Read, again: Matthew 5:1-12

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  (Mt. 5:2)
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”  (Lk. 6:20)

We must be careful not to romanticize poverty.  Have you ever heard an very-upper-middle class Christian friend returning from a mission trip to an impoverished area and reporting, “Those people had nothing; they lived in squalor and went to bed hungry almost every night.  But they had such joy and exuberance in their Sunday worship!  I almost envied them.”?

I admit that I cringe when I hear such observations; and I want to say,

    “So are you going to dispense with everything you have so you can live in abject poverty?” 

-or-

“Just think how much more joyful and exuberant they would be if they weren’t struggling 
with malnourishment!”

Being homeless or living under the threat of eviction, drinking toxic water or having no access to healthcare for one’s children . . . these are not kingdom blessings!  

The real blessing – the first beatitude – Jesus announced is that of living in daily, radical dependence upon God; it is the intimacy with God that comes from experiencing that God is the source of every good and perfect gift; it is freedom from the all-consuming pursuit of wealth and power and control; and it includes the honor of being a channel of God’s blessings to others.

Proverbs 30:7-9 forms what would be a bold prayer for North American Christians.  Jesus seems to have used it to help shape what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” 

I dare you to pray it with me.

Go Deep:
Richard Rohr makes a startling claim in his book Jesus’ Plan for a New World: The Sermon on the Mount: “Poor in spirit means to live without a need for your own righteousness.  It’s inner emptiness, no outer need for your own reputation.  If you’re poor in spirit it won’t be long before you’re poor.  In other words, you won’t waste the rest of your life trying to get rich because you’ll know better.” [italics mine]

What do you think?

-Pastor Dave