Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit: 

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mathew 5:3(KJV)

Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount seems to be a collection of paradoxical statements. The way God expects us to live our lives often seems to contradict the ways of the world. Each beatitude reveals to us how God blesses us for following the spiritual code ingrained in us all. God blesses us to experience God’s love, joy and peace despite our outward circumstances. To be poor in spirit is to be humble, realizing, as we draw closer to God, that we are unable to measure up to the greatness of His Spirit. People who are not poor in spirit are those who feel no need for God, but are often haughty, dominating and proud. In the eyes of the world to be ‘poor’ in anything is frowned upon. They believe that their achievements are a result of their own efforts. In truth it is only Jesus who exemplified this beatitudes in his life (Philippians 2:1-11). Jesus’s coming to earth was the ultimate example of voluntary sacrifice to make oneself poor in spirit, by giving up His glory above to come and live with us and to die for all of us at the hands of some wicked and foolish people. 

There are many who embrace poverty by their free will, like St. Francis and Mother Teresa who have been exceptional examples. Mother Teresa said, “The spiritual poverty of the World is much greater than the physical poverty of our people.” She felt spiritually empowered by the Spirit of a loving nourishing God working in her life and ministry that her own physical needs for riches and glory were of less consequence. The World suffers from loneliness and emptiness which their riches and glory could never satisfy. These saints of God gave up everything, made their spirits poor, and were strengthened by the grace of God that made them remarkable instruments reaching out to the poor and needy. They were able to bring the Spirit of Christ to touch the hearts of the poor and suffering with love and compassion.

When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane he was going through a phase of feeling downcast, and he was desperately seeking comfort in the Spirit of God. But Jesus did not have any problem asking for the prayers of his disciples. He asked his disciples to watch and pray. When Jesus prayed droplets like blood flowed down his face. Was his flesh under great conflict with his spirit that wanted to do the will of God? Was he drained spiritually and physically? How would he have felt spiritually when his disciples fell fast asleep when he felt this tremendous burden upon him? When heavy burdens are laid on our spirits we suddenly realize our poorness in spirit and the need for Jesus to renew and strengthen us. We are poor in Spirit when we realize without Jesus’s death and resurrection we can never be part of the Kingdom of God.

 It is our poorness in spirit that attracts us to our Lord and Savior. John 4:24 clearly says that God is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. When we approach the Holy Spirit, we realize how spiritually poor we are and we humbly ask for strength to live fruitful spiritual lives. We realize our desperate need for God. We realize we are really in no position to offer God anything, but whatever we receive is a gift from him. In Acts 1:8 the disciples were told to wait until they received the Holy Spirit. With the anointing of the Holy Spirit they would be empowered to be witnesses of God to the ends of the earth. We have become poor in spirit when we realize that without the Holy Spirit we are spiritually poor and incapable of living godly lives. Our poorness in spirit cannot be fully measured by any standards established by people, but only by those set by Christ. 

The Kingdom of God is structured in a way where love, joy, peace, humility and self- sacrifice are glorified. The world glorifies beauty, power, and wealth. But when we come to God in poorness of spirit, in some miraculous way we are able to pass through the eye of the needle easily and enter into the Kingdom of God. Christ has bestowed on us our citizenship in heaven even before we are dead (Philippians 3:20-21). This means the kingdom of God is not just the kingdom of the dead but of the living as well. Jesus our King did not come to establish a physical kingdom on earth but a spiritual kingdom that stretched from earth to heaven. In spirit we are all part of the kingdom of God.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we come to you in faith and humility knowing that it is only by your grace and mercy we can be part fo your Kingdom. We thank you for your love for us and your invitation to be part of your Kingdom. Thank you for blessing us with your presence which fills us with so much of love, joy and peace. Amen.