Poor In Spirit (All Saints Sunday)

Opening and Introduction

In today's Gospel lesson, we heard the introduction to the most famous sermon that Jesus delivered, the Sermon on the Mount.

1. Setting the Stage

When we align all four of the Gospels, we see that a lot has already happened with His ministry. He’s been baptized by John the Baptist and received public acknowledgment from God the Father that He is pleased with His Son. Jesus has healed many people who were sick, chased out a few demons, and taught in the temple. Word of His wisdom and the miracles are spreading. Jesus was becoming well known and had a following of people who sought Him to hear what He had to say. Along the way, He’s called a small group of students that we know as the Disciples.

1. a. Location

Our text says that Jesus gathered his disciples on a mountain. Although we can’t physically confirm where Jesus preached this sermon, the generally agreed upon location is a hill in Northern Israel overlooking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The hillside would’ve served to amplify Jesus’ words to reach more people. The combination of the bowl-like shape of the terrain, and the strong winds common in the area, likely served as a natural amplifier and would have carried quite far if the wind was blowing toward the sea.

The city of Capernaum is close by, where two of the disciples, brothers Peter and Andrew, called home. Although I’ve not had the pleasure of visiting this place, the pictures are magnificent, with the sea below the hill, and additional hills in the distance. Today, there is a domed church called the Church of the Beatitudes that marks the likely location of the sermon.

Crowd and the Disciples

Our lesson begins at this place with Jesus sitting down on the hillside. Today, we think of teachers in a classroom standing before seated students. But, in Jesus’ day, it was more common for a rabbi to be seated, and for students to either sit or stand around their master.

Our Lord was here to teach His Disciples, but the crowds who followed wanted to hear too. So, some of the Beatitudes were addressed to the crowds. Of the nine phrases, the first eight of the verses were for the crowds to hear. We know this because Jesus is talking to the Disciples, yet each of the phrases is addressed to “they.” They shall be comforted. They shall inherit. They shall be satisfied.

However, the last one is different. Here, Jesus, talking directly to his closer circle of followers, speaking with the phrase ‘Blessed are YOU’. This is more personal. I can imagine Jesus looking and this

close-knit group of men, looking them straight in the eye, and saying, “YOU” This applies to “YOU”.

“1. b. Blessed”

And what was said matters. In this conversation, it’s good to understand what was actually said as our English language doesn’t always capture the full meaning.

Each of the Beatitudes begins with the Greek word makários (µa??????), which we translate as “blessed.” The word captures a positive circumstance, and describes being fortunate and being granted divine grace. Divine grace is not something earned, but something freely given because of God’s goodness… not ours.

The word “blessed” is not intended to mean outward but inward blessings. These are not physical gifts, but spiritual blessings. This is the joy that comes from being a member of the family of God, and from our perspective… understanding what Jesus has done for us. With this in mind, I offer that the word blessed can be replaced with “spiritually prosperous” as a lens to view the remaining scripture. These phrases in the Beatitudes all refer to spiritual health.

2. Poor in Spirit

Each of the Beatitudes are separate phrases, yet each is connected to the other. Today, we’re going to focus on the first of the phrases. It’s the most prominent, and the one that sets the stages for the others that follow. It’s addressed to the poor in spirit, and aimed toward the crowd, but it also applied to the Disciples, and to us too.

Each and every one of us is unable to avoid the temptation of sins that our ancestors, Adam and Eve, passed down to us. Like our first father and mother, each of us has listened to God’s commands, yet still found a way to misbehave and do our own thing. We might not like to admit it, but all of us have failed to meet God’s standards.

And we know the standards. As Lutherans, we honor spending time reading the Bible and learning about God’s promises. We value God’s word and even use the catechism to teach our children about law, gospel, the creeds, and most importantly, God’s love, grace, and mercy.