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Dear Disciple,
If you know yourself to be bankrupt in yourself, to be sick in soul and spirit and in need of care from Jesus, then the first beatitude is just for you – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The kingdom of heaven is not for the self sufficient, the proud, the ones who esteem themselves highly, those determined to win the game of life and confident that thy will. They will get their reward in full. And it won’t be much.
The kingdom of heaven is for those who know that within themselves there is not richness but poverty, not excess but need, not a rightful stake in the kingdom but an awareness of no rightful stake in the kingdom, not righteousness but sin.
When Jesus came and preached the kingdom, he preached using words and phrases form the Jewish Scriptures that would provide clues as to what it was he was doing and who he thought he was. There were many of these Scriptures that the godly Jewish people looked in anticipation for further fulfillment in that great day when their God would act decisively to bring in His kingdom.
One great example of this is Jesus’ use of Isaiah 61:1-2 which he reads from the synagogue in Nazareth, quoted here from Luke’s gospel: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
After he reads this passage Jesus says something truly extraordinary and, if not true, certainly blasphemous, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus is saying is that the Spirit of YHWH, the God of Israel, is upon Him (Jesus), and that he has been anointed (same word for messiah) to preach the god news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, etc. In other words, the long awaited time has come, and has come in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth!
So, when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for there is the kingdom of heaven,” He is starting of this manual on discipleship with a tremendous and utterly exciting announcement. The anointed of YHWH’s Spirit has come! Good news is at hand! It is the year of the Lord’s favor! The kingdom is at hand!
And he has come to preach this good news to those who want to hear it, who, generally are not the power brokers, the moneyed class, the people who are doing just fien thank you, the folks working the system to their advantage, the guys whom have crawled to the top of the ladder, the politicos at the top of the food chain – but to the poor and the captive and the blind and the oppressed – all those folks who tend to know more their hopelessness and their need, and who are more ready to receive the good news of Jesus. Well, that good news has arrived. It is a happy time. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! The kingdom of earth has not done much for them, nor will it, but Jesus and His kingdom will! It is a great day!
John of Kronstadt, the 19th century Russian Orthodox priest, put it this way:
“The man poor in spirit sincerely acknowledges himself to be a spiritual pauper, having nothing of his own; whoever waits for everything from God's loving-kindness; whoever is convinced that he can neither think, nor desire anything good, if God will not give the good thought and the good desire, and that he cannot perform one truly good deed without the grace of Jesus Christ; whoever considers himself to be more sinful, worse, lower than everyone; whoever always reproaches himself and judges no one else; whoever acknowledges the garment of his soul to be defiled, dark, malodorous, worthless and does not cease to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to lighten the garment of his soul, to clothe him in the incorrupt clothing of righteousness; whoever unceasingly flees beneath the shelter of God's wings, not having safety anywhere in the world besides the Lord; whoever considers all his property to be God's gift and gives thanks for everything to the Bestower of every good thing and readily apportions his property to the those in need – this is he who is poor in spirit.”
If this describes you, then congratulations, for yours is the kingdom of heaven! |
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