Beatitude Living

Jesus was poor.
He gave up his profession, his home, his family to accept a life of wandering, of not knowing where his next meal was coming from, of depending on the Father for all his needs.

Jesus was poor in spirit.
He sought out those of greatest need in his society and met those needs.  He reveled in relationships with the outcast, and gave up his comfortable lifestyle to find them.

Jesus mourned.
He wept at suffering, his own as well as others.  He wept at the limitations that kept people from thriving.  He wept at the systems that kept people oppressed. 

Jesus was meek.
He spoke boldly, which led to his incarceration.  He acted out truth, which led to his condemnation.  He was silent about his own innocence, which led to his death.

Jesus hungered and thirsted for justice.
Jesus taught his disciples to cry out for justice in the Lord’s Prayer.  Jesus acted for justice in small towns, in the wilderness, in the midst of a busy temple, before the governor.  Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus hungered.
He fed the thousands before eating.  He spoke to the outcast woman and was satisfied.

Jesus was merciful.
He saw, really saw, the poor.  And then he acted, meeting their needs although he had nothing to give.

Jesus was pure of heart.
Jesus wasn’t a teacher who spoke of love but hated.  He never took advantage of another, but always gave. He didn’t just speak the truth, he acted it. 

Jesus was a peacemaker.
He met needs.  He comforted.  He showed that the “enemies” of the people were often friends of God. He created a community of love.

Jesus was persecuted.
Jesus was rejected.  Jesus was threatened.  Jesus was hated.  Jesus was beaten.  Jesus was tortured.  Jesus was killed.

For all this, Jesus obtained new life.

A second chance of life is only obtained through the path of Jesus.

Who are You and What have You Done with My Jesus?

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

Ancient poetry, otherwise known as Luke 6:20-26

Let’s look at the beatitudes again.

 “Ahhh,” everyone sighs.  “The beatitudes.  How lovely.  How comforting.” 

How easy to ignore.  How misunderstood. 

We are all familiar with the words in Matthew.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Blessed are the meek.  Blessed are the merciful.”  And on and on.  And we love them because they seem so poetic and so loving and so helpful to us who live quiet lives of desperation in the pursuit of just living normal lives without poverty, without hunger, with some levels of justice and peace.  We will buy plaques of the phrases and place them upon our walls to remind us of how loving and gentle Jesus’ teaching is. 

But those weren’t the beatitudes I was talking about. 

There’s another set, equally spoken by Jesus, found in Luke.  They are certainly the same set of sayings, but they seem… different.  They seem harsher, more difficult to accept, not the kind of Jesus who would comfort us.

After reading Luke’s version, we might be saying, “Who is this guy?  This isn’t my usual preacher!  No… good preachers don’t talk like this.  They use words like ‘beseech’ and ‘Almighty’ and when they say ‘comfort’ it sounds like they really mean it.  This guy, though, he sounds tough, almost mean.  I mean, who would go to a church that sounded like this?  People who were desperate might—or people that had issues with wealth—but not people who could afford to build a nice church building and give a guy a good salary and a parsonage.  No wonder Jesus had no place to lay his head!  Who would listen to this drivel more than once?  The adage makes sense—A prophet is someone who isn’t invited to dinner twice.”

            While we can critique the style or question Jesus’ propriety, we do need to remember the positive points.  First of all, it is direct.  And simple—no one can misunderstand it.  And if it is true, then the message is significant.  Oh, and one other point—Jesus is our Lord.  And these are the words of Jesus. 

            These words aren’t just there as a jumping point for our understanding of spiritual matters.  They aren’t  supposed to be a cover page for our traditional values—whether conservative (“Life is tough and you’ve got to be tough back”) or liberal (“We should really be nicer to the poor”).  They aren’t there to be politely ignored in preference to other passages that we prefer.  Nor does it help for us to retranslate them into something more palatable (“Maybe it could say, ‘Gosh, what a difficult position you rich people are in.’ ”).

            How significantly we treat these words is how significantly we treat Jesus.  This teaching is at the core of what Jesus had to say, and all that he said and did flows from this core.  If we are to accept Jesus, we need to accept this basic creed. 

            What is Jesus speaking of?  What really is the point?  If there is a creed, what would it look like, were it based on this text?  Let’s break it down into pieces:

1.      “We believe in an Almighty God who will judge everyone on the earth”

Judgment isn’t really popular to talk about.  To speak of hell or eternal dishonor or lake of fire isn’t really a popular topic, so many Christians just avoid it.  Honestly, many people have abused hellfire for their own agenda.  So speaking about God’s judgement is kind of like an uncle who was convicted of child molestation, and though he hasn’t done anything like it since, no one talks about him and at Christmas he just finds a corner to sit in and watches the proceedings from a distance. 

            But Jesus firmly believed in a judgment of God that would paste “good” and “bad” on every single person on earth.  Well, let me rephrase that a bit.  The problem with saying “good” or its antonym is that we have such distinct notions in our head about what constitutes this “not-evil.”  The early twentieth century bases of judgment seem so trite now: no smoking, no drinking, no dancing, no playing cards, no skirts above the lower calf, no fraternizing with actors.   It seems trite because the values have changed so much.

            When Jesus speaks of “good”, he really means “honorable.”  At the onset, it seems so subjective.  To have honor among Nazis is to be dissed by the masses.  But Jesus gives this qualifier—the only person who counts, in giving honor, is God.  I mean, if Simon Cowell determines that you suck, who really cares?  But if God makes the determination that you are cool, or that you just don’t make the cut, then it is a more serious judgment.

            Thus, judgment is boiled down to this: God saying to one group, “You’re my kind of people” and saying to another group, “You don’t really make the cut for me.”  The first group, after the determination of the Judge, gains possession of a new nation, which is ruled directly by God, and becomes the central nation over it’s empire of the earth.  The second group, certainly the larger, is exiled from that nation and they make up the outer fringes.  Considering that almost all of the merciful are within the bounds of the Nation of God, the outer fringes just don’t sound like fun.

            This kind of judgment isn’t comfortable to a group of Christians who believe that the term “mercy” and “judgement” cannot even date, let alone live together.  They claim that Jesus hung out with lowlifes (true) and so he, as God’s representative, refuse to judge them (almost true), and so Jesus’ mercy has nothing to do with judging people (wow, you need to read Matthew 23 again).  The fact is that every sub group of Judaism of the first century (and after) determined that there must be a line drawn separating those on the “in” with God and those on the “outs”.  Jesus was no different.³⁶  What made Jesus so radical is not that he erased the line, but where he placed the line.  Which is the rest of our creed.

2.      “We believe that the disciples of Jesus who are poor and persecuted will, at God’s judgement,  obtain the greatest blessings of God.

This is the central point of both sets of beatitudes—in Matthew and Luke.  This is not to deny that those who act in a “pure and righteous” manner will not gain God’s blessings.  This is indicated in Matthew’s list, by giving a special line to the “pure in heart”.  But for Matthew—as well as for Luke in the broader context—it isn’t enough to be “pure”.  Sure, keeping your legs closed until God approves and not bowing down before a moldy statue is good and all, but it doesn’t equate the whole life that God is looking for. 

            God is actually looking for the folks who are so pure, so loving, so bold about Jesus, that they get in trouble for it.  This “trouble” looks differently in different cases.  Perhaps the trouble is rejection by people—Jesus certainly said that his community should expect that.³⁷  But other kinds of trouble also pop up.  There will be weeping in the Christian camp, and poverty.  Some of this may be as a result of persecution, some of this will be due to the system set up to exclude Jesus people from the blessings of this world.  The fact that Jesus’ people don’t collect possessions for themselves, but give them to the needy³⁸; that they aren’t cut-throat, but humble in their leadership³⁹; that they depend on God for their needs, even if those needs are just barely met⁴⁰; that they do good to those who hurt them, which may give their enemies cause to think that they can get away with anything⁴¹—that might have something to do with it.  Jesus’ requirement is a lifestyle of vulnerability.  Let’s face it, Jesus’ way isn’t easy, and he doesn’t put up well with compromise.  God might as well put up a sign, “Kingdom of God: Fanatics need only apply.”

            3. “We believe that the anawim should be envied, and that if we are persecuted or obtain poverty for God’s sake, we should celebrate and feel honored.”

Saints are cool—from a distance.  Some of the stories are great.  Sebastian who was pierced by a hundred arrows for speaking about Jesus.  Michael Sattler who was tortured, had his tongue cut out and then was drowned for teaching the Bible.  Peter and John who were brought to court and beaten for healing a man in Jesus’ name.  Anthony who lived in graveyards and the desert to live a life of purity.  The stories are inspiring, but, ultimately, not for us.  Not for real people.

            We are the people who pray, “Lord, teach us patience, but not if it hurts too much.”  We are the ones who want to live for God, as long as it fits into our overall plan of achieving the American Dream.  We are the ones who cry out “All for Jesus I surrender”, but in practice, we limit our surrender to that which accommodates our society’s limits and morality.

            If someone falls into poverty or persecution because of their stand for Jesus, how do we respond?  Most people in the church would recommend a compromise, a standing down.  “You don’t have to suffer like that—God doesn’t want that for you.”  The church’s positions is: Stand for Jesus, but sit down if your feet get sore.  Or, if there seems to be true injustice, there are the Jay Seculas and Rutherford Institutes who will take the persecutors to court and make them feel economic pain for the injustice of persecuting others.

            Of course, Jesus’ command is a little different.  How do we respond to persecution and pain and anguish for the sake of our religion?  Have a party.  Crank up the dancing music.  Set out the little food that you need little forks to eat it with.  Jesus’ bumper sticker is: Celebrate Poverty. 

            To be obedient to Jesus, it isn’t enough to just grit our teeth in difficulties, we need to rejoice, be happy, throw a party, invite our friends over to get ecstatic with us, watch the Wizard of Oz with the dip in bowls the shape of ruby slippers.  “It’s the happy day!” Jesus says.  “The day you get beat up and killed for God, that’s the day we’ve all been waiting for.  The day you get sick and die because you were handing out tracts in a blizzard—that’s the party day!  The day your airplane crashes because you were going to share the gospel with people in the jungle—that’s the dancing day!  The day you get kicked out of your apartment because you’ve been inviting the mentally ill to worship God with you there—Live it up!  Get some horn blowers and fireworks and make it seem like New Year’s day, because it’s better than that!  It’s the day you’re assured of being right before God!”

            4. “We believe that the disciples of Jesus who are conspicuously wealthy and honored today will,  at God’s judgment, obtain sorrow and rejection.”

The real question is not, however, what happens to those who suffer for God.  That’s a no-brainer.  We’re all pretty sure of that, God will take care of them.  They’ve got a place with God.  Okay, that’s fine.  But what about all those who hang with God and do all the religious things, but they don’t suffer?  Perhaps they are doing the… um… opposite of suffering in the present life.  There are people in God who are doing really well.

            And, let’s face it, these non-suffering folks, the ones who have an excellent bank account (“for many years, frankly, and the accumulated interest is really very healthy and can’t be given away willy-nilly”), and a really nice home (“meant really for family and friends, it just wouldn’t be comfortable to have strangers stay there”), and a car that almost never breaks down (“but I couldn’t pick up hitchhikers, because, well, who knows what they would do”) and a line of credit that doesn’t end (“and we have to take care as to what we invest in, because otherwise we couldn’t be trusted financially”)—these non-suffering folk are really the ones who pays the bills in the church. 

These aren’t vulnerable in this world, but they do their part, right?  They show up on Sunday, sing as loud as anyone else, head committees, pay for the new building, makes sure the pastor has a decent salary.  So, God has his place for them, right?

            Absolutely.  God has a place for them.  It’s called “the outer darkness.” 

            Paul and Barnabas at one point set out to do some revival meetings.  The churches they had planted were struggling spiritually, so the apostles had a powerful message to give to them.  The summary we have received is one sentence, “We shall only enter God’s kingdom through much tribulation.”⁴²  In other words, the ONLY door to God’s ultimate blessing is difficulty, sacrifice, persecution and hardship.  There isn’t any other way.

            This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t bless people on earth.  Oh, my, I have seen many people blessed.  Many rich people today are blessed in their lifetimes beyond the dreams of those who had lived on earth for more than ten thousand years of history.  I mean, indoor plumbing, a health care system that can actually cure more illness than it causes, the ability to fill rooms with such variety of entertainment as has never been seen, never without food, never thirsty, never homeless.  Such a plenty has never been seen in the history of the world for so many people.  This is God’s blessing.  And for those who are content to accept this blessing, this is all they will get.

•             For those who have all their needs met, and never meet hunger—God has for them a place of hunger.
•             For those who surround themselves with pleasantries and joy—God has for them a place of tragedy.
•             For those who reward themselves for the simple act of living—God will strip away all trophies.
•             For those who secure themselves by assuring their own wealth and separation from the poor—God will make them poor and expose them to eternal insecurity.

            No, this isn’t funny.  This isn’t entertaining.  It’s scary.  This is worse than Alien, worse than the Exorcist.  This is the real spiritual existence.  And for those who have all the world has to give—they should be grabbing someone’s arm, because the music is getting ominous.

            5. “We believe that Jesus’ disciples who are honored and wealthy should set these benefits aside for the sake of our needy counterparts, so they can receive true honor and wealth.”

But Jesus’ beatitudes aren’t one of those horror movies that finishes with “The End?”  They are more like an epic move—Laurence of Arabia, Gone With The Wind, Top Gun—the center of which you find yourself almost weeping and breathing hard in your empathy with the hero(ine).  But in the end, through some terrible tragedies and sacrifices, the hero(ine) survives and achieves glorious honor.  This is the story Jesus is telling as well.

           And the story is the same for the poor and the wealthy: the way to God’s honor and blessing and kingdom is through becoming the anawim.  That route is simpler for the poor and persecuted—they get handed their tribulation on a silver platter.  They don’t have to exercise their will to suffer or sacrifice.  For the rich, the famous, the good-looking, the educated, the white middle class folks, those who are granted all the best of the world: the route to God’s blessing is difficult. They have to give up all the blessing they have been granted.

            Have you ever worked for the needy?  Those who are really needy, those whom our society calls “the bottom of the barrel”, for whom no real help exists? To be friends with the friendless, to offer yourself to the needy, it is a daily sacrifice.  You constantly struggle with how much to give, are you being taken advantage of, what is the real need, who of all the worthies should you give to with the limited resources you have?  Inevitably, you give more than you realistically can, and personal and social conflicts arise.  Your health fails.  Your family and friends whom you trusted no longer find you to be trustworthy.  You become an alien to all those whom you have loved.  You become the avoided, the dispossessed.  The one who surrenders themselves to the needy becomes one with the needy.  The one who sacrifices for the anawim becomes the anawim themselves.

            This is the challenge to the wealthy, the well-loved, the sheltered.  Expose yourself to those whom you most fear—those whose needs far outweigh your ability to help them.  Perhaps you will gain great satisfaction doing the work.  Perhaps you will obtain prizes and be Time’s Man of the Year. 

But let me be brutally honest (as if I hadn't been before).  Of the few of you who make the choice to sacrifice all you have for the needy, to obtain God’s glory instead of security and inner peace—you will be put under the bulldozer.  You will go to doctors and they won’t be able to tell you what’s wrong.  You will be disinherited by proper society.  You will have friends who tell you “you’ve just got to stop, for your own sake” but God won’t let you.  You will wonder why you are exhausted all the time.  You will go to bed each night as if you had been beaten.⁴³  You will walk the streets and cry out to God, “Just give me rest!” but the rest never seems to come.  The needy themselves will blame you for not giving enough.  You will rack your brain to find ways to really help them, to really meet their true needs, and find no solution.  You will cry and weep and mourn and wonder why God put you in this place.  To do this work.  To have what seems to be a pointless life.

Now I’ll tell you a secret.  If you sacrifice yourself and feel all this—you’ve made it.  You’re in.  It’s time to celebrate.  It’s time to party.  Yeah, it seems pointless.  To Jeremiah speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem seems pointless because no one he could see would listen.  To David it all seemed pointless because his theocratic monarchy came crashing around his ears.  To the disciples of Jesus it all seemed pointless because their Lord, their Savior was dying on a cross.  Yeah, it all seems worthless—without resurrection.  Without God. 

“Vanity, vanity, all it vanity—everything done under the sun is vanity.”  That’s Scripture.  That’s God’s word.  But, you see, if we embrace the vanity of God, the foolishness of God, the sacrifice of ourselves for the poor and needy, the life of the anawim—then we get all that exists above the sun.  Under the sun? Screw under the sun.  I’m looking for the best retirement plan that exists.  Sure, the salary’s lousy.  But the benefits—nothing can compare to them.  And the only way to obtain them is to sacrifice one’s wealth and to stand with the anawim.  

Notes

36. The polar opposites of Jesus is that although he welcomed sinners and the outcast into the kingdom (Mark 2:16-17; Luke 19:10), yet he also condemned people to hell on the smallest sins, such as insulting another and looking at the opposite sex with lust (Matthew 5:22, 28-29).  Some people see Jesus as being the most lenient, while others see him as being the most strict.  Jesus’ point was that there are two requirements to enter into God’s utopia (Mark 1:15):  The first is repentance.  This is recognizing the evil one has done and doing what one can to change it.  This is what the religious leaders refused to do, because they refused to agree with Jesus about what sin is.  Sin, according to Jesus, is refusing to give to the needy, acting hypocritically, and making excuses for one’s sinful actions (Luke 16:19-23; Matthew 13:41-42; Matthew 5:21-29).  Thus, Jesus said, those who sinned terribly but recognized their need for repentance would enter God’s utopia, but those who refused to recognize their own personal (not theological) sin would be left out (Matthew 21:31-32).  The second requirement is to trust God to live a non-survival lifestyle in the midst of a world trying to survive. That’s what this chapter’s about.  Read on!

37. Jesus promised persecution to his disciples.  John 15:18-16:3; Matthew 10:34-39; Mark 8:31-38.

38. Luke 12:33; Acts 2:44-45.

39. Luke 22:25-27

40. Matthew 6:25-34.

41. Matthew 5:38-48.

42. Acts 14:22.  Also, see II Timothy 3:12.

43. Which is a quote from Louis Guanella.

The Beatitudes for Cynics

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

-A poetic introduction to an ancient sermon, Matthew 5:3-12

You know Pastor Jesus, I thought your sermon was great—really poetic.  I really appreciated the chaism and the repetition.  It was great.  Just brilliant.  I did have a few questions about the content, though.  Jesus, let me see if I heard you right—the poor in spirit are fortunate?  Sure, in Proverbs it says that the poor in spirit are better than the proud,⁵¹ but really, does it help people to be associated with the lowly?  I mean, they are so… lowly.  So below par.  It’d be okay to give the lowly a buck now and them, but who would actually want to be socially connected with them? 

And those who grieve?  Happy?⁵²  I don’t think so.  I mean, the fact that they are mourning means that they’ve got a reason to mourn.  To grieve actually means that you are the opposite of happy.  Somebody dying, terrible circumstances, being beat up, that kinda thing.  It just doesn’t make any sense.  I mean, sure Isaiah 61 says that God’s good news is for the mourning, but who really WANTS to mourn?⁵³  There's nothing inherently joyful in that.

What about the meek?  A lot of the congregation here thinks this sounds okay—humble people ruling the earth.  Yeah, but they don’t really know who the meek are, do they?  Not like you and I. The meek aren’t just people who aren’t proud, even if they are CEOs or something.  These are the people who have no power, no opportunities—they have proven themselves unlucky.   Sure it says in Scripture that the meek would inherit the earth.⁵⁴  But I hate to break this to you Jesus, but… the meek?  They don’t have anything except a bunch a trouble.  The meek are called meek because they don’t have much. 

And the hungry and thirsty for justice?  I’ve known a bunch of those people.  And there isn’t any money in seeking justice.  The ones who really are desperate for justice, it’s because they didn’t get any. Ever. And those who get injustice and can’t do anything about it, well, they’re just stuck.  I mean, if they sought justice, only to find that they can’t get any, well, it’s just too late for them, isn’t it?

            As far as the other folks you’re talking about, Pastor—the merciful, the clean in heart, the peacemakers—that’s all nice.  But let’s be practical.  If you are so merciful that you give your resources to those who need it, then you have no resources to really help the world, do you?  If you are so focused on being right before God, then how can you get ahead?  We want to live before God, but a little bit of compromise is necessary, right?  If you focus on creating peace between people, then you aren’t really the kind of person to really make positive changes in the world.  Reconciliation doesn’t get anything done.

            And the persecuted?  Well, that is the most ridiculous statement of all.  Can you imagine a bunch of rag-tag farmers in Congo running from an army suddenly turning around and ruling the world?  What about a teacher fired from her job in the U.S. because she was praying with students in charge of the education system?  A prisoner in Vietnam teaching the gospel, running some underground churches suddenly becoming the head of the Communist Party there?  How about a dead martyr in Bangladesh suddenly being at the head of parliament?  That’s hilarious!  You know, Jesus, that’s the one thing I really like about your sermons—you always make me laugh! 

            But really, Jesus, do you think that you should encourage these folks this way?  Despite the beauty of your poetry, I think that you are really leading people for a fall.  What happens after they don’t received what was promised—the weak and hopeless getting to rule the world and all?  What happens when they realize that it’s all pie-in-the-sky and no practical basis, no reality at all?  They’ll stop listening, is what.  They’ll realize that there’s no real hope in what you are saying.  And a people without hope are a people in despair. 

            My suggestion is, give them hope, but make it a little bit more graspable.  Tell them that if they vote a certain way that changes will happen. Or if they sign this petition. No, I KNOW that real change won’t happen through a single vote, but that’s the kind of thing that real hope is founded on.  Small goals that offer big changes.  Think of it as a white lie to keep people satisfied with their less than satisfactory lives.  At least you don’t drive them into despair that way.

I know, you're thinking, "If a sermon is so easy, why don't YOU write one?"  Well, it just so happens I have some notes I took down while you were preaching.  This is what I'd put:

Blessed are the responsible, for they will take care of their own.
Blessed are those who fit it, for they have all the world has to give.
Blessed are the rich, for they have proven they can make good decisions.
Blessed are the hard working, for they deserve what they get.
Blessed are the self-confident, because they can stand on their own strength.
Blessed are the hopeless, for they shall never be disappointed.
Blessed are those holy in the sight of others, for they will be loved.
Blessed are those who desire nothing, because they already have all they need.

Not exactly poetic, I know.  Just needs some brushing up. Anyway, it’s just a suggestion. Have a good day, Pastor.  See you next week.

51.                Proverbs 16:19—one of only four places in Scripture that mention “the poor in spirit”, including Matthew 5, Isaiah 66:2 and Psalm 34:18.  In Proverbs and Psalms it is used as another way of speaking of the oppressed, even if not actually in poverty.  Since Matthew 5 has the parallel in Luke 6:20, we would rightly think that the meaning would be similar in both, but Luke doesn’t have the “in spirit” phrase.  Most of the people who interpret the beatitudes in Matt 5 interpret them to be something completely differently than in Luke.  But both can be interpreted to have the same meaning: the disciple who is oppressed is the one who is blessed by God.  In my mind, this is the better way of understanding both sets.

52. The Greek word for “blessed” literally means “happy.”  Thus, the Greek of Matthew 5:4 would read, “Happy are the mournful.”  While “happy are the poor in spirit” might be interpreted as possibly fitting together, in the second line Jesus is highlighting the contradiction to absurdity. 

53. The good news for the mourning—another term for the oppressed in both Isaiah 61 and the beatitudes—is not an internal help now, but the knowledge that because of their oppression they will get a greater release from oppression.  The basic message of the beatitudes is the joy of faith—knowing that the greatness of what is to come is the result of the suffering one has now.

54. Psalm 37:11.

The Poverty of Jesus

From the book Poverty of Spirit by Johannes Baptist Metz

To become human as Christ did is to practice poverty of spirit, to obediently accept our innate poverty as human beings.  This acceptance can take place in many of life's circumstances where the very possibility of being human is challenged and open to question.  The inevitable summons to surrender to the truth of our Being suggests itself in many ways.  Here we want to highlight the most important forms that our poverty takes, to show how our daily experiences point us toward the desert wastes of poverty.

Poverty of the commonplace
There is the poverty of the average person's life, whose life goes unnoticed by the world.  It is the poverty of the commonplace.  There is nothing heroic about it; it is the poverty of the common lot, devoid of ecstasy.

Jesus was poor in this way.  He was no model figure for humanists, no great artist or statesman, no diffident genius.  He was a frighteningly simple man, whose only talent was to do good. His one great passion in his life was his "Abba."  Yet it was precisely in this way that he deomonstraed "the wonder of empty hands" (Bernanos), the great potential of the person on the street, whose radical dependence on God is not different from anyone else's.  Such a person has no talent but that of one's own heart, no contribution to make except self-abandonment, no consolation save God alone.

Poverty of neediness
Related to this poverty is the poverty of misery and neediness.  Jesus was no stranger to this poverty either.  He was a beggar, knocking on people's doors.  He knew hunger, exile and the loneliness of the outcast (so much that he will judge us on these things).  He had no place to lay his head, not even in death-- except a gibbet on which to stretch his body.

Christ did not "identify" with misery or "choose" it; it was his lot.  That is the only way we really taste misery, for it has its own inscrutable laws.  His life tells us that such neediness can become a blessed sacrament of "poverty of spirit."  With nothing of one's own to provide security, the wretched person has only hope-- the virtue so quickly misunderstood by the secure and the rich. The latter confuse it with shallow optimism and a childish trust in life, whereas hope emerges in the shattering experience of living "despite all hope".  We really hope when we no longer have anything of our own.  Any possession or personal strength tempts us to a vain self-reliance, just as material wealth easily becomes a temptation to "spiritual opulence." 

Happy are the Miserable: Thoughts on the Beatitudes

What does “poor in spirit” really mean? Or the “pure in heart”? Frankly, what does “blessed” mean? Let’s examine the context and see if we can find it out.  

Lucky Bloke! 
First of all, the term “blessed.” In the Greek, it literally means “happy” and its root in Hebrew literally means “to walk straight”. However, in most contexts this phrase means, “You lucky dog!” It means that the person is fortunate, is lucky in some way. This doesn’t mean that they are blessed by “luck”. All of the promises Jesus offers are actually blessings that God would grant. So the object of Jesus acclaim is the lucky receiver of God’s grace, God’s blessing, the good fortune that comes directly from God.

What kind of rewards are these folks promised? The coming kingdom of God. Of having all of their needs met. Of being in a close relationship with God. Of being content with their lot. This is really good stuff, these promises. Especially if you don’t have your needs met— and who does?

But these folks aren’t just lucky because they are getting good stuff in the future. Also, they are essential to the present. Jesus says that these folks are essential for the world as it is. Without these folks, the world is lacking something necessary for survival. These people of God are like your daily nutrition intake— without them, the world would starve spiritually. The world would be empty, lifeless, hopeless, merciless.  

The Uncommon Christian 
So just who are these important folks? Essential for life today, and the recipients of tomorrow’s hope? Jesus describes them in detail. First, let’s find out what Jesus thinks are the basics of discipleship.

If we are going to follow Jesus, what should we look like?
 Pure in heart— We should be ready not just to look good on Sundays, to claim to believe the right things and to avoid the really bad sins that makes us bad people. Actually, Jesus wants us to be inwardly right with God— confessing our sin and devoted to God in all of our ways. Our prayer and religious deeds are just outward show, but we sincerely are seeking a relationship with God.  

Merciful— Jesus expects us to be compassionate as He was compassionate on earth. His disciples need to be loving to everyone, even those who bug us! He wants us ready to help anyone and everyone in need, even when inconvenient.  

Peacemakers— Jesus expects us to be active in reconciling people to God, to each other and to life. He expect us to be a part of creating a society that is just and right with God, even if that society has to be apart from the world.   We don’t see many Christians like this today. But the church keeps producing folks like this, and these are the heart of the church— heck, they are the heart of the entire world! And they will receive God’s promises for the future.  

The Big Surprise 
But in the Beatitudes, we are still skipping one part— the most amazing, fantastic, mind-blowing concept of Jesus. He saved it for the very beginning of his teaching, to emphasize its importance. Nevertheless, it is something we have a hard time getting a grasp of. These lucky folks, these fortunate few, these salt-of-the-earth, these essential daily vitamins are also the rejects of society.  

Poor in spirit— These are the ones who are anguished due to their poverty, and suffer greatly because of their lack of normal life.  

Mourning— These are those who have suffered great loss and so mourn due to it.




Meek— These are the ones who have nothing in this life to depend on and don’t have a leg to stand on to get justice in their lives.  

Hungering and Thirsting for Justice— These are the ones who are desperately seeking justice because all they have received is injustice and rejection.  

Persecuted— These are the ones who have been rejected and hated and beaten and despised and treated as outcasts.  

Why are these great folks treated so poorly? Why do they suffer so? Some of them suffer because they just aren’t accepted. But most of them aren’t accepted because they stand with Jesus. Because they insist on being right with God in their heart more than their social standing. Because they insist on being merciful, even when it hurts themselves. Because to reconcile people when they want to continue in hatred is dangerous and a hated profession. Because the one who talks about Jesus is readily accepted— but the one who acts like Jesus is easily rejected.  

No Big Surprise 

Although we have great shock at first that the very folks God accepts are those the world rejects, we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, look at who God chooses:  

• He chose Noah who was rejected by his neighbors because he did what God told him to.   
• He chose Abraham, but only after Abraham set aside the inheritance of his father’s house.   
• He chose Joseph, but the man had to suffer hatred, slavery, jail time and people forgetting him before he received God’s promise.
• He chose the children of Israel, but they had to endure years of slavery and genocide and desert-wandering before they were ready for God’s promise.   
• He chose David, but the future king had to be threatened and chased all over the wilderness before he received God’s promise.   
• He chose Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but they had to be ignored and rejected their whole lives, only to not receive the promise.   
• He chose Jesus, who had to be condemned, judged and crucified before he was vindicated.   

Honesty, if we look at the Bible as a whole, we can finally understand that God’s people always have to face the worst difficulties before receiving what God has in store for them. In Hebrew there is a special name for these folks— people who suffer rejection and poverty, but still expect God to deliver them— they are called Anawim.

God has always— without exception— given his promise of blessing to the Anawim. And it is the Anawim who are God’s chosen.  

Psalm 22: 24— God has not abhorred the oppression of the Anawim, nor has he hidden his face from them; But when they cried to Him for help, he listened to them.

 I Samuel 2: 8— He raises the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles.  

Psalm 37: 11— The Anawim will receive the land and live in abundant prosperity


God has always focused on the needy who live for him, and He always will.   So how should we treat God’s special chosen? How should we treat the homeless who are standing with God? How should we act toward the working poor, crying out to God for justice? We should treat them as God does— with honor, with respect, with assistance. We should listen not only to their needs, but their counsel. After all, how we treat these folks is how we will be treated on the final day!  

The lowly and poor are chosen by God to be His people.

This is a chapter of the book Long Live the Riff Raff! by Steven Kimes.  You can purchase it for the Amazon Kindle, on your PC or your Kindle.

The Fortunate Few

How fortunate are the anguished due to poverty because they will rule God’s kingdom!
How fortunate are the sorrowful, because God will cheer them up.
How fortunate are the lowly, because God will give them the earth.
How fortunate are those who desperately desire justice, because they will get just what they want.
How fortunate are those who act in compassion, for God will be compassionate to them.
How fortunate are those single-minded on God, for they will see Him.
How fortunate are the creators of peaceful communities, for God will make them rulers.
How fortunate are the sufferers for righteousness, because they will rule God’s kingdom!  

How fortunate you are when your enemies verbally abuse you and do and speak evil against you because you follow me. When that happens, you are like the prophets of the past who suffered for their message they received from God. Even as they are now rewarded by God, so will you be. So when you are persecuted for me, be happy about what you will receive— jump up and down in joy and praise God!  

You are essential for the world. But if you lose the basic qualities that make you important, you cannot regain them. You will be useless, cast out of God’s kingdom and trampled.   You are God’s glory and truth in the world. You are the kingdom of God to come, and you cannot be hidden. Nor should you be hidden— God’s glory should be displayed, not hidden. So display the true righteousness of God before everyone, so that people will see your acts of God and so glorify the Father.

(Paraphrase of Matthew 5: 3-16)

Who Are the People of God?

We can look around at the different religions and the many different kinds of Christianity and we can wonder, who among all of these different kinds of religious people does God really care for? Some religions are strict, others are lax; some are private and personal, while others are public and in-your-face; some are meditative, others are ethical, while others are very social. And each one of them has their own ideas of what makes up the people of God and who really belongs.

Of all the people in the world, Jesus is one of the few who we can trust to really know what God prefers. Jesus lived among his people and taught and healed—but more importantly, God gave his stamp of approval on his life and teaching beyond anyone else, because God raised him from the dead. No other religious teacher or prophet or theologian could claim that. So rather than delving into theology or religious doctrine, let’s just look at what Jesus said about the subject.

The Beatitudes—Matthew 5:3-10
The Beatitudes are Jesus’ blueprint for God’s people. He didn’t come up with it himself—although he packaged it. Most of this teaching comes from the Hebrew Bible (which is usually today called the Old Testament). It is called “the beatitudes” today because each statement speaks about a blessing that the people of God will receive. “Beatitude” comes from a Latin word which means “state of bliss”. And these statements explain who will receive a state of blessing or fortune from God. Before we explain it, though, let’s hear what Jesus has to say about God’s people for himself:

3. The poor in spirit are fortunate because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 4. Those who grieve are fortunate, because they will be cheered. 5. The meek are fortunate, because they will inherit the earth. 6. Those hungry and thirsty for justice are fortunate, because they will eat their fill. 7. The merciful are fortunate, because they will be granted mercy. 8. The clean in heart are fortunate, because they will see God. 9. The peacemakers are fortunate, because they will be called 'sons of God.' 10. Those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness are fortunate, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Who are these people?
The first thing we want to look at are the characteristics of God’s people. Jesus statements about these characteristics can be divided in two: a. Situational characteristics and b. Ethical characteristics.

The Anawim of God
Some of the characteristics of God’s people relate to the awful situations they find themselves in:
• The poor in spirit (oppressed, especially economically),
• The grieving (remorseful about the situations they find themselves in),
• The meek (lowly, disenfranchised or outcast),
• Those hungering and thirsting for justice (greatly desiring right to prevail in their lives)
• And the persecuted (rejected or spoken ill of).

This isn’t exactly a top-ten of things that we want to be! These characteristics can be summarized in one Hebrew word—anawim. The Bible speaks much of the anawim, because they are the kinds of people God focuses on, and desires to help more than anyone else. (Read Exodus 22:21-24; Psalm 37:11 and Psalm 34:6.) That’s because they have no one else but God to turn to. No power on earth will pay attention to them, because most people would prefer to pretend that they didn’t even exist. Some of the anawim in our society are the homeless, the mentally ill, the elderly, the chronically sick and all the various others who are socially outcast. These are the poor, the lowly, the outcast—and they are God’s people. If a person thinks that they are of God or His people, but have never experienced this kind of rejection by society, then they are not, in reality of God’s true people.

The Loving of God
However, one cannot just be rejected or poor and be of God’s people. Many teachers and theologians today will teach that Jesus said that everyone who is poor or outcast represents him. But that simply isn’t true. Jesus said that those of his “brothers” who are needy are his people. And Jesus said that his brothers would “do the will of my Father in heaven”. In other words, they listened to and obeyed God. But what kind of obedience is Jesus talking about? Not drinking on a Friday night? Studying the Bible every day? Standing on a street corner yelling, “You’re going to hell” to everyone you see? Hmmm… let’s see what Jesus says:

• The merciful (those who do good to everyone in need without exception);
• The clean in heart (those who do what is right because they have a mind focused on God, and not because of superficial reasons)
• The peacemakers (those who do good to their enemies, who refuse to judge on appearances and who gather people to be devoted to God);
• And the persecuted for righteousness’ sake (those who are rejected because they were doing the good God said to do).

These are the people who keep two things on their main agenda: They are devoted to God first and foremost, not allowing anything else in their lives to get in the way of their love of God. Second, they are doing everything they can to benefit other people, no matter who they are. This makes sense, because Jesus said that these two things are to be the focus of everyone who lives for God (Matthew 22:35-40). They love God and they love other people. And sometimes they get burned because of it. Sometimes they are rejected or even physically hurt because of it. But they know it’s worth it.

How can it be worth it?
It doesn’t seem worth it. Jesus is saying that God’s people are those who are so focused on devotion to God and assisting others that they get hurt by it. It just doesn’t seem right. But it really is—in fact, it is a weird sense of justice that indicates that these are God’s people and not others. Just look at what God’s people get:
• Theirs is the kingdom of heaven (God lets them rule His coming nation!)
• They will be cheered (God gives them happiness!)
• They will inherit the earth (God gives them land and city to be in charge of!)
• They will eat their fill (God will give them true justice—forever!)
• They will receive mercy (God will overlook their faults and meet their needs!)
• They will see God (God will let them be in his presence!)
• They will be called sons of God (God will call them his own!)

All wrapped up, these are the blessings of God that almost everyone wants. It is peace, security, true spirituality, all of one’s needs met, a peaceful society to live in. It is winning the real lottery—obtaining true happiness that you could never get with cash.

So why do these people get it, and not others? Because only God is offering it, and only those who are truly devoted to God and His ways will get it. And how can anyone know that we were really devoted—and not just faking it? How can anyone know that we really cared about other people and weren’t just faking it? Because we acted in love even though we were living in hard times. We stayed right with God, even though we suffered for it. We continued to help others, even though people thought we were wrong to do it. We suffered and loved at the same time.

How fortunate are the oppressed because they will rule God’s kingdom!
How fortunate are the sorrowful, because God will cheer them up.
How fortunate are the lowly, because God will give them the earth.
How fortunate are those who desperately desire justice, because they will get just what they want.

How fortunate are those who act in compassion, for God will be compassionate to them.
How fortunate are those single-minded on God, for they will see Him.
How fortunate are the creators of peaceful communities, for God will make them rulers.
How fortunate are the sufferers for righteousness, because they will rule God’s kingdom!