The Lutheran Hour
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"A Good Mourning"
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Text: Matthew 5:4
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With human mortality approaching the 100% mark, it is likely we shall someday mourn the earthly passing of someone we have loved. The message today shares how “those who mourn” can be blessed as they claim the comfort Christ has promised.
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Those seven words give to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, a sense of security that the world cannot know. The empty tomb of Easter tells those who belong to Christ that the same power which brought Jesus back from the dead will also conquer death for them. Because this is true, we believe the words of our crucified and risen Savior, who said, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
A man had sold his little restaurant on main street and taken a position with a national insurance company. The new job had a number of advantages: he no longer had to put in 18 hours a day. He was able to set his own hours and work out of his house. This was a blessing, because ministering to his frail, fragile and failing wife was his first interest. When people commended him on his selfless sacrifice, he tried to explain: “She’s my partner. On our wedding day, before God, we spoke vows which said: ‘In sickness and in health, until death us do part.'”
To all who knew them, it was not a shock when death showed at their little house. What was surprising is that death came for him, not her. The whispered words of those who knew them were, “His dying is going to lead to her end as well. She won’t last long.” But the insurance man and his wife were Christians. They believed that Jesus, God’s Son, had come into this world to carry their sins, die the death they deserved, and had risen so all who believe in Him will live forever. In the face of death, the wife’s faith did not fail her. Two days after the funeral, she took some of her first steps, alone. It took what seemed like hours for her to walk from the bedroom to her husband’s empty office. Surrounded by the memories of him, the clutter of him, the scent of him, she blinked back the tears, and with trembling hands found what she was looking for. Small, slow steps took her to the front door. There she hung up the sign her husband had used when he went out on his sales calls. It read, “GONE OUT–BACK SOON.” Weak in body, strong in spirit, she knew when the casket closes, it is not the end. She knew when you leave the cemetery’s open grave, life is not finished. She knew the words of Jesus who said that those who acknowledge Him as Savior will be blessed in their mourning. And for this widow, hers was a good mourning.
Of course, this Lord’s Day, you may not be a mourner. It is possible that death, up to this point, has pretty well avoided you. You may be among those few who have not yet been touched by the passing of an important or close person in your life. Enjoy it while you can. I don’t mean to be dark, dreary or depressing, but I can say, without any fear of contradiction, death is coming — for you or someone you love. Take a moment. In your mind, picture all of those people who are important to you; close to you; dear to you; loved by you. Do you see the faces of children, parents, spouse, faithful friends, kind co-workers? Death is coming for them. Death will, as time goes by, erase from this earth each of those faces. When Adam ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, death was set free to stalk each of us (Romans 5:12). It is a task that death has taken seriously.
Death will come for those close to you and you will mourn. You may mourn like the young widower who is trying to raise his two children by himself. You may mourn like the mother whose daily footsteps have worn a path to the new grave in the children’s section of the local cemetery. You may mourn like the man who sadly sighs because he has, once again, started to speak to a life’s companion who is no longer there. You may mourn like a young child who cannot grasp why Grandma no longer comes over for Sunday supper. You may mourn like a grown up child who picks up the phone on Sunday afternoon to call Mom, but the number is no longer in service. You will mourn when you receive Christmas cards addressed by a person who has not heard that death has come to your home. You will mourn when you wander through a house and bump into little memories, a piece of paper left there, a tool on the workbench not put away, a hamper filled with unwashed clothes. You will mourn as your mind is filled with little things, once shared, that will never be again. Yes, death will come. And mourning will come. The question is, “Will yours be a good mourning?”
It was over 25 years ago that I called upon the parents of a child who was dying. Dad was a member of my church and had, thanks be to God, not neglected his Christian duty as a father. He had been the spiritual head of his household, and all of the children knew Jesus. Mother had never had much use for the Savior or the sacrifice He had made to save sinners. Now, with death coming, I thought things might be different for her. Hoping the Spirit would touch her and give her a good mourning, I spoke to them from the Bible: “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” After that, I would have given other words from Scripture: the beloved 23rd Psalm: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” The Gospel in a nutshell, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Then, the wonderful words of the Savior, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11: 25-26).
The husband nodded when he heard the Bible’s comfort. But the other passages remained unspoken, at least for that day. The mother, who had no faith, interrupted: “Go no further. I will not listen. When he dies, my son will be dead. We will go to the cemetery. We will walk away. My heart will break, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to forget him.” How horrible; how hopeless; how helpless were her words. How sad that things happened just as she had said. Death came. Their son died. They did go to the cemetery. And when last I saw this mourning mother, she was still striving and struggling to forget. For her, every day was a bad mourning.
Maybe that mother’s story is yours, as well. Do you see the arrival of death as an end to relationships, a time when you must burn from your brain all memories of those who have died? Do you see the cemetery as a final farewell? Is death for you something frightening, fearful, and final? Jesus can change that. Your Brother who was beaten and died for you, can dispel those feelings like the sun destroys a morning mist. When the Son of God rises in your life, death is dispelled and a good mourning can dawn.
Do you remember just a moment ago, I talked about the sadness of a mourning mother? What happened to the Christian father? His son had died, too, you know. He had also gone to the cemetery. Yet, because of his faith in the Holy Spirit, when I saw him last, he was having a good mourning. Loss? Yes. Pain? Yes. Emptiness? Yes. But he did not mourn as those who have no hope. He knew that a living Lord Jesus would someday, on judgment day, raise his son to life (1 Thessalonian 4:13-14) and grant them a family reunion that would never end. For him the words of Jesus had been fulfilled: “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
That comfort comes from living and dying in the hands of Jesus. Years ago, a friend shared a story with me she had told her children. It is worth repeating. Her father, the children’s beloved grandfather, had just died. Understandably, one of her little ones wanted to know more about death. The mother explained, “Honey, do you remember when you were a very little boy how you used to play hard all day?” He remembered that. “And do you remember when night came, you were sometimes too tired even to undress and go to bed? You would just lay on the living room couch and fall asleep?” He remembered that, as well. “Well, honey, that couch wasn’t your bed — it wasn’t where you belonged, was it?” He admitted it wasn’t. “Do you remember when you woke up, much to your surprise, you found yourself in your own bed in your own room?” Yes, he remembered. Mom continued, “You were there because someone had loved you and taken care of you. Daddy came, and with his big strong arms, picked you up and tucked you in bed. Death is just like that. We’re tired and we fall asleep. We die. But when Christians die, Jesus comes and picks them up. He takes them where they belong. Jesus does that because He loves us.” Now, I don’t know if that little boy understood, but I do. I hope you do, too.
I pray you do. The truth is, for some, listening to my voice today, this might be your last day on earth; this might be the last sermon you will hear; this could be the last invitation from the Savior you will ever get; the last chance to give your family and friends a good mourning. Cancer may be coming. Old age may be wearing you down. A heart attack, a stroke, an auto accident — death comes in a million ways. But the Holy Spirit comes to you, today, through His Word. The Holy Spirit comes and says, even if you are no longer alive on the first Sunday in November, in the year 2002 of our Lord, you can, if Jesus is your Savior, be where you belong, and those you leave behind can have a good mourning.
This will happen if you are saved. How can you be saved? That same question was asked nearly 2,000 years ago, on Pentecost, the birthday of the church. Talking of that day, Scripture says, “When the people heard this (the message of the disciples), they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.'” It’s that simple. Repent. Turn from sin. Turn from what you once were. Leave behind the old and be brought to the Lord Jesus. In Baptism, have your sins washed away and begin a new life.
He who entered this world to live for you, die for you, rise for you, and save you, is waiting. If you do not know Jesus, call the number we will give before the end of this broadcast. Do not procrastinate. Do not wait. My co-workers at Lutheran Hour Ministries will put you in touch with those who can make sure your family and friends will have a good mourning when death comes for you. Let today be the day the Holy Spirit touches your heart, brings you to faith, for tomorrow may be too late.
Jesus has carried the weight of death to the cross and cast that weight away with His resurrection. Look at the Bible. Look hard. See what Jesus can do. When He bumped into a funeral cortege coming out of the city of Nain, He stopped the procession of mourning and restored that young man to his mother, turning grief into gladness (Luke 7:11). When His presence was requested at the house of Jairus, a man whose daughter had died, Jesus told the weeping and wailing crowd that the little girl was only sleeping. Then He proved that death is nothing more than sleep to the all-powerful Son of God, and raised her from the dead (Luke 8:41-56). When Mary and Martha asked Him to hurry to their home and restore their brother’s health, Jesus arrived to find them having a dark and dismal mourning. Four days before, their brother, Lazarus, had died. But He who first created life, has no difficulty in restoring life. Standing before the dead man’s tomb, Jesus called, “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus came. Transcending all human hope, contrary to all human knowledge; beyond all human power, Lazarus came out (Luke 11).
Those words of the Lord, first spoken in the little town of ancient Bethany, will someday, when Jesus returns again, echo into all the world’s cemeteries, carry into all the mausoleums, descend into the unmarked graves of the sea. Jesus will say, “Come out,” and those who have died will rise to life. The same power that brought Christ back from the dead still works for those who are called by His Name. Jesus’ own resurrection on Easter Sunday turns the human question mark of death into a Divine exclamation mark of eternity.
Because this is true, those who know Jesus can take heart. Let the Holy Spirit give you a good mourning. Cling to the promise of the Savior who said He will not leave you comfortless (John 14:18). Hold fast to the Lord’s promise which says “not even death can separate you from the love of God which comes in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:38-39). Let yours be a good mourning, because by Jesus’ death and resurrection, our heavenly Father has swallowed up death forever (Isaiah 25: 8, 9). You can, with confidence, confess, “Surely this is our God, we trusted in Him, and He has saved us” (Isaiah 25:9). Our friends who have died will come out of their graves. Our spouses will come forth. Our children will come forth. Our parents will come forth. And on that day of resurrection, when the Son of God appears, a day will dawn when you shall never mourn again. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for November 3, 2002
ANNOUNCER: What concerns should I have when choosing an English Bible translation? That will be our topic for the next few minutes as we talk about this with Dr. Cameron A. Mackenzie, professor of Historical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. He is also the author of the recently published book, “The Battle for the Bible in England – 1557 to 1582” published by Peter Lang. I’m Mark Eischer. Dr. Mackenzie, is readability the main concern in choosing a translation?
MACKENZIE: Readability is certainly one concern but it’s not the only one. Obviously, if a person is going to derive some benefit from reading or hearing the Bible, he has to be able to understand it. But even more important is that the Bible translation be accurate. That is, that it faithfully reflect what God has revealed in the original Hebrew and Greek. A Bible that is readable may become popular, but if it is not accurate, it may also be misleading.
ANNOUNCER: Dr. Mackenzie, do all English translations start from the same sources or with the same set of assumptions?
MACKENZIE: Now, that’s a very important question because the answer is no. Many translations differ, first of all, because they start with different Hebrew and Greek texts. For example, if you would compare the Lord’s Prayer in the Old King James version and then in the New International Version, you would find that the ending, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory…” from Matthew 6:13, is missing from the NIV. That’s because those two versions were translated from a somewhat different Greek text. Bible translators today have many more Greek manuscripts than in earlier times and some of those manuscripts are much older than the ones used in the 16th and 17th centuries. So the underlying texts are different and so, too, are the resulting translations. The ending to the Lord’s Prayer doesn’t exist in the oldest manuscripts, and therefore most newer versions don’t translate it. But besides the question of text, translations will also differ on the philosophy of translation. Some translations try to stay as close as they can to the vocabulary and grammatical forms of the original languages. Others try simply to capture the meaning without worrying too much about the form. The first kind of translation is usually called “literal” translation. The others are sometimes called “dynamic” translations. Let me make one other point if I can about assumptions, and that’s because theological assumptions also make a difference. When translating the Old Testament, for example, it really makes a difference of whether you think the New Testament writers understood the Old Testament correctly or not. For instance, in Galatians 3, St. Paul emphasizes God’s promise to Abraham was to the patriarch and to his Seed (singular); not Seeds (plural). And this singular Seed, says Paul is Jesus Christ. Now this is a reference to passages in Genesis where the actual Hebrew is “Seed.” But one modern version, the Revised Standard version, translated Seed in all those passages as descendants (plural), thus obscuring the connection to Christ, which was so very important to Paul. So we want an accurate Bible that is as readable as possible without sacrificing accuracy.
ANNOUNCER: We’ve been talking with Dr. Cameron Mackenzie, professor of Historical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. The next Lutheran Hour message is titled, “A Sunday for Suffering.”