Blessed are the Meek, The Sermon on the Mount (Part 3)
[First Things]
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[The Devo] The Power of Meekness
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt 5:1–12.
Sometimes, a statement just seems laughable.
Anyone who has ever worked in or studied the public square, let alone those who have their understanding of the public square formed by the algorithms of social media, would certainly place “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” in that category.
Friedrich Nietzsche would have certainly laughed at Jesus’s assertion. This is one of the critiques Friedrich Nietzsche intended in his epic, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In this work, the German philosopher encourages the reader to move beyond the silly and limiting constraints of Christianity and its concept of both virtue and the good life, and to embrace the role of the Übermensch (or Overman).
“Behold, I teach you the overman. The overman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the overman shall be the meaning of the earth! I beseech you, my brothers, remain faithful to the earth, and do not believe those who speak to you of otherworldly hopes! Poison-mixers are they, whether they know it or not. Despisers of life are they, decaying and poisoned themselves, of whom the earth is weary: so let them go.
“Once the sin against God was the greatest sin; but God died, and these sinners died with him. To sin against the earth is now the most dreadful thing, and to esteem the entrails of the unknowable higher than the meaning of the earth”
For Nietzsche, moving beyond any Biblical idea of relational virtue leads to success through one’s ability to dominate interactions with one's “will to power.”
“To many you may not give a hand, but only a paw; and I want your paw to have claws.”
Our goal, however, is not to understand Nietzsche’s critique, but Jesus’s meaning. The people to whom Jesus was speaking may well have had a difficult time embracing Jesus’s message. Thankfully, Jesus is quite interested in helping those who have ears to hear.
What Meekness Is
The audience that day had a prominent Old Testament figure as a reference point for meekness. In Numbers 12, Moses, who faced down Pharaoh and led his people through the wilderness, was called "meek" by the LORD. What is interesting is that this declaration comes when two others are grumbling about why they are not wielding the same power,
12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. Numbers 12:1-9
Our understanding of meekness is also helped by Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, in which he writes,
Gentleness is a mean with respect to anger…The excess might be said to be a certain irascibility, for the passion involved is anger, though what produces anger is manifold and varied. The person who gets angry at the things and with whom he ought, then, and, further, in the way, when, and for as much time as he ought, is praised. Hence this person would be gentle, if indeed gentleness is praised. The gentle person wishes to be calm and not led by his passion, but rather as reason may command, and so to be harsh regarding the things he ought and for the requisite time. Book 4, Chapter 5
This helps us understand why Jesus can refer to himself as “Meek and lowly in heart” (Matt 11:29) and then displays that meekness in Jerusalem in front of many witnesses,
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Matt 21:12–13.
Meekness, then, is properly stewarding the power of righteous anger, Biblical conviction, and God-conveyed power to encourage what is good, restore what is broken, create what is missing, and oppose what is evil.
What Meekness is Not
To be clear, Jesus is not teaching his followers to be cultural wallflowers and ideological sycophants who are willing to have people walk all over them. However, meekness, not grounded in Christ and his finished work, leaves one open to a deadly corruption that comes from miscalculating the circumstances in which our anger is justified.
Nietzsche is helpful to this conversation because meekness is often understood as accepting the very position that Nietzsche is mocking through Zarathustra’s character. One person who thought he understood Nietzsche was Adolf Hitler. Perhaps this über theme is why Hitler latched onto a song written in the mid-nineteenth century, with the lyric Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt (Germany, Germany above everyone, above everyone in the world!) Rather than its authorially intended meaning of promoting unity, Hitler used it to project power by conquering all others.
There is a reason we do not sing, “Christians, Christians above everyone, above everyone in the world.” This is because we understand not only the nature of meekness, but the nature of inheritance. In a passage that we have already mentioned, and will mention again, this is what Jesus was getting at when he rebuked the disciples days before his death, after James and John, who had earlier asked Jesus if they should ask God to rain fire down on a village for rejecting the gospel, asked Jesus to sit at his right and left hand. In the coming kingdom,
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
An attentive reader will notice two things. First, James and John’s intentional willingness to leave the other disciples out of this petition for power. Second, the similarity to the situation Moses faced was that two members of his inner circle were concerned that they were missing out on an opportunity to position themselves for power.
What Jesus is shutting down hard is the temptation to move from righteous anger and Biblical conviction to domination. This is the infection woven throughout Christian Nationalism. In many ways, this ideology says “Yes” to the devil’s wilderness offer to Jesus,
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Matt 4:8–10.
Christians do not use the public square to institute a Christian nation, and we certainly do resort to force in order to enact or impose our vision of a Gospel-flourishing nation. As Christians, we embrace the call to meekness, knowing that Jesus is already ruling over everything, including this nation.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Col 1:15–20.
Because Jesus is already über everything, we do not need to force him, or his kingdom, on anyone - even through the public square. Christians are able to embrace meekness as they live in a posture of faithful presence because they have the assurance of Christ’s rule and promises, including the assurance that we will be with him in his coming kingdom. We are then set free to employ our meekness in participation in Christ’s mission of making all things new.
[Faithful Prayer]
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Cabinet Agency: The servants and leaders at the Department of State, Secretary Marco Rubio, and all of those working for the department overseas, amidst continuing armed conflict in the Middle East.
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Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The American Foreign Policy Council, as they continue their holistic, non-partisan analysis of American foreign policy decisions.
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Weekly delegation: The servants and leaders with the delegation of the State of California as they grapple with the fallout of troubling allegations against one of their most prominent members, Rep. Eric Swalwell.
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News events: Vice President J.D. Vance announced on Sunday that the much-anticipated peace talks with the Iranian government had failed to reach an agreement on the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has begun active patrols of the Strait with its own navy for the first time since the start of the conflict.
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Personal requests: For someone still awaiting news on a potential major job promotion. For someone who was unwillingly sidelined from the celebrations of a major success that resulted directly from their work. For someone having difficulty navigating a relationship with a landlord. For a couple hoping to conceive. For someone currently running for national office. For someone leading an important technology upgrade in their department. For a couple celebrating the baptism of their newest child.
[The Page, The Pod & The Stack]
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LISTEN to this FIRST → The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity published this article about the negative effects of rapid technological change on the form and function of pastoral leadership.
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READ this NEXT → The New York Times published this article discussing how this weekend’s peace talks, the highest-level talks between Iran and the United States in fifty years, failed to build bilateral trust.
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STACK this FIRST → The American Enterprise Institute published this working paper by political economist Nicholas Eberstadt discussing whether prosperity in a situation of long-term demographic depopulation is possible.
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The Barna Group published this fascinating analysis about the rising belief in a coming spiritual revival, especially among younger generations.
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Fair Observer published this piece discussing the absence of a clear legal justification for the current conflict in the Middle East, and the long-term ramifications this poses for international law.
[What’s Happening]
This Week
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Monday, April 13, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, the Center for Strategic and International Studies is hosting an in-person panel discussion, Are We in a New Era of Securing Strategic Infrastructure? regarding the importance of protecting America’s built-up resources in a new era of conflict.
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Tuesday, April 14, 10:00 am - 11:30 am, the Brookings Institution is hosting an in-person conversation, Global Democracy Under Pressure: Insights from Africa in Our Changing World, discussing global trends of autocratization through the lens of Africa’s developing governments.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, the American Enterprise Institute is holding an online forum, What Happens When the Social Security Trust Fund is Exhausted? discussing this important and often overlooked possibility within American public finances.
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Friday, April 17, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm, the Trinity Forum is inviting one of the leading figures in Christian apologetics, author Amy Orr-Ewing, for an online conversation, Forgiveness in a Culture of Outrage and Fear.
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Saturday, April 18, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday at the Folger Library with fun, family-friendly activities and birthday cupcakes for all!
Next Week
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Monday, April 20, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm, the Urban Institute is holding an online panel event, Proven and Promising Interventions to Support Small Businesses: A Guide for Cities, discussing the importance of small businesses in urban community life and how city leaders can further equip these enterprises to thrive.
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Tuesday, April 21, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, the Brookings Institution is inviting a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Christopher Waller, for an in-person conversation, Transforming the Fed’s Operations for the 21st Century.
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Thursday, April 23, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, the American Enterprise Institute is hosting an in-person conversation with Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent, The Future of Student Loans, discussing how both student borrowers and institutions of higher education will be affected by recent Department of Education policy shifts.
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Friday, April 24, 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Faith & Law is hosting their weekly Friday forum, inviting author Ed Simcox for an in-person discussion, From Power to Redemption: Chuck Colson and the Legacy of Second Chances.
[Last Things]
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