Readings: 1 Kings 17:1-6; Psalm 121; Matthew 5:1-12
Today, we are privileged to reflect on one of the homilies that Jesus himself preached. The whole compendium is called the Sermon on the Mount.
Let us just reflect on the first beatitude;
“How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Who are the poor in spirit? Let us start this way, what does it mean to be poor? To be poor means to lack, to be in need.
So the poor in spirit are those who recognise their lack, their need of God and their needs before God, those who recognise their lowliness before God, those who are aware of their poverty before God.
Such a person comes to God for everything and depends on God for everything and doesn’t presume on his/her ability or strength. He/she says with the Psalmist “our help is in the name of the Lord.”
Because someone who is poor in spirit recognises his/her lack, he/she is always begging God in prayers for everything.
Again, the poor in spirit does not place so much value on the things of the world or the things he/she has. He/she sees things for what they are; temporal, unreliable, fleeting and so he/she and does not place his/her heart on them or place them before God. God is primary and God is all that matters.
A person may be rich in material terms and yet be poor in spirit and a person may be materially poor but consumed by pride, self-exaltation, greed and worship of material things.
Let us note what Jesus says about the poor in spirit, he says, “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I observed that in the case of the other beatitudes, the blessings are in the future, for instance, happy the gentle; they “shall” have the earth for their heritage.
However, the blessing of the poor in spirit is now, theirs “is” the kingdom of God.
What does this mean? The kingdom of heaven means God will reign in their hearts, where the king is; there his kingdom is present.
So a heart that recognises his/her need for God, a heart that recognises his/her nothingness and his/her total reliance and dependence on God, a heart that does not allow itself to be encumbered by the things of the world, in such a heart, God rules and reigns and where God rules and reigns, heaven is present.
For such a person, God always fills, supplies, cares and provides. An example is Elijah in the first reading. He depended totally on God and God supplied his needs at every phase in miraculous ways.
Indeed, how happy are the poor in spirit?
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on June 8, 2020