Last week we started this sermon series entitled “Blessed: Wisdom from the Beatitudes of Jesus.” We talked about those who are poor in spirit long for God, and those who mourn are those who can’t wait for the kingdom of God to come to fruition. We talked about the glimpses of the kingdom of God that we have seen through those in Virginia helping workers who have been furloughed.
This Sunday we continue our second week in our “Blessed” sermon series on the beatitudes where we will study the second beatitude: “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5: 5).
When we think of being meek, we must realize that most of us have spent most of our lives hoping that no one would call us meek. Meek in the eyes of our society is someone who is shy, quiet, or awkward. Someone who must be drawn out of their shell. Someone who gets picked last for kickball, the person who never wanted to be called on during class. In adulthood we see meekness appear in adults who appear uncertain of themselves, in those who miss promotions because they will not go after them. We have been taught to view meekness as a negative attribute in our society, and yet here in these words of Jesus, we see that being meek is an attribute of God.
You see meekness as it is defined in the Bible is something that requires great spiritual strength. People who are meek care more about what God thinks than what other people think. John Piper describes it this way: “Meekness is the power to absorb adversity and criticism without lashing back.”[i] We all should strive to be meeker as we once again recognize the God in whose image we are made.
Jesus Christ was someone who was meek. Many people thought that this promised king would come into the world like a warrior, a military hero, someone fully clad in armor who would save the people and conquer the world through war.
Jesus’ entrance into the world made him vulnerable. He was born in a meager stable because there was no room for him in the inn. He spent the first part of his ministry alone in the wilderness for 40 days being spiritually formed to do his ministry. He did not enter Jerusalem on a steed, he entered on a lowly donkey. He did not hang out with the popular kids and strategic political leaders in order to rise to power. He modeled a ministry of servant leadership where the lowly were exalted.
Come this Sunday and hear more about how we can embody meekness as we practice our faith.
Prayer: Lifter of the lowly, help us to embody the beatitude of meekness. Help us to listen so that other may speak, help us to stop so that others may step up, help us to choose our words carefully when others treat us badly. Help us to model the meekness of Jesus who broke down boundaries and served all of your people. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Endnotes
[i] https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/blessed-are-the-meek
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