The second Beatitude from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).  Mourning logically follows our awareness from the first Beatitude of needing Jesus because we are poor in Spirit, and our awareness that every bad thing in this world is a result of sin.  When we mourn as Christians, we deeply acknowledge that we aren’t happy with the consequences of having sought our own way.

Many religions and philosophies see no value in sorrow.  Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers hated it and strived to avoid it.  Eastern religions sometimes deny its reality and seek to live above it.  On the other hand, in Christianity and Judaism stories like those of Job are highly valued, and verses like these from Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 are common –

“It is better to go to the house of mourning
            than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
            and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
            for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
            but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

In Christianity, mourning can have value, helping sanctify us, making us more like Christ.  Mourning can be a form of confession – a way of saying the same thing about sin that God does.  When we mourn doing wrong things or neglecting things that should have been done, we agree with God on what is “wrong” and what “should” be done.  It is not the same as repentance but is often a preceding part of it.

Therefore, we should mourn!  Emotionally reacting to sin and its effect on the world means that knowing we are “poor in spirit” is more than just an intellectual or logical idea.  Sin needs to mean something to us, deeply.  However, this mourning is not the same as despair, depression, or meaninglessness.  In the words of JRR Tolkien, spoken through the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings: “Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.”  Only God can see the end, and there is more to come!  In Christianity it is but part of a journey.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4