HAPPY ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT

 IV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 5:1-12a

In the Scriptures, we may find texts that put forward  fundamental truths and establish paradigms of behaviour. On mount Sinai, Moses received from God the Law that points out the way to life, happiness and salvation. Jesus came to establish a New Covenant and with it He proposes the new commandment that will guide the new people of God: Love one another as I have loved you. This kind of love is only possible if we approach life with new attitudes. Like Moses, Jesus went up the mountain, but, unlike Moses who stood alone before God, Jesus sits down surrounded by his disciples. It is to them that He presents his charter of values, the values of the Kingdom of God. This charter is presented at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, giving meaning to everything else. The values of the Kingdom run against the values of this world that strives to acquire power, wealth and fame. According to Jesus, the road to happiness passes through humility, simplicity, sincerity and truth. The powerful and the wealthy are mistaken and they cannot find the happiness of true life in the pleasures of this world. 

The first beatitude sets the path to all the others: “happy (blessed) are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” These words sound like nonsense: how can the poor be happy? Jesus does not proclaim blessed the miserable. He made an effort to alleviate their suffering. But, in order to find happiness, we must have the spirit and the attitude of the poor. Poor is the one who depends on others to survive. He cannot live alone. He recognises and accepts his shortcomings and weaknesses and asks for help. Before God and before the others we are poor and must recognise our dependence on them. The self-sufficient cannot enter the Kingdom of God. We cannot save ourselves; we must be saved by God and our salvation depends on the salvation of others. 

The prophet Zephaniah presents the humble who seek the Lord and finds integrity and justice:

Seek the Lord,

all you, the humble of the earth,

who obey his commands.

Seek integrity,

seek humility:

you may perhaps find shelter

on the day of the anger of the Lord.

(Zephaniah 2:3,3:12-13)