Matthew 5:4
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Once in a tiny village there lived a widow. Her husband died tragically when they were young and she had never remarried. They had one child together: a boy. He was a good son and took care of her and brought joy into her life.
Then one day the son died suddenly in an accident. The widow was beside herself with grief. She barely slept, she hardly ate, and she saw no company. Her friends worried about her terribly.
Finally, not knowing what else to do, the friends sought the help of a mysterious Rabbi.
"Rabbi," they said, "She barely sleeps, she hardly eats, and she won't see any of us. But we hear that you have miraculous powers and we are hoping that if you pay her a visit, she will see you because you are a man of God and then maybe you can work some kind of miracle to bring happiness back into her life."
The Rabbi was a compassionate man so he agreed to pay the widow a visit. And sure enough she let him in because he was a holy man.
As the Rabbi sat in the widow's house, he could see that her friends were right. She looked tired and hungry and deeply sad.
"How may I assist you?" The Rabbi asked.
The widow began to shake with grief. "I can't go on like this. My sorrow is too much. Please do something. Either use your powers to bring my boy back to life or to heal my pain."
"Unfortunately," said the Rabbi, "I cannot bring the dead back to life. God alone can do that. I do however know a potion that can make you forget your grief... But I would need something from you."
"Please! Anything!" the widow cried, "I can't go on like this."
The Rabbi smiled and said, "It's a potion. I have everything I need except for one thing. A tiny mustard seed from the home of someone a household that has known no sorrow."
The widow smiled for the first time in a long time. "That's it? I can do that! I know just the person."
And she did. Everyone knew old Granny Akers. She was the most joyful person in town. She always was quick with a smile and had a warm hug for anyone. She was such a cheerful bubbly presence that everyone just loved to be around her."
The widow went straight to Granny Aker's home and knocked on the door. Granny came out and smiled. "Oh it's so good to finally see you again. We've all been praying for you. Come in and have some tea."
The widow agreed and came inside. As she sat there with her tea, the widow explained everything the Rabbi had said about the potion and how all she needed was a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow.
"Oh... you poor thing..." said Granny Akers with a frown. "I wish I could help you but the truth is. I've had sorrow of my own. My father was an abusive drunk. He used to torture my mother and me. I ran away from home when I was a teenager and I've never been back. I think I smile and bake all the time to mask the pain."
The widow looked at Granny Akers as her eyes welled up with tears and held her hand. "I'm sorry, Granny, I never knew." She stayed there for a long time as the two cried together and drank tea.
Next, she went to the home of a couple called the Flendersons. They were newly weds who had only been together a year. "That was my mistake," she thought. "Of course someone so old and experienced is going to have sorrows. But someone as young as these two... Why, they've seen nothing but sunny days. I'll ask them for a mustard seed."
They invited her in and she explained about the potion and the seed. The husband laughed. "Look around at this home. We're very poor. We love each other but we fight all the time about money. Some nights we barely have anything to eat. Do you know how hard it is to love someone and not be able to provide for them? You've come to the wrong house."
So the widow spent a good while with the newlyweds, hearing about their difficulties and doing her best to comfort them.
Next she went to the mansion on the hill where the mayor and his wife lived. They were the richest people in town. "That was my mistake," she thought to herself, "Of course two people so poor would have sorrows. But these people who have everything they need and want and live such a charmed life, surely they will be able to give me the mustard seed I need."
The Mayor's wife was the one home. She let the widow in and offered her some food because it was meal time. As the two of them ate, the widow explained all about the rabbi and the potion and the mustard seed. But the woman began to cry.
"I wish I had what you need but sorrow has touched this home as well" And she told the widow all about her miscarriages. How she had tried for years to have children but it didn't happen and how she'd given up and how her big house felt so empty without the laughter of children.
So the widow spent a good long while with the widows wife comforting her.
When she finally left, it was getting dark. She realized as the sun was setting that this day had been the first day in a very long time she had eaten or spent time with others. And she knew that when she got home she was going to be so tired that she would sleep like a log. She was still deeply sad but for those few hours while she was comforting others, she had forgotten about her own pain.
So the next day she kept looking for a house that had known no sorrow. And of course none could be found. House to house, she went hearing of others tragedies and comforting them. She did this for days and then weeks. And then months. Eventually, she forgot she was even looking for a mustard seed because she was so wrapped up in comforting others. Years passed and she forgot about her own sorrow as she went from town to town comforting others. And when she did remember the pain that she had experienced in life, she thanked God for allowing her to use it to bring comfort to others.
Father, We don't understand why we experience the tragedies we do in life. Sometimes it feels unjust. Sometimes it just hurts. But we pray that you would use us to be a comfort to others so that in blessing, we may be blessed. Amen.
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