As the Lord’s servants, we can lead our congregations in proper mourning and comfort those who grieve. There is an endless list of possible afflictions: serious illness, a natural disaster and loss of property, unemployment, broken relationships, and many more. As we comfort others, we can encourage them to grieve, but not as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

We’re continuing our study of the Beatitudes in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. After blessing those who are humble and dependent on God, Jesus goes on to pronounce a second beatitude. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). The parallel in Luke reads this way: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21). Jesus adds, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25).

While in Matthew, Jesus speaks in the third person (“those,” “they”), Luke records the direct address: “Blessed are you…. Woe to you….” And while in Matthew, Jesus praises those who mourn and promises them eternal comfort, Luke’s version strikes a note of reversal, conveyed by the repeated use of the word “now”: “Blessed you who weep now…. Woe to you who laugh now….” In other words: mourn now, or you’ll mourn later.

How can pastors exhibit and encourage the Kingdom virtue of mourning?

What Does It Mean to Mourn, Biblically?

The only other place in Matthew’s Gospel where the word “mourn” is used is in chapter 9. There, John’s disciples approach Jesus and ask why the Pharisees fast but his disciples don’t. Jesus’s answer: “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matthew 9:15–16).

In that passage, mourning is contrasted with a wedding celebration. We mourn the loss of a loved one at a funeral, but celebrate a new marriage or the birth of a child. Jesus’s point here is that his arrival and regal presence were causes for rejoicing, not mourning. When the time came for his departure, his followers would grieve. Elsewhere, Jesus compares his disciples’ impending grief to that of a woman giving birth. It would be short-lived just like a mother forgets all about her pain once her child is born.

Both mourning and rejoicing are a normal part of life. As the wise Preacher wrote, there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Similarly, the apostle Paul writes, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).

Practicing Mourning and Rejoicing

So, let’s look and see who in our congregation needs us to mourn with them and who needs us to join them in rejoicing. Who needs prayer, support, and encouragement, and who needs someone to celebrate with them?

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