Mt 5:1-12a
1When he saw the crowds, [Jesus] went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2He began to teach them, saying: 3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,/ for theirs is the kingdom of heaven./ 4Blessed are they who mourn,/ for they will be comforted./ 5Blessed are the meek,/ for they will inherit the land./ 6Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,/ for they will be satisfied./ 7Blessed are the merciful,/ for they will be shown mercy./ 8Blessed are the clean of heart,/ for they will see God./ 9Blessed are the peacemakers,/ for they will be called children of God./ 10Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,/ for theirs is the kingdom of heaven./ 11Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
Blessed are the poor in spirit: Who are the poor? We have come up with so many interpretations just so we do not have to touch them—people with the spirit of the poor, people who trust no one but God, the simple folks. We also enrich their vocabulary as we describe them as destitute, forsaken, deprived, Third World, underprivileged, needy, impoverished. But they remain poor, though rich in descriptive words.
The poor, I believe, are people who have no better choices (kapit sa patalim). The well-to-do have many options as to what shirts to wear, where to eat, where to go. The poor have only what they have on their backs. The poor have no one to run to; the rich have many friends and connections.
Born poor, Jesus lives poor. He ministers to the poor, cares for them, loves them, and has an extra heart for all of them—the lonely, the sorrowing, the hungry and thirsty, the pure of heart, the peacemakers. Pure religion, according to James, is to care for widows and orphans who, in the Old Testament, are the classical examples of the poor, the defenseless, and the oppressed (Jas 1:27).