Most people in the world are not wealthy. They do not have assets, investments, or savings. They do not know the freedom of having their own resources to carry them beyond a couple days. Each day they have to look to sources of sustenance beyond themselves because they have no resources of their own.
The woman in Mark, chapter 5, who suffered with bleeding, was impoverished. Physically poor, she endured twelve years of illness (v.25). Economically, she had spent everything she had on doctors who did her more harm than good (v.26). Socially, she was impoverished because in Jewish circles her physical disorder rendered her “unclean,” literally untouchable. Spiritually, she was empty and had no power to turn her life around.
In our lowest point, we are poor in spirit…impoverished. We have no spiritual resources of our own and that is right where Jesus wants us. He doesn’t want us looking for help from within, but from without. When I am without strength, at my lowest, at my poorest, I can look nowhere else but to Christ.
Jesus walks among us, just as He walked into that woman’s town, so we have a resource outside of ourselves. And He has everything we need. You’re poor; He’s rich. The whole kingdom of heaven belongs to Him. Just touching Jesus’ cloak restored the woman physically, socially, and spiritually. Jesus had it all, when she had nothing.
Jesus has it all when you have nothing. And even when you’re too spiritually poor to reach out to Him, He reaches out to you. He literally touches you through Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. Then, even though you have no resources of your own; you have all the resources of heaven. We have inherited everything that belongs to Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is ours. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
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