Photo: An advertisement (full page) that appeared in the newspapers in the largest cities in Florida in October, 2020.
Special to United Methodist Insight | Jan. 19, 2026
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5. 4
This verse in the Gospels could be translated as “blessed are they who weep”, or “blessed are they who grieve”. The word penthein communicates a deep, intimate sorrow. Those who grieve shall be comforted. This verse contains the Greek word parakalein, to be comforted or consoled, to be encouraged or strengthened, to find a helper or an ally. The root word, paraclete, is the Holy Spirit.
Blessed simply means to be within the presence and purpose of God. Happy is not a great English translation of the word makarios.
So…
Blessed are those who grieve, for they will find allies.
Speaking as a white American Christian, I am on a journey to becoming an ally. Some of that is holding space with the grief of those who have known harm, discrimination, lack of opportunity, incarceration, marginalization, enslavement, deportation, genocide, because of the color of their skin.
That is my particular journey, the journey I undertake as I listen, and the possibility, in the story of the Epiphany, that when I hear again the voice of Dr. King, I might go home by another way, the way of being an ally.
To people of color, I cannot fully know your grief, your rage, your despair.
I can only say that I have been trying to show up. How you are comforted, encouraged, strengthened is the discernment you undertake. It is a long journey, “stony the road”. Healing, reconciliation, and repair are a long journey.
The possibility is that we might walk together, marching in the light of God. God does reveal over time what that journey looks like.
I will be preaching on the Beatitudes over the next couple of weeks–at First UMC in Gastonia, NC, at the Goodson Chapel in Duke Divinity School and with the Pigeon River UMC Cooperative in Haywood County, NC, and the possibility that “comfort” could be translated “ally” has spoken to me. Like every preacher Dr. King borrowed from other preachers. Benjamin Mays, the president of Morehouse College when Martin arrived, said “The destiny of each individual, wherever he resides on earth, is tied up with the destiny of all who inhabit the globe”. This phrasing came from another preacher, Harry Emerson Fosdick of the Riverside Church in New York City, who asserted, “We are intermeshed in an inescapable mutuality.” And Dr. King would then say, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
The dream, the inescapable network of mutuality, is a way of naming the grief, the horror of what is, and imagining a better future and a beloved community.
This is not a turn toward a false sense of unity that denies the accountability that harm requires. I have been reading On Repentance and Repair by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. An extraordinary book: wise, practical, spiritual, unflinching. For us in Western North Carolina right now that includes the rebuilding of a historically black church that has burned and two churches that have made significant gifts for this purpose; showing up alongside our neighbors in Charlotte as they were targeted by outside “border” personnel; and an initiative to strengthen churches and shaped by the gifts, wisdom and challenges of our historically black churches.
On the day when we remember the witness of Martin Luther King, Jr, I return to the Beatitude:
Blessed are those who grieve, for they will find allies.
I invite you to take a moment to name the prophets and allies who have come alongside you, past and present.
I invite you to grieve the injustice of this moment, but with the reminder that we do not grieve as those who have not hope.
I invite you, and myself, to stay with the essential work of repentance and repair, without which we cannot become allies.
And I invite all of us to center those who have been harmed, those who are being harmed, and to bear their griefs and carry their sorrow.
This is the inescapable network of mutuality. This is the connection. And, Jesus teaches, this is the kingdom of heaven.
As always, thank you for grinding the beans, and for reading, sharing with your friends, subscribing and recommending this newsletter. I love your responses and notes. And again, you are invited to write to me at: Box 837 Lake Junaluska, NC 28745.
And mostly thank you for your friendship and the connection.
Bishop Carter
Bishop Ken Carter (Florida Conference Photo)
Bishop Ken Carter serves as episcopal leader of the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. This post is republished from his Substack blog, Grinding the Beans.