Blessed: The Meek Matthew 5:1-2, 5
Are y’all ready to stand on your heads this morning?
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, hence the bulletin covers for the last three weeks…
Remember as Jesus offers these words, we are not to think
“Blessed” means “happy,” but that “Blessed” equates to “well-off,” “fortunate,”
or “privileged.”
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. He
is going to make all things new. He is
going to “wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for
the first things have passed away.[i]”
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 who have 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.”[ii]
What about
the origin of 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.”[iii]
Both parallel
another common philosophy along the same lines that many of us may recognize. It is the concept of “survival of the
fittest.” Wrongly credited to Charles
Darwin, it is actually the thinking of Herbert Spencer after reading Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species.[iv]
All of these quotes suggest that what is good and right in the
world, and the key to survival, is physical and/or military power. We easily see that mentality in so many
places today. That way of thinking is nothing new. It is pretty close to the same mindset found
in Jesus’ day. That type of thinking
influenced the Messiah that the Jewish people longed for—the promised
Deliverer. They were sick and 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. They had
heard how this Messiah would enable them to live out the promises of God and
that they would finally be a city on a hill; they would be the premiere nation
of the earth; 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 who could and
would do something about it. 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 if we are honest with ourselves,
it is the kind of leader most of us expect and want in our lives.
Yet, in the midst of these expectations and desires, Jesus 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, it’s more like they will inherit
a spot six-feet under some 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. Jesus showed the world that true strength lies not in muscles and weaponry,
but in living a humble, meek life. How
many of us would dare call Jesus weak?
Jesus personified meekness.
Jesus was the perfect image of the Suffering Servant offered by
Isaiah:
He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and
acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was
despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God,
and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises
we are healed.[v]
The King of Kings, who could have controlled 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 lightning 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 they
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 on 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 and 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.
[i] Revelation 21:4
[ii]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thucydides
[iii]
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/survival-of-the-fittest
[iv]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_of_the_fittest
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