Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
As I reflect on today’s passage, which is the Sermon on the Level Place on the Mountain, in the
Gospel according to the evangelist St. Luke, I come up dry, and so have recourse to letting St. Cyril of Alexandria put in a word for us. Let’s take just the first of today’s blessings from our Lord:
“...6:20: ‘Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.’ [From the Syriac] Those are the
Savior's words, when directing His disciples into the newness of the Gospel life after their appointment to the apostolate. But we must see of what poor it is that He speaks such great things: for in the Gospel according to Matthew it is written, "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven:" wishing us to understand by the poor in spirit the man who entertains lowly thoughts of himself, and whose mind, so to speak, is closely reefed, and his heart gentle, and ready to yield, and entirely free from the guilt of pride.
[Let me point out, for those who might not know, that a mind that is closely reefed, would be like a reefed sail on a sail boat: in dangerously high winds that might tip the boat over, you reef,
or shorten, the sail, to catch less of the dangerous wind, and allow the boat safely to continue on its way. It’s a reefed or lowly sail, and they are blessed for being poor, who have lowered or humbled minds. We return to St. Cyril...]
Such a one is worthy of admiration, and the friend of God; yes, He even said by one
of the holy prophets: "Upon whom will I look but upon the humble and peaceable, and who trembles at my words?" And the prophet David also said, that "a contrite and humbled heart God will not set at nought." Moreover, the Savior Himself also says, "Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble in heart." In the lessons, however, now set before us, He says, that the poor shall be blessed, without the addition of its being in spirit. But the Evangelists so speak, not as contradicting one another, but as dividing oftentimes he narrative among them: and at one time they recapitulate the same particulars, and at another that which has been omitted by one, another includes in his narrative, so that nothing essential for their benefit may be hidden from those who believe on Christ. It seems likely, therefore, that here He means by the poor, whom He pronounces blessed, those who care not for wealth, and who are superior to covetousness, and who despise base gifts, and who have disposition free from the love of money, and who set no value upon the ostentatious display of riches.
And so the most wise Paul manifestly guides us into the best doctrines, where he says, "Let your
disposition be free from the love of money, being contented with what you have” — and to this he added, that "having nourishment and the means of shelter, we will be with them content." For it was necessary, absolutely necessary, for those whose business it would be to proclaim the saving message of the Gospel to have a mind careless about wealth, and occupied only with the desire for better things. The argument, however, does not affect all whose means are abundant, but those only whose desire is set upon riches: and who are these? All to whom our Savior's words apply: "Store not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth."
Thank you, to St. Cyril, for all that. And so we see that we are blessed, if we reef the sails of our
minds, weathering the storms of this life with minds lowered, like shortened sails, in a wholesome form of humility. I’m glad St. Cyril pointed out that the divinely inspired authors are not in contradiction, but are supplementing one another; those little differences between used to bother me, but after all, it’s the same one author, God the Holy Spirit, inspiring them all. And thanks for Cyril’s quote from St. Paul, reminding us not to desire wealth but to desire the higher things, the things of God, which is another way in which to practice lowliness of heart, or humility.
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