Blessed are...

Spiritual Poverty

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

In Greek, the word ‘poor’ is related to the verb ‘to cringe, or to crouch down.’ The imagery is that of a person so poor that he or she is totally dependent upon the charity of others. The poor must beg if they are to survive. They are found crouching by the city gate, their palms extended, all dignity gone. In these terms, poverty is not relative, it is absolute. The poor are those who are unable to fend for themselves. They are utterly without hope.

Is this whom Jesus meant when He opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, in the synagogue in Nazareth, and read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor”?[1] Is this whom He meant when He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”? Was Jesus advocating a social revolution in which God’s blessings are reserved for the poverty-stricken? Did He intend that we should reject all material blessings in order that we might be spiritually blessed?

There is nothing blessed about being destitute; but there is something valuable in knowing that, spiritually, we are unable to fend for ourselves, and that we must depend, totally, upon the mercies of God. In Israel, the term ‘poor’ came to have a richer meaning than beggarly poverty. Over time, it came to represent those who recognized their need of God. Material poverty is one thing – faithful Jews had always had the responsibility to care for those who could not care for themselves. But spiritual poverty is quite another thing. We do not need to crouch in fear before God; but we do need to accept that we have no refuge but God, no hope save Him.


Lord God,
When I boast of my achievements, bring me low.
When I trust in my own strength, bring me down.
Help me to boast in nothing, save the Cross.
Help me to trust in no-one, save the Crucified One.
In His name.
Amen.





[1] Luke 4:18