Poor in Spirit
January 29, 2006
Matthew 5:1-3
Today's passage is the first Beatitude from what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. The word beatitude comes from a Latin word meaning blessing, happy, fortunate. These directives from Jesus all begin with a Greek word that is also defined this way. And, with Jesus being a good Jew these teachings would be about how to get right with God. So they are interpreted as Blessings…”you are blessed when…”. The Sermon on the Mount title comes from the story's setting. Jesus is up on a mountain teaching the disciples and others gathered. He's giving a sermon. Scholars don't actually believe this story happened. We mostly agree that these short sayings are probably the closest we have to things Jesus might actually have said. However, a well educated speaker at his time would never string together so many of these “to dos”. These are things he probably used often in his day to day living that many got used to hearing. And, Matthew wants to write them down, and does so with Jesus teaching on a mountain. The mountain in Matthew is where God lives. The mountain in Judaism is where God lives. It's where Moses goes to get the Ten Commandments. It's where Jesus goes to teach the disciples about living this new covenant that is written on our hearts.
And, we're reading all of this out of the Gospel of Matthew. Already from the last few weeks of working with this gospel we know that it is filled with insiders and outsiders. We have John, preaching in the wilderness to the outsiders challenged by the insiders. We have Jesus being born and outsiders coming as the first visitors, yet, they are the ones who proclaim him King and know he's not just any child, he's a visionary child. Matthew is recording this account of the Jesus movement in the late first century. A time when all are struggling between insiders and outsiders between church and synagogue.
Today's beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God” has for centuries been used to maintain a dialogue about the amount of faith people have and whether they will be allowed into heaven. In fact, many theologians have said these types of things. Most scholars divide these beatitudes into either an ethical instruction booklet on how to live correctly or a statement on how Christ will judge you in the end. Either way these historic interpretations have pointed towards a handbook of living. Today's passage in this context has been interpreted that those who are humble are welcomed into the Kingdom of God. If you aren't humble, you're not welcome. Some have said it's an economic statement, that the poor who take nothing for granted are more humble and they have an easier time entering the Kingdom of God. I challenge all of these interpretations.
If we agree that Matthew is working within the context of insiders and outsiders. If we agree that Matthew is working with a lot of contention between churched and unchurched. And, if we agree that by the end of the first century many would have risen as leaders of the post-Jesus movement. We have a whole new way of interpreting this passage and the goal of the beatitudes. I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but life is hard. Life is really difficult. Living is tough. And, to treat this beatitude as simply as “be humble” does not seem to respect this difficult living that we do. It seems a little to waxy compared to John's work in the wilderness and Jesus' work in and out of the wilderness. We have this same beatitude in the gospel of Luke but it only says “blessed are the poor”…Matthew adds “blessed are the poor in Spirit”. Why?
A bunch of reformed theologians have been working on this question in the past few years. I am an avid follower of their work. They believe that Matthew is not writing this statement for the pious. If this were true it would undermine the rest of the work in the gospel, trying to bring insiders into the lives of the outsiders. Instead, they challenge that Matthew is writing this as a blessing for those “dispirited” people. People who have been beaten down by circumstances that they are not pious at all. People that have lost faith and are empty of hope. Jesus promises them surprising reversal of their condition when the Kingdom comes. This beatitude is for the abandoned people of the world in general.
Already, by the late end of the first century there were disputes within the Jesus movement church. Matthew in particular has great struggles with the charismatic leadership which is disturbing the community. Mark and Luke both introduce Jesus as a spirit-filled prophet, but Matthew does not. He doesn't because he is having problems with Christian prophets, and exorcists, and miracle-workers. Matthew's Jesus is, conceived by the Spirit and baptized with the Sprit, but the fruit of the Spirit in Matthew is righteousness and love. Matthew doesn't want to throw water on the fire of the Holy Spirit, but he does want disciples to test the spirits. If the Sprit does not bear agape love as fruit, it is not the Spirit of God. In other words, if the actions that come out of a spirit aren't loving, they are not of God, from God, or inspired by God.
This Sermon on the Mount begins with our strange beatitude blessing the poor in spirit. And, it comes full circle when it climaxes in an astonishing renunciation of Spirit-rich leaders. Jesus warns at the end of the sermon, “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of the heavens”. What counts is not mere mouthing of his correct title Lord, but doing the heavenly father's will. And, the fact that these powerful prophetic personalities call Jesus Lord and have acted in his name, means that they are Christian insiders not outsiders. And yet, in spite of their spiritual wealth, Jesus rejects them. Why? They may have been rich in spiritual endowments and works, but they were poor in deeds of righteousness. Jesus calls them workers of lawlessness. Lawlessness is Matthew's word for carelessness about God's will. It is the opposite of righteousness.
We know this exact problem. This problem of knowing what God wants. Of God having given us a call today. It's the danger with proclaiming that God is still speaking. How do we know that flying planes into towers isn't the work of God? How do we know that persecuting lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered people isn't the work of God? How do we know that when people say, God told me to do this, they are wrong? Matthew says it simply, it's got to be about God's agape love. God's unconditional love for all of humanity. Matthew says to us today, if we are not working to include all of God's children in word and deed it is not bringing about the kingdom of God. And, the new interpretation, which takes into account when and where Matthew is writing from, pushes that even further in saying, “if we as the church as the people of faith have trampled you down so far that you have no faith and no hope, you will inherit the kingdom of God.”
I hear it a lot. I've heard it from many of you. The stories of the church of your past. The scars from being kicked out, abused, manipulated, denied. The pain that the church caused you disregarding your call, your giftedness, you beauty in the eyes of God. Listen carefully today, for this message is just for you. You are the children of God. You. You. You. You are the children of God. And, if we as the church have harmed you, hurt you, stolen your souls from you, extinguishing your hope, the kingdom of God is waiting. Because God's word is bigger than any human construction. And, God's love is deeper than any hatred.
As we go around throwing our stones this week at all the things we believe are not the kingdom of God, remember. We're not called to be the judgment. We are not called to be the pious. We are not called to be anything but right with God. And, filled with the love of God that all might have hope, joy and peace.
So, let's all try to remember the next time we think we've got the answer. The next time we're feeling righteous or holier-than-thou, that agape will not be the outcome. When we see the broken, the dispirited, those the church has trampled, may our feet root to the spot. May we ask for forgiveness on behalf of the people of God and extend our hand in agape love. This is not a community focused on insiders and outsiders. This is a community of faith focused on love. Let us pray.