Dear Folks,
Jesus starts the Sermon on the Mount with eight beatitudes. Let’s take a good look.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom on heaven.” How many folks have no idea what it means? I’ve learned you can get through the seminary and not be ready to answer that question. I would look for a clue in the two stories immediately after the Sermon on the Mount. First, Jesus heals a leper. This guy was poor, totally poor. He had nothing, nothing, nothing to offer Jesus. He had no contacts, no connections. Everyone shunned him. When he came to Jesus for help, he was completely dependent on His mercy and generosity. Next comes the healing of the centurion’s servant. This centurion was
probably the wealthiest, most powerful man in the area. Furthermore, he had been very good to the Israelites (Luke 7:4-5). If anyone was likely to approach Jesus with a sense of entitlement, it would be him. Instead of presuming he makes a wonderful statement of humility, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” We remember this at every Mass. He was poor in spirit. 
There is a text in Matthew 15:21-28 that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. A woman comes to Jesus for help, and He ignores her at first, then seems kind of mean. Many people
don’t know how to deal with this. Remember that we only get the words, and don’t see what is in their hearts. Jesus, of course could read people very well, and sometimes people need to have their intentions purified. She came through: she showed she was not taking Him for granted, and recognized she was not entitled to His help, and the story ended well.
Have we ever felt that God was ignoring us or even being harsh? Might we be undergoing some purifying of our intentions too?
Contrast this with Luke 4: 16-30, when Jesus comes to the synagogue in Nazareth, where He grew up. They had the attitude that because Jesus grew up there, they were entitled to some miracles and mighty works from Him. It didn’t go well, and they missed a most wonderful opportunity.
See also Jesus’ teaching in Luke 17:7-10, in which Jesus teaches about a servant who, after serious labor, does not get immediate reward and rest, but must first do more work. Jesus says, “When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done only our duty.’”
A working principle is that we look to Jesus as perfectly embodying the beatitudes. St. Paul taught, “For you are well aware of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although he
was rich, he became poor for your sake so that by his poverty you might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).” We should be familiar with the hymn in Philippians 2, that describes
Jesus as entitled to divine glory but “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”
However much we have done, sacrificed, and achieved for God, we still come to Him as absolute paupers who are completely dependent on His mercy. We are beggars who do not have to beg because God is glad to be generous with us. Have we ever thought we have done enough and are entitled to a break? Have we ever thought we have had a hard enough path and resented those who seem not to have done as much and seem to be getting things easier? Jesus is calling us to a different perspective.
Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessings
Fr Jim