Blessed Are The Poor (KBS #5)

Dear DJAN Friends,

The Beatitudes are misunderstood if we take them primarily to be rules for living righteous lives, because the focus of these well-known statements of blessing is not on what we should do, but on what God will accomplish. They are announcements of God's in-breaking kingdom with its great reversal of values. Those who are considered "lesser" in our society are the ones who are blessed and will receive God's favor. Luke's list of Beatitudes, which is today's reading, is shorter than Matthew's and, as you know, is coupled with a parallel set of "woes."

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

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

Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

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

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets" 

(Luke 6:20-26).

We sometimes see Matthew's version of the Beatitudes on the walls of American churches, but guess which you are likely to see on the walls of churches in India or Zambia. The Beatitudes in Luke are unambiguously concerned with material reality: "Blessed are you who are poor . . . but woe to you who are rich." Matthew's "Blessed are the poor in spirit" feels like less of an indictment for those of us living in a wealthy country. The two  versions, however, point in the same direction. The opposite of being poor in spirit is to be puffed up by one's own achievements or status in society. Such a person will probably not be open to receive the good news of God's sustaining grace. In the same way, those who are materially rich are not likely to recognize their dependence on God, their need for God's mercy (which may come to us through our neighbors). It will be hard for either group to have eyes to see the new reality breaking in around us.

May God grant us understanding and commitment.

—Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon