9/21/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5.3)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Our truest blessings are those which come from God. We can certainly be blessed by the thoughtfulness and gifting of those around us who seek to improve our lot in life. We all can review the course of our lives to this day and recount the many blessings and name them one by one. Yet, the blessings which are given by God are beyond anything we can earn or deserve. That would make these type of blessings extensions of God’s mercy and grace. So, it stands to reason that when Jesus introduces this impact message to those who had gathered on a mountain, He would do so calling them all to mind of who they were because of the world and who they were meant to be in the Kingdom of God on earth. We might say, “As Jesus sat down to teach them [all], He did so with a down to earth ‘culture and climate.’” He had no intention of being of the world but only in it. He was in this world because that is where the people of God, known to themselves or not, lived. As Jesus would address His detractors among the Temple leadership and the Pharisees who asked the disciples, “Why does your Master consult with tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners?” with “The well have no need for a doctor; I have come to minister to the sick.” we can feel the impetus of His decision to start this transition ministry with “blessings to….” Yes, Jesus did not need to preach/teach/model/example these words for those who were already in Heaven because their decision had been proven true. What was that decision? It was to “Serve the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, strength and mind as well as to love one another as they themselves were loved.” All the others who had made a decision to the contrary existed “on earth” and in the world. Their brokenness had become a “sin-fection” which plagued the human race and begged it to seek another doctor to minister to their woundedness. That doctor was no doctor at all but a charlatan who feasted on the flesh and worked to prescribe the forfeiture of one’s soul as the ultimate cure for “living in this world.” You see, mighty ones of God, just as “this world is not My home for Jesus” neither is “this world a home for Satan, the cast out and fallen Lucifer.” So, the blessings of God become the prescription for healing and the remedy for living in this world until our “true home” is built, equipped, made ready and open doored to us. I am, of course, speaking of “the house not built by human hands which is eternal in the heavens.” So, let us begin and embrace the blessings of change and transformation which Jesus offers.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3.23) Jesus said, “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8.7) Grab hold of that last quoted verse. Jesus confronted the accusers of the “woman caught in adultery” with it. I have taught this pericope with the mindset that “these men knew of her sin because they participated in it with her.” The age-old, and most unfortunate, practice of temple prostitution was very much alive in the days of Jesus. We can read in Ezekiel and Jeremiah of the atrocities being committed in the dark recesses of the Temple. It stood on Mount Zion among the seven hills of Jerusalem like a “white-washed tomb.” It glistened by day in the light of the sun above and by night with the burning fires below. Its gold patina captured the eyes of all who came near even at a distance. But, as Jesus reminded the Scribes and Pharisees who themselves He saw as white-washed tombs, it and they were filled with wickedness and darkness. Sure, go ahead and hear the raspy voice of Darth Vader and the Emperor begging “turn to the dark side.” So, when Jesus spoken of “the one who is without sin cast the first stone” it had the power of a double-edged sword. In one swipe it addressed the accusers who had already prepared to stone the guilty with the reality of their own sinfulness (confessed or not before the people but at least among themselves). In the return of the blade it pointed to the “one who was without sin” who refused to cast the penalty of stoniang. What He had in His hand was the dust that had settled on the Temple court floor. It ran through His fingers like the sand of an hour-glass demonstrating “time was running out.” As each dropped the stone they brought to the “sword” fight of spiritual wits, it was a confession of their “spirit poverty” and the richness, even if by default, of Jesus the protector of the “poor in spirit.”

And there is was and there it is: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When the accusers disappeared cloaked in their judgment robes having been judged by God before the people, gaping mouths and eyes wide-open transfixed on the center of attention: Jesus and the woman. But, don’t lose sight of who was really there with them. It was you and me and the entire world. The only “one without sin” refused to be judge, jury and executioner. He did not stand and “lord” it over her. Rather, He knelt and maybe even sat down in the “dust of the earth” from which we all come and drew her, and us, to Himself. Hear Jesus words now as He spoke them over Jerusalem during Passover, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate.” (Matthew 23.37-38) Jesus spread His arms wide like the wings of a bird under which the brood of God’s people could gather. Even at the cross, this image becomes real as His arms were tied to the crossmember and nailed their until He was dead. Under the sheltering wing of faith, hope and love, those who are “poor in spirit” were gathered in and welcome. More so, it would be under those same wings, as does the eagle mother, that those there would be lifted up to experience the power of flight to soar in the heavens. It is an amazing image if we will allow ourselves to see it and imagine it for ourselves. Yes, those “poor in spirit” are the very ones who recognize they cannot make it on their own through this life in order to gain the next life which is promised to them. There is nothing they could say or do that would be sufficient on its own merit to gain a life of true righteousness free from the burden of death which is the penalty of sin. We must be like Peter who fell to the bottom of the boat loaded with an immense catch of fish where hours earlier there was no hint of success or a future. There, because he recognized the miracle which the prophet/teacher/Messiah had brought into his midst, he declared, “Go away from me. I am not worthy to be in the same boat with You!” But, Jesus seized Peter in the “poverty of his spirit” and called him to a meaning and purpose he could not have imagined for himself. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid. I call you now to become a fisher of men.” To the woman by His side in the dust of the earth, Jesus said, “Neither do I accuse you. Go and no longer be a slave to sin [and sinful men.]” To those gathered on the mountainside expecting a miracle, He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Do you think He would bless us with anything less? It is a good place to start our new life in Him, don’t you think?

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.