Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Do you mourn?

You are sad because you have lost something or someone.

Someone died. You can’t get them back.

The door of death is a closed door.

And so we mourn.

We know one thing: they are not here.

We can’t talk to them.

We can’t go see them.

We can’t discuss our thoughts with them.

But Jesus says, “they shall be comforted.”

But how? When?

Let’s look in the bible.

It was said to Adam by God that if he did this thing, there would be death.

He did exactly that thing, and he eventually died.

And all since him either die of old age, or disease, or are killed somehow.

But Jesus says, “they shall be comforted.”

By who? It must be God or Jesus could not be so sure about this.

So how are we mourners comforted?

If your relative or friend loved Jesus, they are somewhere good.

Why? Because God is good and he sends angels to take them into the next life.

But what if they did not follow Jesus?

We know this: God is fair. That is some comfort.

That person had some opportunity to call on God in their life.

We can leave them to God for fair treatment.

He knows all things.

The story of Lazarus who was raised from the dead is interesting.

Did anyone ask him where he was for four days?

I would have.

I can tell you what he might have said.

Things were so different. I don’t have words to relate to you sitting here at this table what it was like. I can tell you this. I heard a voice calling me. It turned out to be Jesus, outside my grave. They came and got me out of the wrappings. And I was healthy and whole. Here I am talking to you. All I can tell you is this: I was somewhere very different from here. Four days, you say, they don’t have days there.

Am I guessing? Not really. I have read several accounts of people who seemed dead for days who returned to life.

They are unable to relate their experiences in any way we can appreciate.

So we are comforted now by trusting our good God.

What about the future?

Lazarus had a sister named Martha.

She said she knew her brother would come alive in “the resurrection”.

Let’s go to the back of the book.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

God never wanted people to have sorrow.

Tears were not made for sadness.

This will happen because God said it would to a trustworthy man who wrote it down because the Lord said to write it.

Will your tears be wiped away? Will mine?

We can be sure of this if we trust God and his son, Jesus with our lives.

 

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Blessed are the poor in spirit

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

Poor in spirit. It sounds bad. Hopeless? Crushed by life?

Or just plain poor. No money. You can’t buy stuff you want or need.

When do they get it? Those poor. That kingdom of heaven. In the future?

The kingdom of heaven is at hand, he said.

It’s close by in time. It’s now.

My kingdom is not of this world, he said.

How so?  He did not say: it’s not for now. He did not say: It’s for later.

It’s just different. No physical revolution to get it going. No war to keep it.

No land to defend.

No uniforms. No special hats.

You can get in now.

But it’s different.

The hopelessness goes away. The crushed spirit is lifted up. The poverty is addressed.

The poor are hearing the gospel, he said.

How does that help?

Well, let’s say you gave them, you know, money, a lot of money.

These kingdom people have a lot of money now!

They would have to keep it safe.

They might bury it.

And make a map to it.

Someone gets the map.

They go to take out more of their money. It’s gone!

Hey, Jesus, the money you gave me. Someone stole it.

How about if I just keep it for you. We’ll have fun with it.

Maybe I’ll hide some in a fish. Trust me.

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There are more. Follow for others.

In Genesis, it says this:

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.

To what were their eyes opened? To themselves. To their weakness. It was a very uncomfortable awakening. They had to take action. They made clothing out of leaves.

But this covering was not enough. When they heard the Lord, they ran and hid. Some say they were motivated by guilt. I don’t think so. Listen to Adam: “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He says nothing about feeling guilty. He says he was afraid because he was naked.

Why do they feel so vulnerable? Their new separation from God made their self-awareness nearly unbearable.

Contrast this to the revelation of Jesus to the open eye of faith. This is a view that looks outward. We see the same Lord as Adam having come to rescue us with more than a covering of animal skin.

We respond in faith not in fear. We run towards him not away from him. He offers us a robe of righteousness. He has purchased this robe with his own blood, not the blood of animals.

The result is an awareness of God not ourselves. We already know we are weak and alone. That is why the rescue of God is so wonderful. We see his strength. We see the man who did not fall to temptation. We see our true hero, our Saviour.

This is a much better eye-opening experience that Adam. And make no mistake. If you see Jesus as the Son of God, it has been revealed to you by his Father. Your faith in response connects you to God.

We have received the grace of God. We know God as Our Father. Adam walked the earth as disconnected from God. Yes, he walked in clothing given to him by the Lord but he did not experience the closeness he had before.

Why not? He gave the wrong answers to the questions of the Lord. He blamed another not himself. He might have received immediate forgiveness. We can’t know because he refused to accept blame.

We never hear from Adam again. We don’t know his reaction to the curse on the earth. We know he raised a family and found that the curse on the earth did not prevent him from farming but only made it difficult.

But we find the Lord offering us living water. He says, “Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again.” He offers himself as the Bread of Life. And Jesus said unto them, “I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger.”

Jesus speaks in simple words that we can understand. But they are spiritually understood. This bread is not gained by the sweat of the brow, but received as the gift of God to needy yet undeserving people like us.

He knows our needs more than we do and has come to satisfy our greatest need. He is the Tree of Life, the Water that destroys thirst, the Bread from heaven, the True Manna and more.

He says, Come and buy, without money and without price. He knows we could never afford the price and so gives it to us free instead, having paid the price himself.

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Although God has a dwelling place on earth, it is not a temple with great adornments. It is not a cathedral with an awe-inspiring ceiling. It is not even a standard Protestant church with a discreet steeple. And it’s not a plain building with a fancy name.

No, it is none other than the human heart. Are you surprised? You think God stays at the church when you go home? When the Lord says:

we do not think it’s a literal door made of wood. We say, it’s the ‘door of our heart’.

Jesus is not a home invader. He can only be invited in. But maybe we are not ready for him. It’s a mess in here, come back later, Lord. But he does not care. He wants to be with you. He doesn’t evaluate your dwelling beforehand.

He knows your place is a fixer-upper. He has seen worse. He doesn’t care. He is there to improvement your life. But he doesn’t start with that. No, he wants to sit down and have dinner with you. Even if it’s Chinese take-out. He is there for the company, your company.

But I am not worthy for you to stay with me, Lord. I need to fix things up. Go ahead, he says, I will help. Do you want suggestions? That stack of magazines can go. I was just thinking of taking them out to the trash, you say. When you return, there is a new rocking chair in that place.

He is not there to make you feel guilty. He is there to help you feel clean. He wants you to have a clear conscience. Look, I am going up to clear out the attic, he says. You do what you think best down here.

But that attic is full of a lot of old worthless junk! I know, he says, we are not going to let the past hold you back.

Later, he says, I’ve been looking at your record collection. Do you think something more hope-filled could be better? It’s a rather depressing catalog. It is, you say, I used to be depressed a lot. I don’t feel that way, so much, now that you’re here.

What do you say to better food in your refrigerator? We can have a diet of better things. Yes, you say, I’ve been chewing on guilt and envy too long. What about mercy and pure love? he asks. That does sound better, you say.

Lord, when I would lay down, my mind was full of worry and frustration. Now, that you are here, my sleep is peaceful.

Lord, I had my doubts when you knocked on my door. Now, I have no doubts. In fact, faith has replaced doubt. The order you have brought allows me to have a clear conscience. Light fills my rooms now that we have brushed away cobwebs and cleaned the dirty windows.

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How do we approach God? There have been many books written about this. But it comes down to this: Each of us must find God in their personal relationship with him. Enoch walked with God. We have no more details. He walked with God for 300 years. He “walked” with God. He did not run. He moved through life at an unhurried pace.

First, we must be patient. God is not in a hurry. We must slow down to meet him.

Be still and know that I am God.

We are encouraged to slow down. To be still. Even to stop.

And Enoch was constant. He continuously walked with God for many years. Do we think we can “know” God in one encounter? We can “meet” God in one encounter. Enoch kept walking with God, year after year.

Do you want to sense the presence of God? Do the will of God. Part of the will of God is to “Be still and know that I am God.” We can’t be in tune with God unless we know his nature. We must begin with God to know his will.

God is the most attractive Being. But, like the sun, he is dangerous. His holiness, goodness and purity are beyond our comprehension. But he has the ability to make us his friends who were once alienated from him. He can actually make us holy. His forgiveness is so thorough that we can draw close to him.

Maybe as we are being still, we can realize we are seated in the heavenlies. This means we are secure in our relationship with God. Now, we begin to “do the will of God” by taking a clear statement of Jesus and putting it into practice. “And this is the will of God, to believe on the One whom he has sent.” Or, “You believe in God, believe also in me.” We learn the will of God by doing the will of God. If you want to “know” the will of God, begin by doing the will of God you already know.

Why would God give us more specifics of his will if we are not doing what he has revealed already? We can listen to the experience of Abraham’s servant. “And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord…who had led me in the right way…” He had followed Abraham’s instructions, but he needed more direction. He found it in doing what he already knew. It will be the same with us.

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How can we know God? We may believe that if we do, we will have peace and joy in our lives. So, we want to pursue him. We can learn about God, about his nature from his Son, Jesus. But we are in a quandary. God dwells in the human heart after two modes namely, by knowledge and by love. Everyone who knows Him loves Him, but nobody can love Him without knowing Him.

Someone who wants to find out about another person’s character and inner thoughts gets on friendly terms with them and is often in their company. They find out who are their friends. And if they see this person as worthy of their love, they can open their heart to love them.

Let us find out where God is and question his friends concerning him. He is faithful, if it is not in him to deceive people. If he freely pardons those who sin, then he is kind. If he shows pity to persons in trouble, then he is merciful. And he is lowly, if he rules his people not by oppressing but by helping them. If he is faithful, then he merits praise. If he is kind, if he is merciful, if he is humble, then he deserves our love.

It is difficult to have faith in God because do not see this kind of love in our daily lives. We see love that trades this for that to get something. We see love for family, but we are not in that family. We see love for others, but it is limited to those like-minded. We see love that has its limits. We do not see love that is unlimited. And God is invisible. We can’t see him.

Our method is faith. Do you say that you have no faith? Of course, you do. If you sit on a chair, you have faith. If you get into a elevator, you have faith. You and I have faith about many things, every day. You say, I have faith in the chair because I saw someone sit on it. I have faith in the elevator because I saw someone get out of it.

Okay, find someone that has faith in God. Ask them why they do. They should have an answer. If they don’t, find someone else. Ask them how God treats them. We can even learn from those who have a grudge against God. Does God deserve their hate? See if you agree that their hate for God is deserved. Some are mad at God. They say he doesn’t care because he won’t fix the world. Have we thought what that would mean: the end of free will.

There is a reason to forget God. If you want to exercise that free will and do what you want. And God will let you. You always get a choice. You don’t get God if you don’t choose him. But remember this: he is all good and wants to bless you. And he always has.

Draw close to God and he will draw close to you. He will not impose. It says, he stands at your door and knocks. Do you hear that knocking? If you answer the door, he will come in. And if you ask him to stay, he will do that, as well.

Now, therefore, enter your own inmost heart, and make a dwelling-place for God. Make Him a temple, make Him a house, make Him a pavilion. Make Him an ark of the covenant, make Him an ark of the flood; no matter what you call it, it is all one house of God. In the temple let the creature adore the Creator, in the house let the son revere the Father, in the pavilion let the knight adore the King. Under the covenant, let the disciple listen to the Teacher. In the flood, let him that is shipwrecked beseech Him who guides the helm.

Hugh of St Victor

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