Pastor Thanael Certa-Werner
Scripture | Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Something our world is obsessed with is leadership. Throughout my college career we had to take classes on organizational leadership, religious leadership, and leadership in general. Throughout these classes, the key question was always, what makes a good leader a good leader? That is the question, isn’t it? We know a good leader after they’re gone but when it comes to choosing a good leader, we struggle sometimes.
For example, every four years, Americans come together to choose our next leader as a country. But what does it take to make a solid leader? What does a good president look like? Someone who is decisive? Someone who won’t be pushed around? Who knows they’re strength and will use it? Who will increase American strength by increasing the economy and military? Someone who is confident in themselves and will put others in their place? Someone who can command a crowd and hold the attention of millions?
Someone like this is someone who most Americans would like to see be president. In fact, it’s almost a prerequisite to be this way in order to become president, right? We expect our president to be an expert in law and running a society, and if they don’t prove to us what they know, we doubt them. We expect our president to be commanding and so the presidential debates are full of candidates trying to commandeer the time of others to prove their command over the situation. We expect someone who is decisive, so candidates show us that they have an answer for everything or they ignore the question all together. We expect that our president won’t be pushed around, so our candidates yell at each and cut each other down in order to shut each other up.
No American is surprised by these facts. The political climate in the United States continues to become more and more intense, with people moving to sides of the aisle and moving to extreme points of view. Many people feel like they and their points of view are constantly under attack and that they have to defend themselves and their views. But this is because we live in the world of the strong. We live in a world where if you are strong enough, you prevail.
Into this world view and reality, Jesus is speaking. His third beatitude speaks directly to this reality. He teaches, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” Now, this might be shocking to us if we really understood what meekness is. But for many of us, when we think of meekness, we think of weakness and that’s not what Jesus is teaching about here. In fact, meekness refers to the complete opposite of weakness. Meekness is all about power.
In the ancient world, one of the greatest signs of power was a horse. The best, and most powerful horses were reserved for the rich and powerful. Only the best horses were used by kings, emperors, and the rich. Yet, these beasts which symbolized power also symbolize meekness. In the ancient world, meekness referred to a powerful horse which had surrendered control to its owner. It obeyed instruction and could be ridden and used because it listened and did as its rider asked. While the horse could choose to be its own master and use its power for itself, a meek horse listened to its owner and chose to control its power – and that is essentially what meekness is: power under control. It is knowing that you have power, or knowledge, or fashion, or the ability to cut someone down to size, or the ability to invade a nation, and choosing to control that.
Everything about our world screams that this isn’t right. Our daily lives attest that the world is one of strength, power, clear confidence, and resolution. It is one in which we celebrate when you are strong or smart or crafty and you demonstrate it to everyone. We see this in the world where we revel in watch others cut each other down. We love to watch TV shows in which someone we don’t like gets told off and made to feel three inches tall. We love to watch as celebrities sling mud at each other. We love it when senators drag people before their committees and make them look like fools. We love to be the strongest in the world and to have everyone else know it. We work hard to be able to have quick comebacks to our friends, loved ones, to our enemies, and those who disagree with us. We strive to be able to know everything about everything so that we can always be the smartest in the room.
Our news loves to catch people off guard, our experts love to prove others wrong and show their intelligence, our perfect leaders are essentially everything that is the opposite of what Jesus is saying, and our world is operating in this moment in this mindset. This is the mindset which has created the events of the world wars and the conflict in the Ukraine. The reality is that meekness is as counter cultural as it gets. We’re taught to be proud of ourselves, proud of our strengths, and to show off what we can do. Jesus is calling us to put our power under control. To choose humility and to live as meek people.
Jesus gets that this is the reality. He’s preaching to a crowd of everyday people – of farmers and fishermen and laborers – who are living in a world which is shaped by the sword. Money, armies, power, and dynasty is what controlled the ancient world. It was the armies of Rome which brought Rome its power. And in a world where Ceasers and kings controlled the earth, Jesus is saying to farmers that they have greater riches and have greater power than these emperors and kings through their meekness. It sounds outlandish today just as it did those many years ago.
What Jesus is preaching about here is something that God has been teaching from the beginnings of the world. One of the first affronts to this was Cain and Able, and God has been calling us to meekness since. Psalm 37 says, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. Sounds very similar to what Jesus is teaching here because Jesus is teaching what God has always taught. But more than that, Jesus showed us what it means to have power and live meekly.
Today is transfiguration Sunday. It is the Sunday which reminds us of who Jesus really is. We find the account in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This is what Luke 9:28-36 recounts: “About eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about His departure, which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and His companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, Whom I have chosen; listen to Him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.”
Isn’t this an incredible story. Here, we along with the disciples, get a glimpse into Who Jesus is really. We see a sliver of Jesus power, His authority, of His divinity; we get to see a small part of His true reality as the One, True, Eternal, All-powerful, All-knowing, All-mighty God. Yet Jesus does not use this power to enslave humanity to His will. 1 Peter describes Jesus’ ministry this way: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” Instead of deciding to use His own power to make what He wanted to happen, happen, Jesus chose to be meek – instead trusting that His Father would lead Him and was truly Just.
This is the reality of what it means to be meek. As Christians, we have claimed that we trust in God. That We know the Holy and Triune God to be all-powerful, all-loving, completely Good and completely Just. Because of that, we are called to meekness. To hand over our reigns to God and trust that His justice and mercy will guide us. It is a call to humility. To not brag on ourselves, to reserve our power and intellect. It is a call to grace. To not allowing anger to swell within us so that we lash out at others – even when they cut us off on the road, steal our line in the store, or wrong us in any way. It is a call to mercy. To not seeking after retribution and revenge but to true, Godly justice. It is a call to self-control. To use our power in Godly ways and to reflect God in our actions, not reflect our anger and pride.
Through meekness, we take another step into God’s kingdom. While it doesn’t make sense in light of our world. It seems upside-down and inside-out, it fits right in with the reality of God’s Kingdom which cares more about helping you live the best life possible than making the world happy. Your best life is with God and your best use of your power is for God. So, we go from this place with the call to meekness – to power under control. May we accept the challenge, this week and always. Amen.