Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
Poverty of spirit provides the path to the riches of Jesus. Who would have expected that?
When I read the Gospels, Jesus sure seems to enjoy teaching through paradox. He deliberately flips expectations upside down. What a way to start a sermon: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Really? Happy are those who are low? Fulfilled are those who are empty? Joyous are the sad? It seems to make no sense.
When I first hear “poor in spirit,” I think of the ways I don’t want to be. Dejected. Blue. Diminished. Inert. Hopeless. Stuck. Depressed. How can these states be a way into the kingdom of God’s glorious reign, where all is just and right and harmonious?
Just as Jesus wants, to understand him we listeners have to keep reflecting. Then, like a bomb on a timer, Jesus’s words go off inside us. Oh, that’s what he meant! These reversals are true. The way up runs via the way down. Somehow, paucity of soul really can lead us to splashing in the overflow of heaven’s bounty.
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