Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, 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 will be comforted. 5“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Meek is not a word you hear every day. And when you do hear it, it’s not exactly used as a term of endearment. The dictionary on my computer defines meek as “Quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive.” (Dictionary by Apple, version 2.2.1)
In a similar vein, I remember my mother sometimes using the word “meek” like this to describe someone who was not only shy, but also cowardly. My mother would say, in her southern accent that she retained from childhood, “She was so meek, she wouldn’t say ‘boo’ to a mouse!” My mother would say this when she’d witness someone who was afraid to speak up for herself--or others.
To be “meek” in this sense of the word is not something any of us aspire to. So, if you’re like me, when you hear the word “meek” in the Bible--like in today’s reading, verse 5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”--your first response may be to cringe. Or maybe to get angry, thinking something like this: Really? Jesus wants us to be meek?! I’ve spent years and hundreds of dollars in therapy learning how to find my voice, learning how to speak up for myself and others--and now Jesus is telling me I’m blessed when I keep quiet?! You’ve got to be kidding me?!
In case you have any of those thoughts, never fear. Being easily imposed upon, being submissive--or too cowardly to speak up is not what “meek” means when used in the Bible.
In today’s sermon, I’m going to look first at what the Greek word translated “meek” means in today’s Scripture passage. Then I’ll deepen that definition by looking at the meaning of the Aramaic words that Jesus would have spoken. Then, finally, I’ll talk about why these definitions are important and what impact they could have on our actions.
According to the New Interpreter’s Bible commentary, the Greek word translated “meek” in this verse, Matthew 5:5, is praus. [spelled P-R-A-U-S in English.] Praus is a key word used in the Gospel of Matthew, most often used to describe Jesus himself. (New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. VIII, p. 179) You may be familiar with two popular verses where the word is used. In Matthew, Chapter 11, verse 29, Jesus says to his disciples and the crowd, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart [--Greek praus--] and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” says Jesus. The other popular verse where the Greek word praus is used is in Matthew, Chapter 21, Verse 5--the traditional Palm Sunday reading that quotes the prophecy about Jesus, “…’See, your king comes to you, gentle [--Greek praus--] and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
It is clear from the context that when the Greek word praus is used in the Gospel of Matthew to describe Jesus--the claim is not that Jesus was easily imposed upon, submissive, cowardly, and/or unwilling to speak up for himself or others. No. To the contrary, it was Jesus’ unflinching determination throughout his ministry to stand up for God’s justice and speak up for the oppressed that eventually got him killed by the Roman empire. So, what “meek” refers to in the Bible is someone who renounces the violence of the empire and chooses, instead to submit themselves to God’s way of love, even when it takes courage to do so. (NIB, Vol. VIII, p. 179)
Backing up this understanding of “meek” is Psalm 37--which is what today’s beatitude is based on. Matthew 5:5--“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth”--is almost a direct quotation of Psalm 37:11, which reads, “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.” And, when you read the entirety of Psalm 37, it becomes clear that “the meek” are those who--unlike their wicked oppressors--refrain from anger and do not use violence against the poor and needy. (Psalm 37: 8 & 14.)
Building on this understanding, when we look at the Aramaic word translated praus in Greek and “meek” in English, we get an even fuller grasp of the meaning of verse 5. (And, just to review, Aramaic, as we’ve seen the last 2 weeks, was the ancient middle eastern language in which Jesus primarily spoke and taught.)
To begin, I’m going to ask Steve to pull up a slide so you can see the phonetic version of Matthew 5:5 in Aramaic. Tubwayhoon l’makikhe d’hinnon nertun ar’ah. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Today, I have an audio file to play for you of Aramaic scholar, Neil Douglas-Klotz, reading the phrase in Aramaic--to give you a sense of how the words would have sounded when Jesus spoke them.
The file is 1 and a half minutes long, and it is read in “language lab style” to teach us how to pronounce the words. So, you’ll hear the whole phrase a couple of times, and then you’ll hear the individual words spoken, with pauses in between. In the pauses, feel free to practice saying the words yourself.
So, let’s look at the meaning of 4 of these Aramaic words.
First, a review of Tubwayhoon, the word translated “blessed.” Tubwayhoon, as we’ve seen the last 3 weeks, doesn’t just mean “happy” or “favored,” it also means, “healthy,” “healed,” “aligned with the One” and “tuned to the Source.” That is, aligned with and attuned to God --and God’s way of Love.
Second, makikhe. This is the Aramaic word translated “meek.” Like the Greek word, praus, MA-key-kay means humble and gentle, but it means more than just that. Neil Douglas-Klotz tells us:
Behind these words, the old roots carry the meaning of one who has softened that which is unnaturally hard within, who has submitted or surrendered to God, or who has liquified rigidities… (Prayers of the Cosmos, p. 54) [LET ME REPEAT THAT]
And, to explain why this expanded meaning of “meek” might be important, Douglas-Klotz goes on to talk about the final 2 words of this verse, nertun ar’ah. He says,
Nertun can mean “inherit,” but in the broad sense of receiving from the universal source of strength... In this case, softening the rigid places within leaves us more open to the real source of power--God acting through all of nature, all earthiness. (Prayers of the Cosmos, p. 54)
Putting together all of these understandings, Douglas-Klotz gives some suggestions of how the verse could be more accurately translated. I’ll share three of them:
- Blessed are the gentle; they shall inherit the earth.
- Aligned with the One are the humble, those submitted to God’s will; they shall be gifted with the productivity of the earth.
- Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe.
(Prayers of the Cosmos, p. 53)
What this exploration of the original meaning of “Blessed are the meek…” says to me is that, as followers of Jesus, we are called to be meek--but not in the sense of cowardly submission to the forces in this world beyond our control.
Rather, we are called to be meek in the sense that Jesus was meek--that is, we are called to speak up and renounce the powers of this world--like the Roman empire of Jesus’ day--that engage in violence and bullying in order to repress people. AND, in the Aramaic sense of meekness, we are called to let go of our rigid resistance to such powers, our tendency to fight fire with fire. In other words, we are called to let go of the human temptation to rigidly control the oppressive powers of this world through our own use of violence or bullying.
Instead, like Jesus, we are called to soften the rigidness within us by surrendering and submitting ourselves to God’s love. In that way, we become open to receive God’s strength, strength that enables us to fight back against repression NOT with violence or bullying but rather by speaking up and standing up for justice with bold integrity.
Obery Hendricks, in his book, The Politics of Jesus, refers to this as “non-violent resistance.” (p. 174-5.) Hendricks says:
“…what Jesus taught his followers was that they should not resist evil by resorting to violence. In other words, they should not fight evil with evil, violence with violence; they should not diminish their own humanity by mimicking their oppressors’ inhumanity.”
Sadly, today, we live in a world where we witness, almost daily, politicians and others demeaning the humanity of people they disagree with. It has become acceptable--even in “the land of the free”-- to speak and act in ways that promote violence and bullying. And, right now, this week, on an international level with the invasion of Ukraine, we are also witnessing what happens when threats of violence and bullying are carried to their extreme.
What are we to do in the face of such violence? I believe today’s Scripture encourages us to be meek in the sense that Jesus was. Following his example, I believe we are called to align ourselves with God’s Love and boldly speak out against violent and bullying behavior wherever we witness it, whether that be at a local, national, or international level.
And, as we do so, may we learn the truth of Jesus’ words:
- Aligned with the One are the humble, those submitted to God’s will; they shall be gifted with the productivity of the earth and receive strength from the universe.
Let us pray.
Today I begin our prayer time with a prayer for Ukraine from the Church of Scotland.
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