Hi folks I hope you are all doing ok? This week we meet at the Crescent Club at 7.30 upstairs in the sea front lounge, i hope you can join us. We are about to start a new series of blogs, based around the beatitudes, if you want to read them they can be found in Matthew 5:3-12. We will tackle each one over the next few weeks up to Christmas with other things threaded into our program.
The beatitudes form the start of the Sermon on the mount give a snapshot as to what is to come in the following chapters.
Now of course these were ‘meant’ for those who were listening to Jesus at that time, but it doesn’t mean to say that they do not speak to us today.
We are going to think about the first one, verse 3 of Matthew 5. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
David has already done some work on beatitudes and he suggests that some of these are not something we would want to aspire to, I suspect many of us don’t want to be poor… we don’t want to become poor in spirit now, or it maybe that’s exactly how you feel, but it would be a strange thing to want to aspire to.
Different translations also put a different spin on this term ‘poor’, some say ‘hopeless’, ‘depend’, ‘those who know they are spiritually poor’, ‘humble minded’, ‘at the end of your rope’. Each one offers something different.
Sometimes the way this text is interpreted puts a positive spin on this by suggesting that it recognises our need of God, which of course there is an element of truth in, but it may mean more than that. The amplified version says this – ‘poor in spirit [those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant]’
Could it be that it means there is hope for us if we are struggling to find a connection with spirituality, could it be that God or however you want to describe God actually holds us?
Could it be that this refers to our former self, that you used to be poor in spirit. It could also refer to the present tense, that right now that is where you actually are… But the hope here is that wherever we may be spiritually that this otherness makes us special
Some Questions
What is your favourite spirit? (alcoholic or ghost)!
How do you understand ‘poor’ in this context given the different ways it has been translated?
What do you think about ‘having a need for God’?
Where are you in-terms of spirituality today?
Peace, Rob
Image by jakob5200 from Pixabay
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.