The Beatitude for the day

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5:3

Most of us want to be independent, resourceful, and resilient. We prefer to be the ones who help others, rather than need help ourselves. When Jesus says happy and to be congratulated are those who find it hard to make life work sometimes, it all sounds counter-intuitive. And that’s true – so much of what Jesus teaches goes against what we think is usually the case.

Interestingly, the words of Jesus in Luke are not so much about those who are “poor in spirit,” and struggling with guilt, or feeling inadequate, or anxious about problems too hard to solve, or low in spirits. Luke’s Beatitude says “Blessed are you who are poor,” and by that he means those who don’t have enough money or enough to eat. But that lack of material security also causes poverty in spirit, anxiety about tomorrow, feelings of injustice and just the struggle to keep hoping.

One way or another, we’ve all been in places and times when our own resources are not enough. We may even feel that blessing has passed us by, God’s interests are elsewhere. Jesus’ words make a promise. When we are at our lowest, God is there, in strength, in grace, and in the power of a love that understands those deep longings we all have, for life to be fruitful, and for hope to pull us forward.

“For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” is not a promise of something better, sometime; both Matthew and Luke promise that when we are at our lowest, ours is the Kingdom of heaven. Like treasure discovered in a field, God will not leave us bankrupt. Like seed growing on good ground, fruit will grow out of our lives; like a mustard seed growing into a tree that shelters the birds, so is our faith - and so is God’s kingdom in our hearts.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit… When we reach the place where we run out of resources, ideas, and solutions, we never run out of God’s love for us, or God’s grace to help us. The kingdom of heaven is that place in our lives where we trust God to care for us no matter what. And no matter what, He does…for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
 
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation