea will be taken away” (Hosea 4:3).
As a consequence of human destructiveness, the earth suffers. Let us consider again Paul’s statement in Romans 8, because it also pertains to our situation, providing a useful echo of Ezekiel’s vision: “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (vv. 23–25).
Comfort in Christ’s Return
Our mourning should end with the comfort of the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. The establishment of the Kingdom of God with His righteousness will herald a change within this world, which will lead to the removal of evil and the evil consequences that humanity suffers. It will be a time of rejoicing for us as the old Babylonian world order comes to an end. The comfort we are promised in the Beatitude will finally have become a reality.
If the comment of Jesus to His disciples was relevant then, how much more relevant will it be when the Bridegroom returns? Remember His statement to the disciples of John: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?’” (Matthew 9:15).
Consider the state in which the friends of the bridegroom are no longer just friends but part of the bride, being accepted and cared for by her groom.
Our young people may consider that they are too young for such a spiritual solution. So let me put it another way. Youth can be idealistic. They can often see the physical problems that exist and desire to change them. The Kingdom of God is a place where that idealism can have full rein—based on the knowledge of the Law of God. Consider how the Kingdom of God can change those problems and the part you could play in that change. That should shape your planning for your future. Are you prepared for that role?
When we travelled to the Feast of Tabernacles, we experienced a Feast of great comfort—not just in terms of the mattress provided wherever we stayed, but in terms of appreciating the solutions to the problems that humanity and this world are currently subjected to.
Blessed are you who mourn, for you shall be comforted!