Blessing

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

Matthew 5:3

The first of the Beatitudes in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke addresses an issue that was of critical importance during the time of Jesus' mission: poverty, pride, arrogance, and religious superiority. Unfortunately, as with many of his teachings, this issue has been neglected for two thousand years. Among the last things people would associate with modern Christianity is being "poor in spirit." And the same can be said of Muslims. But this Beatitude was not a casual, unimportant utterance by the Blessed Jesus. And it applies equally to Christians and Muslims; it applies to all who believe in God. And it is the first of the Beatitudes.

To start, what, exactly, is meant by the word "Beatitude?" The term itself can be translated as "blessings". Essentially all the history we have of the life of Jesus is contained in the four Canonical Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The remainder of the New Testament contains the history of the early years after Jesus (Acts of the Apostles), the letters of Saint Paul and Peter which are largely devoted to how the Church should be run, and the visions of Saint John of Patmos, another category altogether.

We know very little about Jesus before he began his mission at about thirty years of age. His first action was to perform the 'Prophet's fast' of forty days, followed by the direct confrontation with Satan. This confrontation proved that Jesus was essentially 'dead' to the material world, and that the temptations of the material world had no hold over him. He then sought John the Baptist and became baptized in the Judaic tradition. This was followed by a gathering of the disciples, traditionally known to be twelve men.

With the disciples, Jesus then went to the side of a mountain in Galilee and delivered his first sermon, the 'Sermon on the Mount.' This collection of teachings, the first part of which is the nine Beatitudes, is considered to be the essential aspects of the teachings of Jesus. This sermon also contains the 'Lord's Prayer,' and other well-known verses. Of interest is that what is contained in the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes is not actually new, and can be found throughout the Old Testament. What Jesus so beautifully did was to synthesize the law of God with the language of love.

The Beatitudes in the Gospel of Saint Matthew are also present in the Gospel of Mark, ironically called the Sermon on the Plain, with minor differences. The fact that they are present in two separate Gospels adds credence that Jesus spoke these words.

Definition of 'Poor in Spirit'

While Roman legions occupied the territory, the day to day rule of Israel was left to the Sadducees and Pharisees, two groups who had slightly differing views on Jewish law and history. The Sadducees or "righteous ones" ran the temple, collected taxes and generally kept order. The Pharisees called themselves the "separate ones." Jesus was not quite as harsh with them as they believed in life after death and were awaiting the appearance of the Messiah.

But both groups kept themselves apart from the rabble of the day, considering themselves to be elite, and superior to the commoners. They would not eat with the poor, and one claim against Jesus was that he shared food with the lower classes, food which was thus considered 'unclean.' In many places in the Canonical Gospels Jesus refers to the arrogance and pride of those who considered themselves to be the religious elite. They were neither poor in worldly goods nor spirit. It was these arrogant to whom he referred to as "vipers."

You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?

Matthew 23: 33

Note that Jesus is not polite in his condemnation, nor is he mincing words; this issue is of critical importance. If any topic be at the centerpiece of Christian teaching, this is it.

To be 'poor in spirit' does not mean to be weak in faith or poor in spiritual strength. As with many personal qualities, it is easily defined by its opposites. Arrogance and pride can never co-exist with being poor in spirit. The feeling of superiority breeds pride and arrogance. And superiority is a concept that is absurd for anyone who believes in God, anyone who recognizes our existence as minor compared to the glory of God. Being a 'believer' demands being 'poor in spirit'.

Nay, seek help with patient perseverance and prayer; it is indeed hard except to those who bring a lowly spirit.

Qur'an 2: 45

Pride as a Deadly Sin

The central place of humility in religious teaching is not a hidden mystery. Pride has been called one of the seven 'deadly sins' since the organization of Christianity. Yet despite this, we see it in nearly every public face of religion. Television evangelists radiate pride in their preaching, arrogance in their crystal cathedrals; this arrogance is useful to bring in contributions. The message of superiority is encouraged in modern Christianity with auto bumper stickers that read "I am saved." Is there much difference between the moderns who claim to be 'saved' and the Pharisees during the time of Jesus?

For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6: 5

And here is a point we will return to over and over in our discussions. Those who display pride have their reward in the act of performing their pious appearance. Their reward is their self-satisfaction. But they will not get additional reward from God. It is one or the other: respect in man's eyes or reward from God. The reward to the ego cancels out the reward from God.

Pride in Qur'an

And it is not just in Christianity that we see this deadly sin displayed so arrogantly. As Muslims, we believe that we have the final Revelation, but does the Qur'an save us if we are arrogant? Qur'an talks frequently of those who have been given the message of Truth and then became arrogant. Their arrogance cancelled the gift that had come to them and they fell to the depths.

Of course pride was what caused the downfall of Satan in both the Old Testament and in Qur'an. The descriptions are remarkably similar.

And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis (Satan). He refused and was haughty; he was of those who reject Faith.

Quran 2: 34

And the display of arrogance or pride is the same as the rejection of faith. The story of Satan is really important to those who try to increase their faith. Satan is not just some mythical creature of the old days. He is alive and well in present times. Understanding the Qur'an and what it says about Satan is essential for Muslims, particularly those who treat lightly the roots and stems of evil. Qur'an presents practical steps to avoid this evil. I find it amazing to look at television and see the hundreds of shows and movies which mock Satan in order to sell merchandise. But as Luke Skywalker found out in Star Wars, it is not difficult to be seduced by the dark side. In Islam there is a tradition that the bridge over the flames of hell (sirat) is long and razor-thin.

The number of references to pride in Qur'an are enormous, and like the teaching of the Blessed Jesus, it is not veiled.

When it is said to him, "Fear God", He is led by arrogance to more crime. Enough for him is Hell; an evil bed indeed to lie on!

Qur'an 2: 206

But those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, they are companions of the fire, to dwell therein forever.

Qur'an 7: 36

No one has a right to be arrogant. Woe to the Pharisees, and to the arrogant kings and princes. In front of God they are merely people, no longer separated from other people by their possessions or worldly power. They are separated only by the amount of love for God in their hearts. And Jesus, while at times possessed with a 'righteous anger', was never arrogant. God forbid!

Christ disdaineth not to serve and worship God, nor do the angels, those nearest to God: those who disdain His worship and are arrogant, He will gather them all together unto Himself to answer.

Qur'an 4: 172

There is another point to observe when discussing pride. It leads to false claims that God had a special closeness and communicates Revelations when, in fact, none have been transmitted. It is possible for God to give inspiration to any of His creation He wishes, but the proud are unlikely to be in the receiving group. And woe to those who pretend to talk with God.

Who can be more wicked than one who invents a lie against God, or says, "I have received inspiration," when he has received none, or again who says, "I can reveal the like of what God hath revealed"? If thou could only see how the wicked fare in the flood of confusion at death! The angels stretch forth their hands, saying, "Yield up your souls: this day shall you receive your reward, a penalty of shame, for that you used to tell lies against God, and scornfully to reject of His signs!"

Qur'an 6: 93

Pride is one area where it is possible to define the distinction between the inner and outer laws of God. In Islam, these two aspects are known as the batin (inner or hidden) and the zahir (outer or manifest) laws. An example of the outer law is the requirement of charity of at least 2.5% of your income after expenses. It is a rule that is easily formulated into words and applied in daily life. An example of inner law is to strive in the path of God (Jihad). This is one of the basic requirements of Islam, but it is difficult to formulate in specific rules or laws as to what this striving means. Because it is so difficult, Muslims tend to oversimplify the law of jihad (striving in the cause of God) to mean simply fighting.

Many of the statements of Jesus in the Canonical Gospels were talking of the inner or hidden laws, those that are particularly difficult to put into practice. He never said to ignore the outer laws, and of course he performed them carefully.

For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Matthew 5: 18

The jot and tittle are accent marks in the Aramaic writing, so this statement means that not even a little bit of the law of God can be ignored.

An example of the difficult laws that are hard to formulate and apply in daily practice would be the statement of Jesus:

But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Matthew 5: 28

Anyone with true belief and whose life is committed to following God's commands knows what this means. But for those of us with less than perfect faith, we would struggle while walking on a Scandinavian beach in the summertime.

It is easy to recognize pride in the Pharisees' preaching in the temple, the evangelists on television, or many Imams preaching in the mosques. When it goes beyond all bounds, it is quite obvious to any observer. But where is this defining line? In Islam the distinction is one of degree and Qur'an makes this dividing line plain.

He it is who has sent down to thee the Book. In it are verses basic or fundamental of established meaning. They are the foundation of the Book; other verses are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say, "We believe in the Book, the whole of it is from our Lord." And none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.

Qur'an 3: 7

In the hidden (batin) examples of pride the message is subtle, but can be recognized by the fact that the person of pride is always seeking something for himself or herself. For a person without faith, everything is available for a price to the ego. For a person of faith, there is no hidden or small print; all is entirely and solely for the glory of God.

Poverty

Being poor in spirit is a form of poverty. Not just poverty in worldly goods, but poverty of spirit, poverty as a lack of conceit or arrogance. But poverty of spirit walks hand-in-hand with poverty in external, worldly possessions. It is human nature that to be wealthy in terms of material possessions brings conceit and the feeling of superiority. To be wealthy by having positions of power also leads to the many problems derived from pride. The standard advertisements for those trying to be elected to public office are that the incumbents are corrupt. Yet when these aspirants become incumbents themselves, they fall victim to the same corruption. Rare is the person who can resist the temptations of political office. The one that comes to mind was Mahatma Ghandi in India.

The references to poverty in the New Testament are numerous. Jesus was criticized for associating with the 'rabble'. He made it very clear that worldly goods interfered with spiritual growth. What could be more clear than this parable of poverty?

And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Matthew 19: 24

It is very simply a choice between the spiritual world which is eternal and this material world which will soon end. All of us know that we will die. Yet despite this knowledge, we puff ourselves up with pride, pretend we will live forever, and hold onto our material possessions. But once again, it is one or the other. We do not get both our ego desires of this world and the eternal spiritual world.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6: 24

Is money actually evil? No it is not. It is the human ego and its vain desires that is easily corrupted by material wealth. Gold is a benign metal unless it becomes an idol and corrupts the human soul.

Those who have true humility are rich beyond riches. The Prophet was reported to have said, "My poverty is my pride." His disciples came from all walks of life. Some of the closest Companions, were called the 'people of the bench,' as they had no material possessions, and gathered on the bench behind the small mosque to recite prayers to God. The arrogant Meccans would walk by and scornfully say, "Do you really expect us to become like them?"

The Prophet of Islam during the latter part of his life could easily have been the richest man in the world. Tribes and states all over Arabia and the near East were accepting Islam and sending money and other tribute. Yet the Prophet lived in a small hut and slept on an old straw mat on the dirt floor. At one time the Prophet was feeling unsettled, and his family asked him about it. He said that there was something in the hut that was disturbing him like a persistent toothache. The family member mentioned that someone had left a small gold coin in the front room. The prophet knew this was the source of his discomfort. "Take it and give it to the poor," he said. Both the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet and Messiah Jesus were examples to mankind. And they were both poor.

And Jesus said unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Matthew 8: 20

Principle of Reciprocity

Poverty is painful. Being 'poor in spirit' is painful. Yet this seems to be an important ingredient for spiritual growth. There is a phrase in the New Testament that has caused great confusion:

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even the little that he hath.

Matthew 13: 12

The confusion is due to the fact that people think primarily of outer possessions. But inner faith is far more important. This statement of the blessed Jesus is only understandable from the perspective of faith. Whosoever has faith, more will be given to him. But whosoever has weak faith, even that weak faith will be destroyed and taken away.

But this is not easy for mankind to accept, and it requires human and worldly suffering. It requires being in the state of 'poor in spirit,' the state referred to by Jesus in the First Beatitude. It is here that he is teaching the more subtle aspects of Truth, the batin or inner and hidden aspects of Truth. External material poverty is the zahir, or apparent. A person in rags without possessions is externally poor, regardless of whether he or she has faith or not. The more subtle, and more difficult poverty, is to be free of arrogance, pride, and a feeling of superiority over others. That is the batin teachings.

Exactly what is it to be "poor in spirit?" It is referring to the broken and contrite heart of the Psalms, the absence of ego and self-satisfaction. Humility in the form of a broken and contrite heart is the sacrifice acceptable to God.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalms 51:17