We hear a very interesting psalm this evening, which proclaims to us: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of God is theirs. We have heard this phrase before, “poor in spirit,” as it is one of Jesus’ proclamations in the Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel. But what does it really mean to be poor in spirit? I associate it with humility, in putting God first in life, in being dependent upon God. Being poor in spirit means that you are willing to disassociate from anything that takes you away from the Kingdom of God. When some people hear the term “poor in spirit,” some people might think it to be a pejorative term, but in reality, I think it is anything but that. Think of the rich man who put his possessions first, who was sad because he saw those possessions as being important and essential to his life, who would not let them go in order to enter God’s kingdom. Being poor in spirit means being willing to walk by faith, willing to take risks in our life of faith. If we are poor in spirit, we truly hunger and thirst for God. I wonder if we are truly poor in spirit, if the kingdom of God is ours.
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