20Something 10-19-05 (Jen Austin)
20Something 10-19-05
The Second Beatitude
The dictionary defines a Beatitude as extreme blessedness or happiness. When Jesus speaks of Beatitudes, he names situations that seem more likely to produce unhappiness than happiness. He talks about those who mourn, who are persecuted, who are poor in spirit, etc. Here are all of the Beatitudes:
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Last week we discussed the first beatitude, what it means to be poor in spirit. The second beatitude is our focus this week.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
What things do we mourn? How does it feel to mourn?
Why is it a blessing to mourn?
Have you mourned the loss of something recently?
When the word “mourn” is entered in a Bible search, it produces 138 different entries. There was a lot of mourning going on in Biblical times.
Genesis 23:1-4
1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
Sarah and Abraham had been through a lot together, to say the least. Sarah was barren, yet God gave Abraham and Sarah a son (Isaac) when they were both near one hundred years old. What emotions must Abraham have been feeling?
Name some ways to comfort someone or be comforted during the mourning process.
Joel 2:12
12 "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
In what was does mourning allow us to “return to God?” How does mourning produce a closeness with God?
John 16:19
19Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? 20I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, God will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Why does grief eventually turn to joy?
Jesus reminds us that even though he may not be physically present, there is power in his name. We can mourn the loss of something that no longer seems to be ours, but it’s not as final as we make it seem. There is power beyond our immediate circumstances.
Jesus says, “you will no longer ask me anything” and then, “God will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Jesus’ spirit lives on and there is great power in that. How can we better claim that power? How does our joy become complete?
Mourning is temporary. God is eternal. As we change our focus to the bigger picture, we begin to experience extreme blessedness and happiness. Have a blessed week!
The Second Beatitude
The dictionary defines a Beatitude as extreme blessedness or happiness. When Jesus speaks of Beatitudes, he names situations that seem more likely to produce unhappiness than happiness. He talks about those who mourn, who are persecuted, who are poor in spirit, etc. Here are all of the Beatitudes:
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Last week we discussed the first beatitude, what it means to be poor in spirit. The second beatitude is our focus this week.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
What things do we mourn? How does it feel to mourn?
Why is it a blessing to mourn?
Have you mourned the loss of something recently?
When the word “mourn” is entered in a Bible search, it produces 138 different entries. There was a lot of mourning going on in Biblical times.
Genesis 23:1-4
1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
Sarah and Abraham had been through a lot together, to say the least. Sarah was barren, yet God gave Abraham and Sarah a son (Isaac) when they were both near one hundred years old. What emotions must Abraham have been feeling?
Name some ways to comfort someone or be comforted during the mourning process.
Joel 2:12
12 "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
In what was does mourning allow us to “return to God?” How does mourning produce a closeness with God?
John 16:19
19Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? 20I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, God will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Why does grief eventually turn to joy?
Jesus reminds us that even though he may not be physically present, there is power in his name. We can mourn the loss of something that no longer seems to be ours, but it’s not as final as we make it seem. There is power beyond our immediate circumstances.
Jesus says, “you will no longer ask me anything” and then, “God will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Jesus’ spirit lives on and there is great power in that. How can we better claim that power? How does our joy become complete?
Mourning is temporary. God is eternal. As we change our focus to the bigger picture, we begin to experience extreme blessedness and happiness. Have a blessed week!
posted by Jen Austin at 6:13 AM
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