Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: ^“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:1 – 3

I am now switching from meditations on Paul’s letters to the teachings of Jesus, especially those he taught in “The Sermon on the Mount.”  I begin with the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.

I grew up knowing about the “Beatitudes.”  The word itself meant nothing to me nor to the culture I live in.  I never even heard this word in our daily conversations or in the newspapers. What on earth is a “beatitude?” I had no idea. So, Jesus’ teaching was obscured by words that we no longer use.  The words sounded nice, but what is Jesus saying, what is he revealing about reality?   I paid little heed to such thoughts, just merrily recited the words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  How nice!

Having admitted that “beatitude” has no meaning for me or my culture, I go on to read, or to recite words, “Blessed are…”  Pray tell, what does that mean?  “Blessed.” I do hear this word now and again, and even use it on occasion.  When someone has a healthy sneeze, I say, “Bless you!”  I have no idea what I am saying.  Maybe I should just say, “That was a healthy sneeze!”  That is probably what I am thinking, nothing more.  So, leaving out the word “blessed” helps!  For my culture, it is superfluous and without meaning.

It often helps, as I try to find what a word means, to replace it with its negative.  Like, “Cursed are the poor in spirit.”  Now, the meaning is beginning to take shape.  Our culture is not at all comfortable with the thought that it is good to be “poor in spirit.”  That phrase is simply opaque here if not completely undesirable.  We honor those who are “rich in spirit,” those who are self-assured, self-reliant and are getting on nicely, thank you – those who pay no heed to the things of the spirit.

Or we could say, “Blessed are those who are rich in spirit.”  That sounds much better.  But is not what Jesus said!  He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

Is that me?  Am I “Poor in spirit?’  If I know and admit my abject poverty and depend on God to love and look after me, even at my advanced age of 88, then I discover that I am in a new kingdom, not like any on earth.  Only in the kingdom of heaven is virtue attached to poverty, not to riches.  Lord, teach me your word and your words.