“Comfort + Able = Comfortable?”
Hurt and loss are important parts of living.
I think about those teenagers in Columbine. I think about the people of Iraq. I think of the millions with AIDS in Africa. I think of Mary the day Jesus hung on the cross. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
Does comfort and able combine to make comfortable? I guess that depends on whether I am asking a grammatical question or a philosophical one. Jesus tells us that those in mourning will be comforted. Is He telling us we will be comforted or challenging us to be the comforters?
Everyone
needs comfort -- both young and old alike.At some time or other, all of us will mourn -- and we all want comfort. It is human nature. When you were a little kid and fell down, scraping your knee, what did you do? You probably ran to momma, expecting her to make it all better. Perhaps she put one of those cool Barney band-aides on it, or just gave it a little kiss if that’s all it needed. Whatever the case, you could always count on mom’s gentle comfort.
When I think back to high school, the need for comfort always seemed to come from problems with relationships. Friendships were always coming and going, as were broken hearts and hurt feelings. But there were also more serious issues to ponder. The death of a fellow student. A teammate with an abusive parent. A relative with a sickness. The prospect of war.
How ironic that today I felt some of those same emotions. A friend and coworker got called up from the Navy reserves. His final destination in all likelihood will be the Middle East. What an awful feeling, the same type of one I had as a senior, pondering the likelihood of a draft. Only now, someone I know is really leaving.
Jesus challenges us to be comforted and to comfort others.
The words of Jesus are not a consolation prize for those who mourn. They are a challenge to the rest of us. That is one reason Jesus came to this earth. In order to save us, He had to challenge our ideas, ideals, customs, rules and beliefs. In the beatitudes, Jesus lays out what it means to be a Christian.
And guess what? It isn't easy. Every time someone close to me tells me about a hardship, I immediately start thinking of my own life difficulties. I do this constantly -- it is one of my biggest failures. I can just picture Jesus shaking his head saying, “You just aren't getting it Rod.”
You see, Jesus isn’t just telling us how to get comfort. He is telling us to go out and comfort. Start little, start big it doesn't really matter.
- Help out at a soup kitchen.
- Visit a nursing home.
- Console and listen to a friend.
- Visit a relative.
- Give someone a hug.
- Give someone else a kiss.
- Embrace someone.
- Help out at a pediatric center.
- Go to the hospital.
- Drop in on a support group.
- Pray for one another.
- Pray for peace.
Will you be the one who comforts?
There are so many things that can be done. The key is to rise to the occasion
and live compassionately. It can be hard to do, but Jesus never said anything
was going to be easy.
The power lies within you. God gave us free will and the ability to make
choices. Choose to fall in love with Jesus. Choose to rise to His challenges.
Choose to walk this earth as compassionately as he did. Choose comforting
over being comforted.
Yes, we all deserve some comfort. The Lord loves His children, and wants
nothing more than to comfort them. But we must be Christ in the world.
And we must give comfort to those who mourn, because Jesus told us they
are special.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Will you be the one? Will you be the one to reach out and comfort them?
Don't be comfortable. Go and give comfort wherever you are
able.
Life Applications:
As Christians do we deserve comfort?
Do you find Jesus' words challenging?
Are you the comforted or comforter?
From the Catechism:
The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints. (CCC 1717)
By Rod Hetherton
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