Taking Jesus Seriously -- The First Beatitude

When you Presbyterian women asked me to write this study, one of your instructions was that I should tackle Jesus' beatitudes both in the gospel according to Matthew (Mt. 5:3-12) and in the gospel according to Luke (Lk. 6:20-26). [You can find all of your “marching orders” to me on the inside front cover of your study book.] That's not as easy as it sounds as there are some significant differences between the two.

Take, for instance, the first beatitude. The author of Luke records Jesus saying, “Greatly honored are you who are ptochoi (destitute).” The author of Matthew records Jesus saying “Greatly honored are the ptochoi (destitute) in spirit.” These seem to be saying quite different things.

It is tempting to ignore the rendering of the first beatitude in Luke, and insist that the first beatitude in Matthew has to do with humility and piety. While that is certainly a valid way to interpret these ancient teachings, perhaps it doesn't take Jesus seriously enough. Let's consider what Jesus actually says in Greek:

First of all, both in Matthew and in Luke, Jesus uses the word ptochoi. This is the masculine, plural form of the Greek adjective ptochos. (Masculine plural, in the ancient world, was often used to include women and men, just as mankind was used in the 1950s in the USA). What does ptochos mean?

According to the most recent Bauer, Danker, Ardt and Gingrich (BDAG) lexicon, (what scholars call the “gold standard” of biblical Greek lexica), ptochos primarily means “dependent upon others for support.” This is distinguished from those who are the working poor, or the penes. BDAG says the penes are “obliged to work for a living but not reduced to begging.” To take Jesus seriously, we must reflect upon Jesus' use of the word for the destitute in the first beatitude.

In Luke, Jesus is clearly speaking economically. After he calls the beggars in the crowd “greatly honored,” he turns his scorn on those who have, as BDAG puts it “an abundance of earthly possessions that exceeds normal experience.” To these, Jesus says “Woe to you” or “Shame on you” who are affluent (plousioi) now, for you already have your reward."

Why does this matter?

Even before we tackle the last two words in the beatitudes of Matthew ("in spirit"), we who live and work in the rich, global north are confronted with an uncomfortable truth. In Luke, Jesus is distinguishing between those who have an abundance of possessions and those who are destitute and dependent on others. Jesus is intentionally reversing their order of importance in the kingdom of God. To take Jesus seriously, we must realize that poverty and wealth mattered to Jesus. And as Jesus' disciples, if poverty and wealth mattered to Jesus, both should matter to us.

Now that we have a little bit more insight into the beatitudes in Luke, let's consider: what do we do with the last two words of Matthew? What might it mean to be destitute in spirit?

Many have suggested that destitution in spirit is a sense of spiritual mourning—a recognition of one's state of sinfulness and dependence upon God for grace. And, it is true that one act of the grace we are given by the sovereign God is the gift of self-recognition, of acknowledging our own sinfulness and our own need for the grace and goodness of God.

But what if we hold Luke and Matthew together, rather than reading them as two radically different sermons by Jesus? What if we read Jesus' first beatitude in Matthew as a call to honor those for whom physical destitution has started to eat away even at their spirits—for whom the reality of life at the mercy of others has begun to destroy their very souls, and their sense of hope?

This is going on today in India, the nation to which some of you will be traveling for the Global Exchange this October. For the last few years, India has been facing a massive economic crisis in its farm belt—a crisis brought on by environmental change, the depletion of the water table, industrially-produced seeds and pesticides that wreak further damage on the environment and insurmountable debt. This economic crisis has left working farmers penniless, losing everything including their family land.

The result of this destitution has been despair—a ripping at the souls of these farmers to the point that thousands of them have been committing suicide every year. According to a May 11, 2011 report Every Thirty Minutes from the NYU Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, a quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide for these reasons in the last 16 years.

I learned about this crisis one summer day in 2008, as I sat in worship at the United Theological College of Bangalore. And as I listened to the sermon preached that day in chapel, I wondered whether this too was what Jesus might have meant by the “destitute in spirit.” What might it mean to be so impoverished that your very spirit is shattered, and you feel that life itself is not worth living? What might it mean to be in so far over your head that the only reasonable escape you can find is to drink poison?

And what might it mean to us today, as Jesus' disciples, to honor those who are both destitute and destitute in spirit: to honor them not because they are sinless or in any way perfect, but because we are the disciples of Jesus Christ, he who proclaimed good news to the poor (Lk. 4), and who taught that what we do to “the least of these” we do to Christ himself (Mt. 25)?

So what do you think? How do you read the first beatitude? Feel free to respond with a comment below.

I will leave you with a confession of faith from one of the workshops from the 2011 Alabama/Mississippi Women's Conference.

We believe God is a compassionate God who cares about creation. God is loving and just. God calls us to be hands working to honor the destitute. Our loving, just, gracious God includes the poor in the kingdom. Hidden survivors of discrimination by material society, government and the church are destitute and are in the kingdom of God. If we honor the destitute, it would open our churches to include everyone, and connect us to our sisters and brothers in Christ. Presbyterian Women are called to build an inclusive, caring society that opens its heart and arms to all of God's children and bears witness to the steadfast love of Christ. Presbyterian Women are called by God in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to find ways and means of feeding, clothing, housing and nurturing the poor and the destitute, the affluent and wealthy, and all created in God's image so all may glorify God and sing praises to God forever. “Forgiven and freed by God in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit we commit ourselves to nurture our faith through prayer and Bible study to support the mission of the church worldwide, to work for justice and peace; to build an inclusive, caring community of women that strengthens the Presbyterian Church (USA) and witnesses to the promise of God's Kingdom.” (Montgomery, AL, 21 July 2011)

Comments

[Debra Circle at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington MI]

DEBRA CIRCLE discusses each beatitude, one person takes notes and writes a confession based on the discussion which is approved by the whole circle. Debra circle's first confession follows:
Confessing the Beatitudes Lesson 1: Greatly Honored Are the Poor
We confess that life is not a level playing field (nor is life a game). We confess that we can work together and with God to level the field experiences of life. We confess that there is a stigma to being poor economically and being poor in spirit (such as being mentally ill, or on welfare, living out of one’s car, having to go into bankruptcy, etc.) We confess that we can counter this stigma by being aware that there are poor/destitute in the world at large and in our individual world; and, as we study Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes, we can look for ways to honor them starting with our prayers.
We confess that we are blessed to wake up every morning and enjoy fellowship with family and friends and neighbors. We are blessed to be here and welcome in this church and to be here in the world and feel comfortable. We are thankful for these blessings and amazed by them. We confess that we have experienced being honored when people help us with yard work and by other neighborly deeds. We confess that we need to pass this honor on to others, especially the poor and destitute
We confess we can look for ways to honor the destitute. We have many avenues in our church: Fort Street, SOS, Westminster, Gleaners, Fish, etc.; and as we participate our eyes will be opened and we will see the destitute. We confess we can celebrate the poor who are rich in spirit and pray for the rich who are poor in spirit.
We confess we have worked through our church avenues to serve others and give of our good fortune and we confess there is always more we can find to do if we begin with prayer. We can always give a smile.

[Betsy de Queljoe]

I wrote a poem about the 1st lesson of the Beatitudes. I read it at our study, and the ladies suggested I put it on here for everyone, so here goes.

To the poor of the earth
the downtrodden, the lost
heaven is yours
whatever the cost.

Woe to YOU, the rich
for you have the most.
Holding tight to your fortunes
when gone, you'll be lost.

Won't you give of your time?
Lend a hand?
Food pantries? Manna House?
where ever you can.

Won't you give of your talents?
Helping at church?
Teaching, Serving,
It doesn't take much.

The least you can do
is help save the earth.
Reuse, Recycle, Renew, Rebirth.

And when the day is done
you'll wonder where the time went
and marvel at how
it didn't cost you a cent!

[Betty Eubanks]

Some of the ladies in my church have been discussing how we can best help a young newly-wed couple in our church who are so impoverished they had to sell his guitar to have money for rent deposit. They are working/looking for work and coming to church even though the price of gas is prohibitive since they have to drive 20 miles. We all feel that we have an obligation to be there for them during this time of their need. Theirs is an example of "poor in spirit" that I feel we are called upon to help.

[Lisa Larges]

Thanks especially for the insight in to Matthew -- for the way in which material poverty grinds down the very spirit -- it does draw together Matthew and Luke for me. I used to think of Matthew as a kind of watered-down version of Luke -- ducking questions of economics in favor of a spiritualized perspective -- something that North American Christians like to do as well. Thanks for making room in the Matthew text for understanding "poor in spirit" from several angles.

[AbbieWatters]

This cuts to my very core, especially in the light of the travesty of injustice, and cowtowing to the "haves" in this country in the wake of the most recent budget "compromise". I grieve for our society and pray God will soften our hearts toward the "least of these" who are bearing the lion's share of destitution caused by our selfishness. We are all guilty if we do not find some way to change the direction in this country.

[Ashley]

Thanks for some great thoughts Margaret. I really loved reading the confession from your time with women at the Alabama/Mississippi conference!