Blessed Are the Poor
OT Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 (CEB)
A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king, who no longer listens to advice. He emerged from prison to become king, even though during his rule a poor child is born. I saw all who live and walk under the sun following the next youth who would rise to take his place. There was no counting the number of people he ruled, but those who came later aren’t happy with him. This too is vanity and a chasing after wind.
NT Reading: Matthew 5:3 (NRSV)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sermon
Introduction
Good morning. Last Sunday was Father’s Day—fathers, did you have a good Father’s Day? After the worship service last Sunday, my wife wanted to go to the water park in Lafayette. I, on the other hand, wanted to relax at home on Father’s Day. But she responded, “It doesn’t matter what you want on Father’s Day. We’re going to the water park.” So, we went, and despite applying sunscreen, I still got a bad sunburn on my back. Nevertheless, I hope you all had a wonderful week.
For those who don’t know me, I’m Pastor Je from the Presbyterian Church. It’s a delight to worship God here in this beautiful park, surrounded by nature—the trees proclaiming God’s greatness and the birds singing His praises. It is also wonderful to see our two congregations come together to worship God with one voice.
Before I begin the sermon, I have two announcements. First, we finally have a new Church Administrative Assistant who started last Thursday. Her name is Lesley (Denton) Klooz, who was born and raised right here in Lebanon. She’ll be in the office from 8 AM to 4 PM, with a lunch break. So, Presbyterians, please stop by and say hello to her.
The second announcement is about our recent Photo Contest at the Presbyterian Church. The theme was flowers, and we had twenty-six submissions. Voting lasted for two months and concluded last Sunday. You can view all the photos and the voting results on the Presbyterian Church website: http://LebanonFPC.org. Now, for the winners: those who received three stickers are Lisa Hutcheson, Casey Reynolds, and Pam Dies. Janet Landon received four stickers. We have two winners who each received five stickers: Neal Crouse and Hannah Lee. Winners will receive Amazon gift cards. I must admit, the photo contest results are a bit embarrassing for me because my wife received five votes, while I got only one pity vote. For the last twelve years, I’ve been telling her that I take much better photos than she does. Now, I can’t say that any more.Photo by Neal Crouse, one of the winners
Sermon Series
The reason I am preaching today is because Rev. Kibler preached last year at the Worship in the Park, and we are taking turns. At the Presbyterian Church, we are currently working through the Gospel of Matthew. Previously, quite a while ago, we finished studying the genealogy of Jesus. Recently, we completed chapter four. Last Sunday, we were on Matthew 5:1-2 and discussed worship.
Let’s recap the Gospel of Matthew up to this point. Matthew is one of the four Gospels in the Bible and comes first, although it was not written first. Each Gospel has its own focus, and the Gospel of Matthew often compares Jesus to Moses. At the birth of Moses, Pharaoh ordered the mass murder of many infants. Similarly, at the birth of Jesus, King Herod ordered the mass murder of many infants. Both massacres occurred outside the royal city. Moses moved from Egypt to Israel, and Jesus also moved from Egypt to Israel, likely around the age of six. Moses fasted for forty days and nights, and Jesus did the same. Moses received the Ten Commandments, or the Word of God, on a mountain. In Matthew 5, Jesus was on a mountain not to receive the Word of God, but to proclaim it. Thus, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus eclipses Moses—Jesus is like Moses but greater.
You may not feel the full impact of this proclamation, but it must have been mind-blowing for many Jews in ancient times, given Moses’ status in Judaism. It’s similar to someone saying today, “This politician is like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln combined, but much better.”
Beatitude—Blessed or Happy?
Given the popularity of this sermon, some of you may have noticed variations in the translations of this passage. I used BibleGateway.com to compare them. The KJV and forty-nine other English translations say “Blessed are the poor,” while the CEB and eight other translations say “Happy are the poor.” The AMP and two other translations use both “blessed” and “happy.” The Living Bible uniquely says “fortunate.” This raises the question: which is the correct translation?
Since most Presbyterians now speak fluent Hebrew and Greek, let us explore this topic using those biblical languages. There are several verses in the Bible that say “Blessed are…” or “Happy are…” Let’s examine two of them. The first verse is from 1 Chronicles 29:10, which is David’s praise: “Blessed are You, O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, for ever and ever.” This praise became the basic template for almost all Jewish prayers. In this praise, the Hebrew Bible uses בָּרוּךְ (barukh) for “blessed,” and the Greek Old Testament, known as the Septuagint or simply LXX, uses εὐλογητός (eulogetos). Another relevant verse is Isaiah 30:18, which says in English, “Blessed are all those who wait for Him!” Isaiah used different words from David. The Hebrew word is אֶ֫שֶׁר (esher), and the Greek word is μακάριος (makarios). Some may say there is no difference among these words, but there are clear distinctions in Hebrew and Greek.
Isaiah’s Hebrew word אֶ֫שֶׁר (esher) means happy, blessed, jolly, etc. The dictionary explains that this word is more about emotion and feeling. David’s Hebrew word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is from the verb “to kneel down” and is in the past participle, implying a passive voice. For those unfamiliar with grammatical terms, passive voice indicates something done to the subject, not the subject is doing. For example, “A rabbit was eating grass” implies the rabbit is doing the action. But “A rabbit was eaten by a lion” implies the action is done to the rabbit. So, when we say בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (Barukh Attah Adonai Elohenu) or in English, “Blessed are You, Lord, our God,” the act of kneeling is not what God does, but what is done to God by others. In other words, the whole world is kneeling before God. Our blessing, therefore, is in our kneeling down before God, demonstrating humility and obedience.
David’s Greek word εὐλογητός (eulogetos) primarily means “worthy of praise” and “blessed,” and is almost always used for God. 1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed εὐλογητός be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Luke 1:68 says, “Blessed εὐλογητός be the Lord God of Israel.” In the Beatitudes, Jesus did not use this word in His sermon but used the other Greek word from Isaiah—μακάριος (makarios). This Greek word means “happy, blessed, favoured, privileged,” and the dictionary further explains that it depicts someone who receives divine favour. This word is always used for people, never for God. Romans 4:7 says, “Blessed μακάριος are those whose iniquities are forgiven.” 1 Peter 3:14 says, “If you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed μακάριος.”
If I had to choose between “blessed” or “happy” for the translation of Beatitude, I would choose “blessed.” I would not say “happy are the poor.” Are you happy when you are poor because you are poor? You may be happy even though you are poor, such as when you just got married. No one is happy because they are poor. If I had the freedom to use whatever word I liked for the translation of the Beatitude, I would choose either “favoured” or “privileged,” such as “Favoured are the poor in spirit by God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
God Cares for the Poor
Now, let us delve into the Beatitudes. There are eight blessings in this first sermon by Jesus. He specifically chose the poor for the very first blessing, which signifies that Jesus truly cares for the poor. This is not just a coincidence. Jesus used Isaiah 61 as His commencement address, which begins: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor.” In this passage, Isaiah lists many others such as the broken-hearted, the captives, and the prisoners, but he places the poor first, just as Jesus does in His list of eight blessings.
Many places in the Old Testament show that God expresses special concern for the poor and commands us to take good care of them. Deuteronomy 15:11 says, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”
The Bible often compares the poor and the rich, usually favouring the poor, as seen in today’s Old Testament lesson. 1 Samuel 2:7-8 states, “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low, He also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honour.” Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a rather extreme example. The poor Lazarus goes to heaven, while the rich man, whose name is not even mentioned, goes to hell and suffers for eternity. When Mary, the mother of Jesus, was pregnant and visited Elizabeth, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang praises in what we call the Magnificat. She sings that God “has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” On one occasion, Jesus said to His disciples, though not in public, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!” Well, now I feel like I must conclude this sermon: “Blessed are the poor, but doomed are the rich because obviously Jesus hates the rich.”
Does God Hate the Rich?
John Calvin, who laid the theological foundation of Presbyterianism, also did not believe that God hates the rich. In his view, work is a calling from God through which individuals can serve God and contribute to the common good. He encouraged us to work diligently, viewing wealth as a gift from God, not something inherently evil. It does not make sense that God would hate someone to whom He has given gifts. However, Calvin emphasised the stewardship and responsibility of the rich in society. These responsibilities include supporting the needy, living a simple and moderate lifestyle, promoting economic justice, and maintaining moral and spiritual vigilance. Each of these could be a separate sermon topic, but my point is that if God does not favour someone, it is not because they are rich, but probably because they are neglecting their responsibilities and duties in society and in front of God.
It Is Not Only About Money
The sermon of Jesus, the Beatitudes, is also recorded in the Gospel of Luke with slightly different expressions. Luke says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.’ But Matthew added two words and made it “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” With this, Matthew emphasises that Jesus is not only talking about financial poverty. There is more to it than just money; it is more about spirituality than finance.
So, what does it mean to be poor in spirit? First of all, we need to distinguish this biblical expression from the modern psychological term “poor mentality.” Being poor in spirit is a significant topic, but generally, it is considered to mean being dependent on God. Spiritually, we have nothing of our own; we need to be provided for by God. This dependence stems from self-awareness that we are weak with sinful nature. When we receive from God, we need to be humbly thankful. Being humble means having attentive ears and being obedient. Today’s Old Testament lesson agrees with this: “A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king, who no longer listens to advice.”
In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man was burning in hell and saw Lazarus with Abraham. He then asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his family to preach the gospel, which Abraham refused. Jesus says through Abraham in the parable, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” The rich man did not listen while alive, so he went to hell. If his family will not listen, they will also join the rich man. But whoever is poor in spirit, whoever listens, will inherit the kingdom of heaven, that is, salvation.
Listening Leads to Salvation
Why, then, is listening so important for salvation? To answer this, let me quote from Romans 10: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? … So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” In short, if you listen to the word of Christ, you will be saved. And if you do not listen, you will not be saved.
Conclusion
As Jesus and God have a special interest in the poor, and as good stewards of God in this town, we must not neglect taking good care of the poor. This is the primary reason we support the Caring Centre, and for the same reason, today’s offering will go to the Shalom House.
But we do not stop at helping the poor. The Apostle Paul asks in Romans 10, “How are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him? And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent?” Friends, God sent me to the First Presbyterian Church to preach. God sent Rev. Kibler to the Central Christian Church to preach. So please, make yourself poor in spirit and open your ears. Then you will all inherit the kingdom of heaven. Additionally, God has sent you to this community and neighbourhood to preach. So you are all sent by God, which in Greek is the word Apostle. You are all apostles of Christ. Preach to your friends and neighbours. They will hear the word of Christ through you, and they will also inherit the kingdom of heaven together with us. Amen.
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