Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. ~Matthew 5:4
Is Christ asking us to become professional mourners? No. We have to remember that Christ is teaching on a higher level…a spiritual level. This is not about social issues. Christ did teach on an ethical/social level, but here he has left the masses and is speaking to a chosen few, i.e., his Disciples.
The mourning that Jesus speaks of is a spiritual mourning; when we feel we are “poor” in spirit. When we realize that we do not see God in all things is when we feel “poor” in spirit.
As I said in the beginning of my last blog post, the first Beatitude sets up the rest. Because if we think we have it all…that we are spiritual…we cannot be taught on the spiritual level. One who thinks they know cannot be taught.
Jesus calls this type of mourning “Blessed” because it is rare. It is not for everyone, because it arises from a sense of spiritual loss or some might say a spiritual loneliness. When we can feel alone…even when we are in a crowd…or despite the fact that we are successful in our trade…and when we still feel something is missing inside, even when we have a loving family and all the things that most people look for…this is an example of that spiritual loneliness that Christ speaks of.
Unfortunately, a great number of those people continue to try and fill that loneliness with worldly goods and material trophies. They will get a temporary fulfillment, but it doesn’t last long.
Ramakrishna has said “People weep rivers of tears because a son is not born or because they cannot get riches. But who sheds one teardrop because he has not seen God?”
Christ Himself expresses it in the Imitation of Christ:
“O Lord God, when shall I be made one with thee and be molten into thy love, so that I wholly forget myself? Be in me, and I in thee; and grant that we may so abide, always together in one.”
Christ and the spiritual teachers, Avatars and incarnations teach us that we are much more than this body. This body is just a vehicle and our goal in life is to realize the God within.
The journey of this realization starts with being “Poor in Spirit” so that we can open our hearts and let God in.
Namaste,
Michael
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