Blessed: The Meek - Matthew 5:1-2, 5
We are in the midst of hearing how Jesus takes the world and, if
we truly heed His Words, have our world turned upside down, just as those who
first heard His words.
We heard him say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who realize they are not
self-sufficient. Blessed are those who
realize that they are dependent not on themselves, but on God. Blessed are those who have let go trying to
control their own lives and given complete control over to God. Blessed are those who realize just how
impoverished they are without God’s grace in their lives. For those who are poor in spirit are already
experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven…they are already in the midst of eternal
life with God.”
We heard Jesus say, “Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who look at the pain and
suffering in the world and weep for they will be comforted because God is going
to come in and make everything right.”
How many are familiar with the saying “might makes right”? Does anyone know the origin of a phrase that
gets thrown around quite a bit, especially by those with the might? It dates back to at least 400 years before
the birth of Christ to a Greek historian named Thucydides (Thou-ky-did-eez). His actual words were, “Right, as the world
goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what
they can and the weak suffer what they must.”[i]
How about the phrase, “only the strong survive”? It carries behind it the same mentality that
strength and power are the most important aspect in surviving and
thriving. It has been offered up by
many, among them Anne Frank in her diary, where she writes, “The weak die out
and the strong will survive, and will live on forever.”[ii]
Both parallel another common philosophy along the same lines that
many of us may recognize is the idea of “survival of the fittest.” Commonly associated with Charles Darwin, it
is actually the thinking of Herbert Spencer after reading Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species.[iii]
All of these quotes lend themselves to the idea that what is good
and right in the world, and the key to survival is physical and or military
power. That is pretty close to the
mindset of those in Jesus’ day when they were looking for the Messiah. They were tired of being trampled on by one
empire after another. They had heard the
prophecies of God’s Messiah who would come in and free them from their enemies
and enable them to live out the promises of God that they would be a city on a
hill, they would be the premiere nation of the earth, and all the nations of
the world would look to them. Having
been run over by all these empires and their armies, as they anticipated a
savior, a messiah, a king, they anticipated someone who would come in
commanding a massive army to rid the region of Rome and any other empire that
would seek to rule over them. This is
the kind of king the people expected, this is the kind of king the people
wanted, and to be honest with ourselves it is the kind of leader most of us
expect and want in our lives.
Jesus, in the midst of these expectations and desires comes in and
says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Once again He has taken our expectations and
desires and turned our world upside down.
The meek? They are the ones who
get picked on. They are the ones who get
beat up. They are the ones who refuse to
take up arms and fight. They are the
ones who die. They are the ones who are weak, right? They are blessed? They will inherit the earth? We know better, they are more likely to be
the ones six feet under a bunch of that earth.
Yet Jesus, as He turned the listener’s world upside down with His
words, did more than talk the talk, He lived out this beatitude with His very
life…and showed the world that true strength lies not in muscles and guns, but
in living a humble, meek life. How many
of us would dare call Jesus weak?
Jesus personified meekness.
The King of Kings, who could have forced the wills of all He
encountered, forcing them to bow before Him, knelt Himself to wash the grime
from the feet of His disciples. The Lord
of all Creation who could call down manna from the skies or turn stones into
bread, fasted for forty days in order to focus His will upon the Father’s. The Master who could have let His servants
defend Him while He quietly slipped away in the Garden of Gethsemane, commanded
them to put away their swords while He healed the servant of one of His
attackers. The Lord of Lords stood
silently while accused and confronted by the earthly leaders of the Temple and
government. The True Commander in Chief
of legions of Heavenly warriors could have called them down to stand between
himself and the centurions, yet He willingly stretched out His hands to receive
the nails. The One with the power to
still the storms could have called down lightening to strike everyone from
Judas, to the Sanhedrin, to Pilate, to the soldiers, instead looked upon those
responsible for crucifying Him and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they are doing.”
Who would call Jesus weak?
Not me. Consider…
Which takes more strength?
…to force someone to bow to you, or to bend your knees and back to
serve them?
…consume whatever your body craves, or deny yourself?
…to let someone fight to protect you while you run away, or stand
and face your accusers, even if you know you are innocent?
…to run your mouth and make excuses for your behavior, to stand in
silence in the face of accusations, especially lies?
…to strike out with fist, knife, or gun, or to willingly give up
your life?
…to hold a grudge, or to forgive someone who has wronged you, especially
when they do not show any remorse or regret or are even still actively wronging
you?
What the world calls strength is the actually the weak, easy way
out…the way of Christ, the way of meekness, requires far more strength.
The meek are those, like the poor in Spirit, who refuse to be
arrogant, and realize that their value lies not in how much power, fame, or
fortune they have, but their value lies in their relationship with God, and find
their true strength there…and it is in the confidence of that relationship that
they receive the promise that they will inherit the earth. Christ tells the meek, “you are truly
blessed, because when God comes and makes everything right, when He restores
His Creation to the way it is supposed to be, when He calls all before His
Judgment Seat, you, who have voluntarily set aside your pride, your rights,
your demands, and all that the world says you deserve, you are the ones that
are assured a place in His Kingdom that day when He will descend and live among
His people in a world that has been completely turned upside down.”
My brothers and sisters, let the world call us weak, for we know
that in Him we are strong…let us be among the meek…so that, like the
Israelites, who when they finally put their trust in God and not themselves and
found entered the Promised Land, we will find ourselves as inheritors of the
New Heaven and New Earth.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment