Tuesday 5 September 2017

The Happy Melancholic

"Blessed are those who mourn"
Matthew 5.4

As I thought about the music I like, I realised that there is something mournful and melancholic about it (obviously my playlist is great for a party!) It came as quite a shock. It was also quite unsettling - surely this isn't appropriate for a Christian, surely it is a bad witness. Won't others look at me and say, "Well if that is what being a Christian leads to, why would I bother!"

Then I realised that, even though I like melancholic music, it leaves me feeling stirred, hopeful and even happy. So what is happening to me?!?!

As I prepared for a sermon a couple of weeks ago, I found the answer in the Matthew 5. Here it describes the happy person (because that is what blessed means). More than that it is the happy Christian (the ones who have the kingdom because they follow the king). But in the first four cases they are a surprising bunch to be happy: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek and those who are hungry and thirsty. This is very different from the normal idea of what makes people happy. Our culture would probably rewrite them: 

  • Happy are those with high self-esteem
  • Happy are those who are well
  • Happy are the successful
  • Happy are those who are happy with themselves.
Why does Jesus think so differently? It is because the happiness he looks to is focused on the future and not the present. In every one of his statements, he looks forward to what is to come - the future that is so wonderful that it transforms this veil of tears. This is why the mourning or melancholia of these verses is more like yearning than anything else. Yearning is not grief at what I once had but no longer have, instead it is grief at what I do not yet have, but one day will. It is still painful, but it is also hopeful, excited and, yes, happy at the prospect.

That is what the melancholic has to offer the church - the sense that we will not settle for this world, because it is not our home. They don't need to start being happy in the present circumstances of things to be a faithful Christian, instead they are on the cusp of finding true eternal happiness in the hope of what is held in store for us on the day Jesus returns.

As such one of my favourite songs is "In exile" by Thrice. Here is a link: In exile. In fact one of the reasons I like the band is that they have a strong melancholic feel (thanks to my boys for introducing me to the band). You could also try: In the darkness

If you want to listen to the sermon you can go here: The happy melancholic



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