(A) Some characteristics of the Poor in Spirit.

(a) The poor in spirit are not self-conscious
A rich and powerful man is usually aware of his worth; it can be measured in terms of how much he is paid, what he owns and the status he enjoys in society. This consciousness gives him self- assurance, confidence and a certain dignity which the poor often lack. The poor are not secure in the knowledge of their worth. They are not self-conscious in this sense and the poor in spirit are not self conscious at all.

John Clare, the Northamptonshire peasant poet, conveys something of the innocence or naivety of the poor in spirit in this tribute to, 'My Mary':

Who nearly battled to her chin Bangs down the yard thro' thick and thin, Nor picks her road nor cares a pin My Mary. Who save in Sundays bib and tuck Goes daily waddling like a duck Oe'r head and ears in grease and muck My Mary. Who low in stature, thick and fat Turns brown from going without a hat Though not a pin the worse for that My Mary. Who laugh'd at too by every whelp For failings which she cannot help But silly fools will laugh and chelp My Mary.

Mary got on with life without worrying about what people thought or said about her. She was not calculating or preoccupied by status.

Lack of self-consciousness undoubtedly facilitates entry into the Kingdom. Jesus warned that few find the narrow gate by which to enter the Kingdom. Zaccaeus sufficiently forgot himself to climb a tree. If he had cared about looking ridiculous or been apprehensive about comments from the crowd he would never have seen Jesus. Many are kept away from Jesus because they are fearful of the world's scorn. They stand at the narrow gate and do not pass through to life.

The poor in spirit qualify as worthy subjects of the Kingdom. Jesus' teaching highlights what he expects of his subjects. He despised the posturing of the Pharisees who hoped to gain from religion in this life. They would have their reward! Jesus prefers those who work unconditionally for one hour in his service to those who labour from dawn to dusk in a bargaining spirit. The eleventh hour workers are the poor in spirit. They are just glad to be working at all - naive, foolish, uncalculating but finally blessed.

Some Christians are too self-conscious to express their love for Jesus without inhibition. They are too buttoned up to display openly heartfelt devotion to Christ. If the prostitute in Simeon's house had been self conscious she would never have bathed Jesus' feet with her tears; Mary would have refrained from anointing her Lord with precious perfume; Mary Magdalene would have controlled her emotions and never hugged the risen Saviour in the garden. Fortunately these three women were so overwhelmed by love that they sufficiently forgot themselves to express it without reservation.

(b) The poor in spirit are not self-congratulatory.
The Pharisee was honest enough to put into words what we are all inclined to think, if not about our characters then about our competence, when he prayed, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men......... or even like this tax collector." Luke18v11. We are all so glad to be better than others!

In, 'The Innocents Abroad', Mark Twain described what it was like to experience a very rough sea in the Atlantic. By happy good fortune Mark Twain wasn't seasick and was able to sit on deck watching the ship leaping and plunging through the waves. A little old man lurched across the deck. Mark Twain greeted him, "Good morning, Sir. It is a fine day." The only response was, "Oh My!" as the old gentleman reeled away clutching his stomach. For an hour Mark Twain was bombarded with little old gentlemen whose only attempt at conversation was, "Oh My!" He writes: 'I knew what was the matter with them. They were seasick. And I was glad of it. We all like to see people seasick when we are not ourselves.'

The poor in spirit are not, 'glad of it', for they are unconcerned about being better let alone best.

One bitter December night I was carol singing in the small Suffolk village of Brockley with a small band of volunteers. I was wearing two anoraks, a tracksuit bottom under my trousers, three pairs of socks, thick gloves, and a balaclava. If not as warm as toast I was relatively comfortable. The same could not be said of three elegantly attired ladies who were blue with cold and shivering so violently that they could hardly hold their carol sheets. And I was glad of it! I congratulated myself on knowing what to wear on a cold night. There is something of that old Pharisee in most of us. Only the poor in spirit are proof against complacency and self-satisfaction.

(c) The poor in spirit accept they have no entitlements.
The chronic poor beg. They do not even hold out a bowl - just a cupped hand. They rely wholly on the generosity of the giver. The beggar takes all and gives nothing. Yet it is possible to be a beggar without being a beggar at heart. In the Daily Telegraph of November 11th 1986 there was a short but telling report: Beggars in Sokoto, Northern Nigeria, have decided to reject small coins from alms-givers as a protest against devaluation. It would seem that Nigeria's beggars, organised into a Destitute's Association, persuaded themselves that begging was a kind of work and alms their entitlement.

Satan is very subtle. There are those in the church who make much of their conviction of sin. They almost take a pride in how sinful they felt prior to conversion. Feelings of guilt do not entitle a sinner to salvation. Nor does faith. We are not doing God a favour when we ask for forgiveness and trust to Jesus' sacrificial work to secure it for us. The poor in spirit are beggars at heart and as such genuinely grateful for the free gift of salvation. They gladly confess that they owe everything to God's grace.

We should never lose sight of what our redemption cost God the Son and God the Father. For many years a wealthy Bury St. Edmunds retailer used to give groceries away at Christmas. The long queue outside his store was testimony to the popularity of his gesture. How many, I wonder, wrote to say, "Thank you." I expect there were those who muttered to themselves, "Well he can afford it. Anyway he is getting lots of publicity and that is good for business." Is this our reaction to God's gift of salvation - it's good for business!! Man's redemption cost God his son and it cost the Son his father.

The poor in spirit acknowledge their debt to God by forgiving others. This is tangible evidence of a change of heart. What an ominous story is told in Matthew13 of the forgiven but unforgiving debtor. The servant confessed his debt of millions of pounds. He conceded he couldn't pay it. He sued for mercy. But in the end he was condemned because he had not been sufficiently humbled by his master's mercy to extend forgiveness to others. He was not fit for the Kingdom. It is not enough to fear the consequences of sin we must be sorry for sin itself.

(B) There is no earthly benefit for the Poor in Spirit.

There is no glory in coming last. The humble are overlooked. You don't get on by taking the lowest seats at wedding feasts. Jesus said at the Last Supper, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. John13v14. I am inclined to believe that those who serve others and wash feet are taken for granted. It is not generally the route to the top.

Thirty years ago I conducted a Geography fieldtrip to the Lake District for twenty-five delectable young ladies. For the first two days I led from the front and walked the party vigorously over difficult terrain. At the end of the second day did those girls complain! I set too fast a pace. Those at the back were struggling all the time to keep up. I was a typical man with no feeling at all. It is not really much fun being the only male in charge of twenty-five women! I decided to change my tactics. Next day I led from the rear. In the evening one of the young ladies came up to me and asked, "What was the matter with you today Mr. Reed?" "Nothing", I replied. "Why were you lagging behind?" she persisted. I explained that I was trying to encourage the slow walkers and restore the morale of the party. To my chagrin the girl shook her head sadly and said, "The trouble with you Mr. Reed is that you are getting old." I was in my prime!! There is no glory in coming last.

The poor in spirit do not show off and they have to pay for it. In, 'War and Peace', Tolstoy describes the modest, little, Russian General Dohturov who was active in the defence of the Motherland during Napoleon's invasion. Dohturov wasn't renowned for making plans of campaign, dashing at the head of regiments, dropping crosses about the batteries or anything else to catch the public eye. He had a reputation for lacking decision and penetration. No one celebrated Dohturov in prose or verse. But throughout the Russian wars with the French the little general was always in command where the position was particularly difficult. Tolstoy shrewdly observes, 'The silence in regard to Dohturov is the plainest testimony to his merits.' If we are poor in spirit there is no great reward for us in this life.

(C) The blessedness of the Poor in Spirit - for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is possible to have problems with the phrase, 'Kingdom of Heaven', particularly if you are British. We tend to think of a Kingdom as a place rather than a people. The United Kingdom is a distinctive shape on a map. However a Kingdom is also a people who profess allegiance to a king, accept his authority and as subjects undertake responsibilities and enjoy privileges. The Kingdom of Heaven consists of all those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord, serve him and come under his protection.

What then does the tricky little phrase, 'for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven' signify? What is it about the Kingdom that the poor in spirit possess? Sadly justice is rarely done to this part of the beatitude. Much is made of the poor in spirit possessing the entry qualifications to God's Kingdom. There is a lot in this. Jesus teaches that the poor in spirit qualify for, and are well suited to, the Kingdom. It is theirs - it is for them. This was a shock to even the most perceptive of Jesus' hearers. The disciples could not understand why a rich man would find entry into the Kingdom difficult. Jesus said that it was the tax collector who would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God be merciful to me a sinner," who went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke18v14 The Kingdom of Heaven is not for those who, like the Pharisees, parade their virtues; who make broad their phylacteries, whiten their faces and pray on street corners; who coveting the approval of men love to be greeted in the market place and seek the best seats at feasts. It is for those who esteem others better than themselves and who do not let their right hand know what their left is doing; the little children of the Christian fellowship who emulate their Master who made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. Phil2v7 There is a place in the Kingdom for the humble hearted in just such a way as there is a place for the little cog-wheel in a smooth running machine. But there is more to it than that.

Tolstoy follows his recommendation of the modest little Dohturov with the observation that a man who is ignorant of the working of a machine might mistake the relative importance of a wood shaving that has fallen into it by accident and a little cogwheel that is in it by design. The wood shaving flaps about, it catches the eye, it seems so important but in reality it plays no part in the smooth running of the machine. The cogwheel, turning noiselessly, almost inconspicuously, is essential to the efficient functioning of the machine. The cogwheels possess much of the credit for the effective operation of the machine. In the same way Christians who are poor in spirit, cogwheels and not wood shavings, are responsible for the well being of the Kingdom. A Kingdom consists of a king and his subjects. The hidden strength of Christ's Kingdom on earth depends in part on the sterling quality of Christ's subjects. The humble hearted are the custodians or guardians of the Kingdom's reputation.

C.S.Lewis makes the same point in his essay, 'The Inner Ring'. He writes,'If in your working hours you make the work your end you will presently find yourself all unawares inside the only circle in your profession that really matters........ This group of craftsmen will by no means coincide with.....the Important People or People in the Know...... But it will do those things which that profession exists to do and will in the long run be responsible for all the respect which that profession in fact enjoys.' So it is the poor in spirit that keep the church sweet, that preserve its wholesomeness and maintain its good name.

There is one other thing the poor in spirit possess and that is the good pleasure of the King who has made them promises such as: he that humbles himself will be exalted and the last will be first. These are given for the consolation of the poor in spirit who may sometimes be tempted to feel sorry for them selves.

There used to be a little museum at Tring in Hertfordshire. I spent a happy afternoon looking round it many years ago. I was intrigued by a display of stuffed dogs. All the different breeds were represented. I have always admired the collie and so I stopped to read what was written about it. I read, to my surprise, that the Border collie, although one of the oldest breeds of dog in Britain, was not recognised by the Kennel Club for it was not a show dog. So at that time a collie could never have been Grand Champion of Cruyfs. It was never even placed because it was not a show dog, it was only a working dog. But the collie was and is a happy dog. It is happiest in the hills working the sheep with its master. It is happy at the end of a hard day when the shepherd puts out a hand to stroke his dog's head in appreciation of all its willing efforts. A double blessing!

So there is a double blessing for the poor in spirit: the happiness of serving the Master and the ultimate joy of his, "Well done, good and faithful servant! ... Come and share your master's happiness."- the Divine caress.