The Beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit
Among the teachings of Jesus there are a few that stand out above the rest: The great commandment, The great commission, Love one another, and the parables. Another well-known yet misunderstood is The Beatitudes. they are Jesus’s step program for following The Way to the Kingdom of God. What follows is from my book that you can find in the website shop.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:3-12 NIV
A Fresh Idea
There have been many sermons, commentaries, and books that try to explain for us what Jesus was encouraging his listeners and us to learn. I have read much and listened more. However, to me the most helpful and meaningful premise came in a paragraph in a book by Terrance Duniho (Wholeness Lies Within). His idea is that rather than each blessing standing alone, they are best understood as a whole. Simply stated, each one leads to the next as a means of spiritual growth to follow what the book of Acts calls The Way. It is my intent in the next pages to draw upon his insight to provide a fuller explanation of this deeper understanding.
The First Beatitude
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Let us begin by dealing with the version of the beatitudes in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke’s version it only says blessed are the poor. Those who favor Luke over Matthew identify the importance Jesus placed upon helping those who are poor. The poor are at a disadvantage in any culture. It is difficult at best to be concerned about morality and virtue when you are more concerned about where your next meal is coming from or how to find shelter or how to defend yourself from real threats. One of my mentors in ministry is the Reverend Morton Kelsey. He liked to say, “God views the world from the bottom up.” I also like a line from the musical Fiddler on the roof. Before Tevia sings “If I were a rich man” he says in prayer to the Lord “I know it is no sin to be poor, but it’s no honor either.” I think Matthew presents another truth. We are all poor in spirit.
Something is missing
The journey of Christian faith (sanctification, growth, or whatever you choose to call it) begins when we recognize something is missing. We all know, in one way or another, there must be more to life. This is the beginning of the blessing to be poor in spirit. We, like the prodigal, come to our senses. We hope things will be better. When we come to know our spiritual poverty, we become open to our need for God. The blessing is that when we are open to God, He reaches out to us.
My Experience
I believe this from personal experience. Beginning at about age 5, I participated actively in my home church, Saint Thomas Episcopal, in Bath New York. From that age through high school, I was an acolyte and crucifer. I sang in the junior choir and as I got older in the adult choir. If you can believe it, we also had church school on Wednesday afternoon. Our elementary school was just across the street. Those of us who wished to attend could leave school for classes at our churches. I was baptized at age 12 and not long on after, Confirmed. I was president of EYC (Episcopal Young Churchmen). As a zealous young Christian, I took up my own personal ministry. My mother, who was the local Librarian, suggested I take books to people in local nursing homes.
Dad died
This all came to an end when my father died the weekend before my senior year in high school. A friend and mentor The Rt. Rev. Bishop Philip Weeks is fond of saying “Most American Christians have just enough Christianity to inoculate them from the real thing.” It was true of me. I obviously found the church, its worship, prayers, and ministry meaningful. I had read the Bible from cover to cover. I attended Church School and Confirmation classes. I even monthly looked forward to the comic stories of the Bible that were in my Boys Life magazine. None of this prepared me for the death of my Father. No one had told me a personal relationship with God was possible.
Major Depression
My grief turned into depression. I’m sure many adults thought I was on the edge of suicide. In retrospect, I believe that even in those days Jesus saved me. One evening as I was indeed contemplating suicide, I asked myself what I might still believe. I decided I believed in Truth. In the melodramatic thinking of a 17-year-old I thought “If I kill myself I won’t know the full truth of what it means to live.”
Naked in front of a mirror
Six years later and six years of struggle as an avowed atheist, I stood naked in front of a mirror and asked “What are you good for? I am a son, but dad is dead, and I don’t get along with Mom. I am a brother but my relationship there is not good. I am a teacher, but they learn despite me!” On and on went the list. Finally, I just asked loudly. “Can’t I just be!” Can you imagine a much lower point of spiritual poverty? Here is the most amazing miraculous thing. A voice responded. “Yes, and I am!”
Oxymoron
I later came to understand I was faced with the oxymoron of the combination of Free Choice and Irresistible Grace. I thought either I need a priest or a psychiatrist. The thought that God cared enough about me to speak His name was my real beginning on The Way.
The Blessing
Note the blessing of the first and the last Beatitudes are the same: The Kingdom of God. At the beginning of the journey the Kingdom is far away. At the end it is known more presently. God is with us on the journey.
It is no surprise that Step 1 of the 12 Step Recovery programs begin with “Came to believe we were powerless over __________. It’s a basic definition of being poor in spirit. Any long timer in Recovery will tell you “It’s a spiritual program.”
Saint Paul knew what it is to be powerless over.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7:15-20 NIV
What do you do?
Sometimes it is helpful to break through denial on the issue by asking, “When the going gets tough, what do you to?” Some people drink. Others overeat. Some do drugs: prescription or illegal. Some go shopping while others clean the house. Another way to think about going tough is when you experience the tension between how things are and the way you think things should be. People in Recovery have found the Serenity Prayer helps.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
As we move forward through the Beatitudes remember this wisdom from recovery. Although the Steps are progressive, we may find we need to return to a step already “completed.”
Another blessing comes when we hit bottom. It leads us to the next Beatitude. In our humble state we are now able to mourn.
Questions for reflection and/or discussion
- How have you been poor financially or spiritually?
- Think of people who have been poor yet content and persons who have been wealthy yet poor in spirit?
- How do you relate to Paul’s struggle to do what is good?
- What do you do when the going gets tough?