Reflection: Once we understand the first beatitude (“Blessed are the poor in spirit …”), the second one flows logically. We not only grieve the poverty of our own soul; we also “mourn” the injustice of the world. Jesus is almost certainly thinking of Isaiah 61:1-9 (“The Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor … to comfort all who mourn in Zion … For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing”).

The demeanour of the Christian in the world—this side of God’s kingdom—will often be sorrow. I don’t mean the judgmentalism we are often accused (guilty) of; I mean a humble sadness that first sees the evil in our own souls, and only then grieves the “robbery and wrongdoing” in the world. And in all this, Jesus says, we “will be comforted”, both now and in the future. We know that evil won’t win—and that future reality is a comfort now. And we also have God’s Spirit in us, granting us peace in the chaos, and empowering us to work for God’s “will on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). When we “mourn” the sin of the world and look forward to the coming kingdom, we are participating in the mind of God. We are blessed.

Question: Why is it so easy to feel ‘judgmental’ toward the sin of the world? Why is ‘mourning’ the more appropriate approach?