The Beatitudes (Sermon Series) – July 18, 2010

Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

More than likely, most of us are familiar with phrases like, “Don’t worry, be happy!” “Put on a happy face!” “Turn that frown upside down!” That’s because we want people to be happy. That’s why we don’t often, if ever, hear or say things like: “Don’t worry, be sad!” “Put on a sad face!” “Take that smile and drop it a mile.”

But then we come to Jesus’ second statement of blessing at the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount, the one that serves as the sermon text for this morning, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” – we say, “REALLY!” It’s so opposite of anything we would think. We think: “Blessed are those who are happy!” “Blessed are those who are healthy!” But blessed are those who mourn? That doesn’t sound like being blessed.

So, what is Jesus talking about? Well, the first thing we need to remember is that Jesus is talking to believers. Taking that into consideration we clearly see that Jesus is not encouraging any and every kind of heaviness of heart – he is speaking of spiritual mourning. He is referring to a grief that grips the heart. And what is it that grips your heart the hardest as a believer and makes you grieve the most? Must we not answer, “My sin?”

Yes, my sin! Yes, your sin! You know - those biting remarks, ugly acts, and nasty words that we so easily point out in others, but like to think aren’t found in us. Well they are! If you think sin is on vacation, just take a look at your life – it is there. The only way you can deny it is if you lie to yourself! The only way you can avoid it is to act like it’s not there, but that doesn’t make it go away.

And just in case you feel a little self-righteous today. Just in case you have become a little smug and arrogant. Just in case you are afraid that I’m not talking to you – here are some examples. That nasty sin is made evident in the attitudes or words that attempt to pass the buck and lay the blame on someone else for the things you do or the way you act. You know what I’m talking about: “If my spouse were more loving and considerate to me, then I would go out of my way to serve them and love and respect them the way I should.” “If my parents were better parents, then I would honor and obey them the way I’m supposed to.” Want more? What about your lack of love for God or your disregard or low opinion for the sacrament of Holy Communion made evident by your consistent absence! How about the lack of love for your neighbor, made clear in passing them by in time of need! How about your selfish hearts, which so often places material things above spiritual things! Or your wavering faith, which is so often reluctant to take God’s word and promises at face value! Or how about your total and utter lack of strength and ability to keep from repeating your sins and putting them behind you once and for all!

Yes, take a look at our lives –sin is at work there. And it’s causing tremendous damage. It’s wreaking havoc in our lives; it’s damaging those we love; and look at what it is doing in our relationship with God. The cause for our mourning isn’t hard to figure out. When we pull back the cover of our heart; when we examine our thoughts and actions in the mirror of God’s law; when we see the true nature of our sin, the guilt it lays upon us, and the damnation it earns us, we must mourn in genuine sorrow. We must repent. We must confess our sins and admit that we are sinners who deserve God’s punishment.

That is what Jesus is saying here. He is saying that the Christian who is truly a Christian will mourn deeply over their sins. We will see sin the way God sees it and treat it the way God does, as the Psalmist explained, “You love righteousness and hate wickedness” (Psalm 45:7). We will mourn because of the hurt our sins cause our heavenly Father. We will mourn because we see just how far we have fallen short of all that God has demanded of us. We will mourn because we know that our sins are part of the cause for the pain and sorrow our Savior had to suffer as he hung on the cross.

Now remember, with these words Jesus is talking to believers. He is talking about how the saved will live. So, is this you? Is your life one that is characterized by repentance? Where every single day you speak to the Lord with words flowing from a humble spirit, honestly and sincerely saying sorry for all the sins you have done. Or have we fallen into that dangerous trap of going through the motions? If you are like me, no doubt you have to admit that sometimes your repentance is shallow, barely scratching the surface of your sins because you don’t take the time or you get sidetracked. No doubt you have to admit that sometimes the only time slot your repentance gets is when your head hits the pillow, and so sometimes you don’t even finish. No doubt you have to admit that sometimes your repentance is insincere, knowing full well that you plan to do the same thing again. No doubt you have to admit that some weeks the only day you confess is on Sunday, as each day you had planned to get to it later, but never did. No doubt, there are even times that we just plain don’t think some of our sins are that big of a deal. Oh, how we must mourn even more when we see how little we mourn over our sin.

Yes, dear fellow believers, mourn we must. Mourn we will. But not forever! Jesus assures us, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” The Savior has what it takes to dry our tears. He assures us that in spite of our sins, he loves us. In fact, he came to this earth for the very purpose of saving just such sinners as we are. He tells us that he has forgiven us – he has washed our sins away in his own blood. But he doesn’t forgive us so we can go back to shallow, apathetic, and infrequent repentance. He hasn’t forgiven us so we can go back and continue in the sins we’ve always done. No, he gives us the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us and enables us to bring forth fruits of repentance, and who enables us to live today a new and holier life.

Our God is a God of comfort. He teaches us in his holy Word that with him there is forgiveness. He teaches us that where sin abounds, grace is even more plentiful. He offers a Savior who has removed the power of sin and death through the power of the cross - a Savior who tells us to place our burdens and troubles upon his shoulders and offers us his perfect rest.

So let us mourn over our sins! But not like people who have no hope, for our sins are forgiven. Let us mourn over our sins, but not thinking that our repentance has earned God’s forgiveness, but rather that in faith we believe Christ has paid the ransom for our sin. If we are mourning the fact that our sin will still one day bring us down to death, let it be stilled, because Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶ and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:26). Yes, we mourn because of our sins – but in Jesus our Savior we have the forgiveness of sins. From Jesus comes comfort here on earth and perfection in heaven at his side as one day soon he will deliver us from this world of sin and wipe every tear from our eyes! That’s why we have happiness!

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Martin Luther once said:

There is a different repentance, not a true but a false one, which Germans call a Galgenreue, when I repent in such a way that I am not ashamed of having offended God but merely regret having injured myself. Such a repentance is very common. I myself have often repented in this way and deplored having done something foolish, stupid, and to my hurt. I was more ashamed of the stupidity and the harm than of the sin, of the guilt, of the offense against God. But if we only deplore the harm we have done – that is a repentance which God does not know…For a genuine repentance looks at the wrath of God against sin. (What Luther Says: 3855 – pg. 1210)

Brothers and sisters, may we be filled with a sincere repentance born from faith - one which takes to heart God’s threats of punishment, and one which holds to the promise of forgiveness. Then, let us remember our baptism, and confidently recall the promise of God there: “Today I make you my child, as faith is created in you so that you can lay hold of all my blessing for you.” Plead for forgiveness according to that promise, and be happy that you are still within the stronghold of salvation. Rejoice that God, who made that promise, cannot lie and therefore his promise is still intact and unchanged.

So we pray: Lord, by the faith that you have so graciously worked in me, move me to daily live the Christian life which humbly kneels before the cross and confesses my sinfulness before you. Fill me with godly sorrow. Then, dry my tears with the assurance that your life and death have provided all I need to stand forgiven before your throne. Amen.