Blessed are the poor in spirit........

It's Beatitude time again, that time in the cycle of our Sunday gospel readings where we wrestle with Matthew's massive teaching block known as the Sermon on the Mount (because Jesus went up the mountain and sat down to teach).

The Sermon runs from chapter 5 through chapter 7 of the gospel of Matthew.  It begins with a series of pronouncements known as The Beatitudes.  A beatitude is an announcement of blessedness.....ergo, 'blessed are the poor in spirit.'  A whole series of human conditions are covered by these verses 5.1-11.  Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted ones.

So you and I need to uncover what it means to be blessed, and then we have 8 other conditions to figure out as well.

Some Bible translators decided that 'happy' would convey the core meaning of the Greek word markarios. That translation has gone out of favor.  Some have suggested the word 'luck' since in 21st century America our closest concept to receiving a blessing is to have good luck.  Luckily (ha!) none of the Bible translations took up that 'lucky' suggestion.

Commentators wrestle with this word because most of our English words lack the understanding that this blessedness is deeply rooted in our relationship with God.  One cannot be blessed apart from God. In fact, the 'happiness' we experience is because we are in right relationship with God.  So perhaps a better translation would be 'blessed [by God] are' the poor, the meek, etc.  God favors certain human actions; certain human actions are consistent with the kingdom of God and how it operates.

The second concern is how to interpret this blessedness.  Is it an experience of the present or is it a hope for tomorrow? Is Jesus trying to tell us that the poor in spirit are content now?  or that they will be content one day?  Are the Beatitudes an announcement of reassurance to those who experience these sometimes dire circumstances that God's favor is with them [in spite of apparent evidence to the contrary]?  Could they be requirements for participation in the reign of God?

Oh, we love to quote these pithy statements, but I have to confess, they are challenging for preaching.  It took me all this space just to explore the meaning of the word 'blessed.'  What am I going to do with 'poor in spirit'?