Chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel we find the Beatitudes. Where the Ten Commandments tell us what to do and the Beatitudes tell us how to be. But know that they want us to be counter-cultural. Who wants to be poor? Who wants to mourn or be meek? This seems to imply that we Christians are a bunch of weaklings.
The poor are those who have no valuable possessions and very little income. They are often dependent on others, on charities, and on the government for the basic needs of life. Not very blessed by our common understanding of the term.
Matthew adds ‘in spirit’ in order to extend the beatitude to all, not just the materially poor. The “poor” are everyone of whatever social rank who recognize their complete dependence on God. Still a tough definition. Who wants to admit being dependent?
But the truth is we are totally dependent on God. We would have nothing if God did not give it to us. He gives us the talents and abilities to go and do what we do to make the money we make that buys the things we have. And He gives us the time to engage those talents. So – every single thing we have, our family, our job, our health, our stuff – is because of God’s lavish generosity.
Accepting this truth fills us with gratitude and humility. Venerable Fulton Sheen said, “Humility is dependence on God as pride is independence of Him. The humble soul is always the thankful soul.”
In humble gratitude, we embrace the truth of how blessed we are, and so we want to live the Beatitudes. We want to love as Jesus loves and embrace our dependence on God. Living this way emulates His life by loving God above all else and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Living this way creates a legacy that honors God just as Jesus and the Saints did. Living this way helps us realize the peace and contentment we want in our lives.
Photo Credit: Robert Davis
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