“Blessed are you who are poor … But woe to you who are rich.” The Eight Beatitudes that St. Matthew records in the Sermon on the Mount look different in St. Luke’s version. There are only four, first of all. Instead of saying “blessed are they” as in Matthew’s gospel in Luke they are personally addressed to the people in front of him. Second, they are very concrete. Instead of “poor in Spirit” Luke’s version has Jesus saying “you poor,” you who have needs. Third, Jesus appends to the “blessings,” a paired “woe,” a reminder that we cannot rely on ourselves but need God’s blessing. We have no way of knowing which version more accurately reflects what Jesus said but both are the Word of God.
