Jan 26, 2026 Written by 
Art'working

4th Sunday in O.T. (year A)

4th Sunday in O.T. (year A)

(Mt 5:1-12a)

Matthew 5:3 «Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven».

 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Thus begins the first beatitude, the most important one, because it is placed first by Matthew. Let us first note the word 'blessed'. If we were to say to a poor person, 'blessed are you who are poor', we would be insulting them. We usually say, 'blessed are the rich'. Jesus' beatitudes are the exact opposite of what we think; they are words that radically overturn all earthly criteria. There is a truly subversive force in the beatitudes.

There is an imbalance of power between wealth and poverty, to the detriment of the poor, who are crushed by the greed and pride of the rich. In Jesus' message, poverty acquires a new dignity, unknown until then. Jesus came to restore dignity to humanity. In fact, for Jesus, it is necessary to free oneself from attachment to earthly goods in order to fully embrace his cause, which leads man to a higher and more fulfilled level of life. But this first level of material poverty is not enough. For Jesus, a further step is needed: to strip oneself of one's own way of thinking and seeing things, in order to take on that of God; it is necessary to place oneself on God's side and see things from his perspective.

There is a qualitative leap: from material poverty to inner poverty. Material poverty is not enough to inherit the kingdom, but must be rooted in the very heart of man. This is why Matthew says, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Literally, poor in spirit can mean lacking in spirit, but Jesus cannot proclaim someone who is lacking in spirit to be happy.

The expression poor in spirit comes from Isaiah 66:2, whose Hebrew text says: 'ānî ûnekēh rûaḥ, 'This is the one I will look upon: the one who is poor and contrite in spirit'. The term 'ānî (poor) is related to 'ānāw (humble). In the LXX, it is often rendered as ptōchòs, which indicates the poverty of the beggar, forced to lower himself, to bow down, that is, to humble himself in order to survive. This conception of poverty will establish itself as a positive value especially after the Babylonian exile. The poor come to designate the humble, pious, God-fearing man. The 'ānāwîm, who turn to God in prayer and with faith, are poor people who belong to the lowest social classes. Despised and oppressed, they place their trust and security in God. They look to him alone for protection and help, with an inner attitude of humility and filial dependence.

Therefore, blessed poverty does not refer to a social situation, but rather implies trust in divine protection; it primarily refers to a spiritual attitude towards God. The poor in spirit are those who consider themselves beggars before God, who know that they cannot force the coming of the kingdom of heaven, but that it must be God who grants it to them.

Blessedness is now; it does not need to wait for the end of time. The verb in the phrase 'the kingdom of heaven is theirs' is in the present tense. That is, the kingdom is already theirs. And the kingdom of God is wealth. It is the realisation of the new world. Already now. The kingdom of heaven is not simply the afterlife. You suffer here, but you will be fine in the afterlife. No, the kingdom of heaven is God reigning over his own. Jesus does not say that the kingdom of heaven 'will be' theirs, he does not make a promise for the future, but says that it 'is' theirs, in the present.

Another thing should also be noted: Jesus does not speak in the singular, but in the plural. Jesus came to change human society. For this reason, it is not so much the gesture of the individual that is needed, but rather a community that radically changes its way of acting. This is the importance of the Church as a community.

To summarise, the poor are indeed those who lack riches, but 'in spirit' is added to show that it is not poverty itself that is acceptable to God, but that poverty which involves a detachment of the heart from worldly things, because those who are attached to worldly things are not willing to share them with their brothers and sisters. The poor in spirit are naturally also those who bear their poverty with patience, and all those who do not place their happiness in the accumulation of treasures. Jesus thus destroys the Jewish idea of a messianic kingdom founded on earthly power, and shows how detachment from riches is the first condition for sharing in the kingdom of heaven.

I understand that these words are difficult to understand and to live by: may the Lord grant us this. All the other beatitudes spring from the first. All the other seven beatitudes are nothing more than variations on the theme of poverty.

For example: 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted'. Here too there is the present beatitude: now you are blessed. Not because you are afflicted, but because you are comforted, just as the poor are blessed not because they are poor, but because the kingdom is theirs. The Lord comforts the afflicted. Comfort is a characteristic of God who does not leave the afflicted alone. The afflicted are those who suffer on earth because of human injustice. Every injustice always generates affliction. The greater the injustice, the greater the affliction.

It is interesting that blessedness is now in the present, but consolation is in the future. So what is there between the present and the future? There is the path to consolation. The positive meaning of history is that we will pass from affliction to consolation. On this path, the afflicted must live their affliction in holiness. Affliction is lived in holiness in only one way: by offering it to the Lord as a gift for the salvation of the world. Looking at Christ crucified, everyone can know who the truly afflicted are. Looking at Christ risen, everyone knows the greatness of God's consolations.

Let us look at it from another point of view. Have you ever seen a cheerful person being consoled? I never have! If he is cheerful, how can he be consoled? Divine bliss is a consolation for those who are afflicted, not for those who are cheerful. For there to be consolation, the person being consoled must be afflicted.

 

Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers – Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, True God and True Man in the Trinitarian Mystery

The Prophetic Discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

 Catholics and Protestants Compared – In Defence of the Faith

 The Church and Israel According to St. Paul – Romans 9-11

 

(Available on Amazon)

 

641
Rate this item
(2 votes)
Argentino Quintavalle

Argentino Quintavalle è studioso biblico ed esperto in Protestantesimo e Giudaismo. Autore del libro “Apocalisse - commento esegetico” (disponibile su Amazon) e specializzato in catechesi per protestanti che desiderano tornare nella Chiesa Cattolica.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Latest from Argentino Quintavalle

Previous
« 3rd Sunday in O.T.
Next
5th Sunday in O.T. »
back to top
What is meant by “eat the flesh and drink the blood” of Jesus? Is it just an image, a figure of speech, a symbol, or does it indicate something real? (Pope Francis)
Che significa “mangiare la carne e bere il sangue” di Gesù?, è solo un’immagine, un modo di dire, un simbolo, o indica qualcosa di reale? (Papa Francesco)
What does bread of life mean? We need bread to live. Those who are hungry do not ask for refined and expensive food, they ask for bread. Those who are unemployed do not ask for enormous wages, but the “bread” of employment. Jesus reveals himself as bread, that is, the essential, what is necessary for everyday life; without Him it does not work (Pope Francis)
Che cosa significa pane della vita? Per vivere c’è bisogno di pane. Chi ha fame non chiede cibi raffinati e costosi, chiede pane. Chi è senza lavoro non chiede stipendi enormi, ma il “pane” di un impiego. Gesù si rivela come il pane, cioè l’essenziale, il necessario per la vita di ogni giorno, senza di Lui la cosa non funziona (Papa Francesco)
In addition to physical hunger man carries within him another hunger — all of us have this hunger — a more important hunger, which cannot be satisfied with ordinary food. It is a hunger for life, a hunger for eternity which He alone can satisfy, as he is «the bread of life» (Pope Francis)
Oltre alla fame fisica l’uomo porta in sé un’altra fame – tutti noi abbiamo questa fame – una fame più importante, che non può essere saziata con un cibo ordinario. Si tratta di fame di vita, di fame di eternità che Lui solo può appagare, in quanto è «il pane della vita» (Papa Francesco)
The Eucharist draws us into Jesus' act of self-oblation. More than just statically receiving the incarnate Logos, we enter into the very dynamic of his self-giving [Pope Benedict]
L'Eucaristia ci attira nell'atto oblativo di Gesù. Noi non riceviamo soltanto in modo statico il Logos incarnato, ma veniamo coinvolti nella dinamica della sua donazione [Papa Benedetto]
Jesus, the true bread of life that satisfies our hunger for meaning and for truth, cannot be “earned” with human work; he comes to us only as a gift of God’s love, as a work of God (Pope Benedict)
Gesù, vero pane di vita che sazia la nostra fame di senso, di verità, non si può «guadagnare» con il lavoro umano; viene a noi soltanto come dono dell’amore di Dio, come opera di Dio (Papa Benedetto)
The locality of Emmaus has not been identified with certainty. There are various hypotheses and this one is not without an evocativeness of its own for it allows us to think that Emmaus actually represents every place: the road that leads there is the road every Christian, every person, takes. The Risen Jesus makes himself our travelling companion as we go on our way, to rekindle the warmth of faith and hope in our hearts and to break the bread of eternal life (Pope Benedict)
La località di Emmaus non è stata identificata con certezza. Vi sono diverse ipotesi, e questo non è privo di una sua suggestione, perché ci lascia pensare che Emmaus rappresenti in realtà ogni luogo:  la strada che vi conduce è il cammino di ogni cristiano, anzi, di ogni uomo. Sulle nostre strade Gesù risorto si fa compagno di viaggio, per riaccendere nei nostri cuori il calore della fede e della speranza e spezzare il pane della vita eterna (Papa Benedetto)
Romano Guardini wrote that the Lord “is always close, being at the root of our being. Yet we must experience our relationship with God between the poles of distance and closeness. By closeness we are strengthened, by distance we are put to the test” (Pope Benedict)

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.