January 6, 2025 • 9 mins
Understanding the First Beatitude: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Join the Good News team: Lynn Shematek, Lauren Welch, and Jon Shematek as they launch their eight-part video and audio podcast series on the Beatitudes, starting in January 2025. In this first episode, they discuss the meaning of 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' by exploring personal interpretations and the importance of acknowledging the divine presence in our lives. They emphasize prayer and awareness of God as key components to enrich one's spiritual life. The episode ends by inviting the audience to reflect on what 'poor in spirit' means to them and how it can be applied in their daily lives.
Catch us on https://listeningforclues.com/
00:00 Introduction to the Beatitudes Series
00:34 Exploring the First Beatitude
00:47 Understanding 'Poor in Spirit'
04:06 Practical Applications of the Beatitude
05:14 The Role of Prayer
08:59 Final Thoughts and Reflections
11:56 Engaging the Audience
13:26 Conclusion and Farewell
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dolores (00:00):
Welcome to our eight-part video and audio series on the Beatitudes.
(00:05):
These provocative and often confusingsayings of Jesus are said to provide a
blueprint for living the Christian life.
So let's dive in with ourGood News team Lynn Shematek,
Lauren Welch, and Jon Shematek.
Lynn (00:16):
Our
topic today is thefirst of the Beatitudes.
It is blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
People often think that it'sblessed are the poor because it's
the poor in spirit, so I think wehave to talk about what that means.
And what do you think thepoor in spirit means, guys?
Lauren (00:35):
Well, at least for me, it doesn't mean that you have to , live
in poverty, which is what you, youwere saying that most people think.
I think for me, it means toknow that I don't have control.
I know I lived most of my lifethinking and wanting to be, maybe not
thinking, but wanting to be in control.
(00:58):
And, and the more I tried to controlmy life, the The more trouble I got
into, and as I began to know that Iwas safe in the universe, there was a
presence that around me that, that wouldguide me if I actually tapped into it.
(01:18):
Life became more bearable.
So I think it's, I think it isknowing that I'm not in control.
and knowing that there is a greaterpresence around me all the time.
Lynn (01:33):
What about for you, Jon?
Jon (01:35):
Well, maybe something like that.
I, I think that poor is thetough part of that for me.
Cause I, I can translate in my headto say, well, blessed are those who
are not filled with spirit, becausethere's the opportunity or the hope.
Hope for spirit.
So I think that someone who is poorin spirit has an awareness that
(02:00):
they are not spiritually fulfilled.
They, they need somethingin their spiritual life.
That's incomplete in some way.
Okay.
And rather than just sort ofdwell into, Oh my goodness,
I'm not spiritually fulfilled.
I think the flip side of that is that,and I think that's true for many of
the Beatitudes, that there is a hope,an expectation that if I just trusted
(02:28):
the divinity That I would become spiritfilled, that God would come to me and and
provide the spiritual nourishment that Ineed to feel that I'm spiritually healthy.
Lynn (02:42):
So for you, it's not so much a control issue.
Jon (02:49):
Well, everything is a control issue for me, but maybe
Lynn (02:53):
that's why I couldn't smile when Lauren said that.
Jon (02:56):
it's not so much a control issue, but it is, I think it is again, that
sort of What strikes me in so many of theBeatitudes is an awareness and maybe the
awareness that it's God who is the, isthe source, the divine one, is the source
of spiritual life, is the source of alllife, but as a source of spiritual life.
And I am not, I am not sufficient.
(03:19):
In any way to do that.
So maybe, maybe that is whatbeing not in control means.
Lynn (03:26):
Maybe.
Well, so how can we have people notfeel that they have to be so much
in control or realize that theyneed God even in the good times.
A lot of times I really thinkthat people go to God and pray and
everything when the times are bad.
(03:46):
But even in the good times, we needto realize that God is around us
and that he is in control really.
And he only has the very best for us.
So how do we have people kind ofrecognize that or kind of realize that
(04:09):
they have to every once in a while , getout of their own mind or their own.
or their own egos, and goand, and see what God has in
mind, if that makes any sense.
I
Lauren (04:25):
I think it makes great sense, Lynn.
I, and I think Jesus taught us.
What to do in Jesus taughtthe disciples to pray.
The Our Father, right?
And he, Jesus was spenta lot of time in prayer.
Not just when he was not just whenhe was in the garden or in trouble.
(04:45):
Or just when he was exasperated by theApostles, with the Apostles, Jesus spent
time in prayer, probably every day.
And I think the more that we spend timein the presence of God, And listen to,
(05:06):
to that still small voice, then we,we begin to trust, as Jon says, and be
filled with that presence rather thanthe anxiety of trying to do it ourselves.
And I think following Jesus
example of prayer is one way.
Jon (05:30):
Yeah, I think that's a great a great way to do it, Lauren.
I was thinking about, you know, if we talkabout the Beatitudes being a blueprint.
for our Christian faith, for whatwe can build on or build from.
I think the question of all, whatdoes this actually mean from a
practical standpoints a good one.
And I think your advice aboutpraying is really excellent.
(05:53):
Certainly Jesus, as you said, hehad many times when he prayed, he
seemed to be praying all the time.
And to me it is you know, when, when Italk to people about prayer, which seems
to come up a lot in my conversationswith people that they they think of
prayer as being kind of a, a structuredthing that they have to have certain
(06:14):
words or it has to be good enough.
And to, to me, I think that prayer isoften noticing and becoming aware of
the Divine One everywhere, in everyplace, in every person, in everything.
And if we do that, Just from timeto time, remind ourselves, let's,
(06:39):
let me look for God in this.
Where is God?
Where, or however we'd liketo refer to the divinity.
How am I being aware of that now?
It's something as simple, you know,a lot of people talk about, well I,
walking in nature is a prayer for me.
I think that has absolutely true.
If you just can appreciate thebeauty and the impact and so much
(07:03):
about nature, the, the sounds,the smells, the, the vision of it.
You can see God in so many waysthrough, through all of our senses.
So.
I think for me, what I, if I wereadvising somebody about prayer, I'd
say, use your senses, use all of yoursenses, use your body, become aware.
(07:25):
You know, you think of in, in othercultures and in our culture too, for
that matter, these days how peopleuse yoga and Tai Chi and other
kinds of movement and meditation.
All those things are wonderful waysto connect and to with, with the
Divine One, and to become less poor inspirit, but to become rich in spirit.
Lynn (07:52):
like that.
Well, I think that this has all beenvery interesting discussion, and what
I'd like to now is to turn it overto you, the person who is watching
this podcast, and say, what thinkabout when you hear the words poor in
spirit and what does it mean to you?
(08:17):
And then the second thing is, is thatfrom your own life, can you think of
anything that would help you to havethe feeling that God is with you?
Is there some, maybe it's youryoga, maybe it's, ,Reading a book,
maybe he's going out and walkingin the forest, who, who, who knows.
(08:41):
For everyone it's different, so I'll sayI'll see you soon I hope and take care.
Jon (08:49):
Well, thanks for being with us.
We appreciate your spending sometime with us and we've got that
was the first of our Beatitudes.
We've got seven more to do.
So I, I hope you'll be able tojoin us in, in future ones and give
some thoughts to what it means.
Lauren (09:03):
Blessings and peace until we meet again.......
..............Dolores: This episode on the Beatitudes has been brought
to you by listening for clues.
You can find us at our websitelisteningforclues.com, on our
YouTube channel or on justabout any audio podcast channel.
hope to see you soon.
Welcome to our eight-part video and audio series on the Beatitudes.
(00:05):
These provocative and often confusingsayings of Jesus are said to provide a
blueprint for living the Christian life.
So let's dive in with ourGood News team Lynn Shematek,
Lauren Welch, and Jon Shematek.
Lynn (00:16):
Our
topic today is thefirst of the Beatitudes.
It is blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
People often think that it'sblessed are the poor because it's
the poor in spirit, so I think wehave to talk about what that means.
And what do you think thepoor in spirit means, guys?
Lauren (00:35):
Well, at least for me, it doesn't mean that you have to , live
in poverty, which is what you, youwere saying that most people think.
I think for me, it means toknow that I don't have control.
I know I lived most of my lifethinking and wanting to be, maybe not
thinking, but wanting to be in control.
(00:58):
And, and the more I tried to controlmy life, the The more trouble I got
into, and as I began to know that Iwas safe in the universe, there was a
presence that around me that, that wouldguide me if I actually tapped into it.
(01:18):
Life became more bearable.
So I think it's, I think it isknowing that I'm not in control.
and knowing that there is a greaterpresence around me all the time.
Lynn (01:33):
What about for you, Jon?
Jon (01:35):
Well, maybe something like that.
I, I think that poor is thetough part of that for me.
Cause I, I can translate in my headto say, well, blessed are those who
are not filled with spirit, becausethere's the opportunity or the hope.
Hope for spirit.
So I think that someone who is poorin spirit has an awareness that
(02:00):
they are not spiritually fulfilled.
They, they need somethingin their spiritual life.
That's incomplete in some way.
Okay.
And rather than just sort ofdwell into, Oh my goodness,
I'm not spiritually fulfilled.
I think the flip side of that is that,and I think that's true for many of
the Beatitudes, that there is a hope,an expectation that if I just trusted
(02:28):
the divinity That I would become spiritfilled, that God would come to me and and
provide the spiritual nourishment that Ineed to feel that I'm spiritually healthy.
Lynn (02:42):
So for you, it's not so much a control issue.
Jon (02:49):
Well, everything is a control issue for me, but maybe
Lynn (02:53):
that's why I couldn't smile when Lauren said that.
Jon (02:56):
it's not so much a control issue, but it is, I think it is again, that
sort of What strikes me in so many of theBeatitudes is an awareness and maybe the
awareness that it's God who is the, isthe source, the divine one, is the source
of spiritual life, is the source of alllife, but as a source of spiritual life.
And I am not, I am not sufficient.
(03:19):
In any way to do that.
So maybe, maybe that is whatbeing not in control means.
Lynn (03:26):
Maybe.
Well, so how can we have people notfeel that they have to be so much
in control or realize that theyneed God even in the good times.
A lot of times I really thinkthat people go to God and pray and
everything when the times are bad.
(03:46):
But even in the good times, we needto realize that God is around us
and that he is in control really.
And he only has the very best for us.
So how do we have people kind ofrecognize that or kind of realize that
(04:09):
they have to every once in a while , getout of their own mind or their own.
or their own egos, and goand, and see what God has in
mind, if that makes any sense.
I
Lauren (04:25):
I think it makes great sense, Lynn.
I, and I think Jesus taught us.
What to do in Jesus taughtthe disciples to pray.
The Our Father, right?
And he, Jesus was spenta lot of time in prayer.
Not just when he was not just whenhe was in the garden or in trouble.
(04:45):
Or just when he was exasperated by theApostles, with the Apostles, Jesus spent
time in prayer, probably every day.
And I think the more that we spend timein the presence of God, And listen to,
(05:06):
to that still small voice, then we,we begin to trust, as Jon says, and be
filled with that presence rather thanthe anxiety of trying to do it ourselves.
And I think following Jesus
example of prayer is one way.
Jon (05:30):
Yeah, I think that's a great a great way to do it, Lauren.
I was thinking about, you know, if we talkabout the Beatitudes being a blueprint.
for our Christian faith, for whatwe can build on or build from.
I think the question of all, whatdoes this actually mean from a
practical standpoints a good one.
And I think your advice aboutpraying is really excellent.
(05:53):
Certainly Jesus, as you said, hehad many times when he prayed, he
seemed to be praying all the time.
And to me it is you know, when, when Italk to people about prayer, which seems
to come up a lot in my conversationswith people that they they think of
prayer as being kind of a, a structuredthing that they have to have certain
(06:14):
words or it has to be good enough.
And to, to me, I think that prayer isoften noticing and becoming aware of
the Divine One everywhere, in everyplace, in every person, in everything.
And if we do that, Just from timeto time, remind ourselves, let's,
(06:39):
let me look for God in this.
Where is God?
Where, or however we'd liketo refer to the divinity.
How am I being aware of that now?
It's something as simple, you know,a lot of people talk about, well I,
walking in nature is a prayer for me.
I think that has absolutely true.
If you just can appreciate thebeauty and the impact and so much
(07:03):
about nature, the, the sounds,the smells, the, the vision of it.
You can see God in so many waysthrough, through all of our senses.
So.
I think for me, what I, if I wereadvising somebody about prayer, I'd
say, use your senses, use all of yoursenses, use your body, become aware.
(07:25):
You know, you think of in, in othercultures and in our culture too, for
that matter, these days how peopleuse yoga and Tai Chi and other
kinds of movement and meditation.
All those things are wonderful waysto connect and to with, with the
Divine One, and to become less poor inspirit, but to become rich in spirit.
Lynn (07:52):
like that.
Well, I think that this has all beenvery interesting discussion, and what
I'd like to now is to turn it overto you, the person who is watching
this podcast, and say, what thinkabout when you hear the words poor in
spirit and what does it mean to you?
(08:17):
And then the second thing is, is thatfrom your own life, can you think of
anything that would help you to havethe feeling that God is with you?
Is there some, maybe it's youryoga, maybe it's, ,Reading a book,
maybe he's going out and walkingin the forest, who, who, who knows.
(08:41):
For everyone it's different, so I'll sayI'll see you soon I hope and take care.
Jon (08:49):
Well, thanks for being with us.
We appreciate your spending sometime with us and we've got that
was the first of our Beatitudes.
We've got seven more to do.
So I, I hope you'll be able tojoin us in, in future ones and give
some thoughts to what it means.
Lauren (09:03):
Blessings and peace until we meet again.......
..............Dolores: This episode on the Beatitudes has been brought
to you by listening for clues.
You can find us at our websitelisteningforclues.com, on our
YouTube channel or on justabout any audio podcast channel.
hope to see you soon.
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