Rochester, MN UCC - "Those Who Weep Will Laugh" - Luke 6:20-31

“Blessed are you who weep now for you will laugh,” is probably not the best thing to say to someone mourning the loss of a loved one. It is one of the beatitudes spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke’s Gospel, but telling a grieving widow she’ll be laughing soon is likely to go over like a lead balloon. When we are in mourning it can seem as though laughing belongs to another order of existence- an action pertaining to a world from which we have been exiled. Yet, Jesus is clear that those who mourn are blessed and they will laugh again.

Mourning is the shape that our love takes when we’ve lost someone. The depth of our mourning, corresponds to the depth of our love. To weep at the loss of a loved one is evidence that we have, in this case, truly kept Jesus’ commandment to love one another. We have shown ourselves to be disciples of Christ, and Christ has promised not to lose a single sheep of his flock. Jesus accompanies us in our mourning, blessing us with his presence. Jesus blesses us with the promise that God holds our lost loved ones in the loving light of eternal life. And Jesus blesses us with the hope that we will one day laugh alongside them once more.

 This Sunday, join us for the blessing that is our All Saints Day Worship. Together we will mourn those whom we have loved and lost. Together we will hear God’s promise of salvation and eternal life. And together we will share in the foretaste of the great heavenly banquet, the bread and cup through which we join with the communion of saints in heaven and on earth. Join us in giving thanks for the gift of our loved ones, and the blessings of Jesus Christ and the Church who accompany us through our highest peaks and our lowest valleys.

 - Rev. Andrew Greenhaw