Gathering 206: “Blessed are…the mournful” // Service of Worship // Rev. Tony Minear, Ph.D.

Why do we talk about death as loss? Jesus said, "Blessed are the mournful for they shall be comforted." For centuries, this Beatitude was understood to mean that comfort was realized only by the absolution of our sins from God. But in the 16th century, Martin Luther and John Calvin reexamined this Beatitude and what it meant to mourn a variety of losses in life, and a shift took place. Join us as we continue our worship series on the eight Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Today, Pastor Tony Minear, Ph.D. explores loss and our proclivity for attachment. If nothing in life is permanent, did Christianity get it right? Or do we need to let go of our attachment to the things and experiences of life in order to truly realize a sense of wholeness and comfort? By detaching or disassociating, will we be better prepared for death and value the impermanence of life itself? 

Recorded live at Beatitudes Church in Phoenix, AZ on 11/7/21  

Preaching: Rev. Tony Minear, Ph.D.  

Dramatic Reading: “My Eulogy”  

Reader: Mark Stoddard 

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