Poverty of Spirit

                                                                                      

                                                                   (Image from http://consecration.ca/2015/12/week-16-blessed-are-the-poor-in-spirit/)

Jean Vanier shares one of his observations about the transformation he sees in people who arrive and stay at one of the L'Arche communities when he writes: "People may come to our communities because they want to serve the poor; they will only stay once they have discovered that they themselves are the poor." Jean Vanier in "From Brokenness to Community", p.20

    Discovering poverty in ourselves is a risky business. In order to discover how spiritually poor we are it requires a realization not just that we need God on a moment by moment basis, but also that we also need each other. It requires an honest self-examination, and this can be painful. It is necessary. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" said Jesus (Matthew 5:3). The humble come to an end of themselves and there find the God who is able and willing to save and support. They also find others who God has provided for them, which will be able to fill and to complete.  

   That poverty of spirit opens doors into the lives of others. I think about Jesus bowing down to wash the feet of his disciples. That was a tremendously poignant moment and his humility and servant-heart opened up some very important discussion around the need to need others, to be in that place where we allow ourselves to be served by others.  That is not an easy place to be.  I know because I will do anything not to need others; including taking 15 minutes using a dull hand saw to cut four by fours, even after the neighbour has offered a power saw!  I sure value my independence, but sometimes my independence is enslaving, not freeing. Our vulnerability and acknowledgment of need invites people in and frees us to receive love. 

   Poverty of spirit not only allows us to be served by others but also puts us in “service mode.” Jesus said of himself: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NIV).  To be a part of community we must also serve each other and we do that by listening to each other, praying for each other, challenging each other in the way we think and the way we act.  It also means reaching out in practical ways to meet needs that exist, whatever those needs might be.  There is a cost to comfort.  There is a cost to self.

  We have so much to learn from the people God brings into our lives. The men and women I meet on a daily basis in prison ministry can teach me new lessons or remind me of truths about myself if I let them. Recognizing and acknowledging our own poverty is a starting place that opens us up to that learning.