5 “Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.
6 “Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.
Reflection
We don’t always think of meekness as a good trait, but God will use it to help us.
Happy are the meek. Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The CEB says
humble, but I have always read this as meek. I have always felt that being meek is not the way
to be. Some people would say that is not a word they would ever associate with me! We also
see the words humble, patient, long-suffering, forbearing, and gentle when we look up
synonyms for meek. When I think about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, I tend
to think of those who are actively doing things – not just hanging back and feeling hungry, but those on the front lines of getting things done in the name of doing what is right for those around you.
It feels like these two attributes of people are at odds with each other, but they meld together beautifully when we think of Mary, Jesus’s mother. Mary was willing to do whatever God asked her to do as she told Gabriel in Luke 1:38. In doing so Mary had a meekness, but a strength in seeking God’s way and giving God the glory through her actions. She had faith and followed through with a hunger and thirst for God’s will in her life. It certainly was not easy for her to be pregnant and not married – just think of the ridicule. We assume Mary did not argue with people when they talked about her – again that is part of her quiet strength – because she knew she was doing the will of God for the greater good. We don’t know much about Mary, but it just feels like that would be the position she might take. Then there are other times that we read in the Bible that Mary had to listen to horrible things about her son – even from her other children – then eventually watch him die a horrible death. Being strong enough to go through those things but obeying the Lord is meekness as well as well as doing what is righteous and serving God every step of the way. According to Luke 1:46-55 Mary sings a song to the Lord known as the Magnificat where she acknowledges her lowly state but her willingness to do what the Lord wants her to do and proclaims that she will be blessed. She was living her beatitudes. We will never be asked to do what Mary did – she is the only one in history that will do what she did – but we can use her example in our own lives.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
Thoughts: When do you see yourself being meek in certain situations while you hunger for
righteousness to come out of it? When does it make sense to have a more humble approach but to serve God with all of our being?
Prayer: God of strength, help us to know when to be bold and when to be more humble or meek. Give us the strength and wisdom we need to discern these things as Mary did. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.
