THE STRENGTH IN HUMILITY
Matthew 5:5; Philippians 2:5-8
Rev. Paul Wrightman 7/10/22
I’D LIKE TO BEGIN BY REPEATING THE DISTINCTION
I MADE LAST WEEK BETWEEN LITERAL TRANSLATIONS
WHICH TRANSLATE WORD FOR WORD,
AND SENSE TRANSLATIONS, WHICH TAKE A PHRASE OR SENTENCE
FROM THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE AND ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE
THE ORIGINAL MEANING, OFTEN BY USING WORDS
NOT FOUND IN THE ORIGINAL.
TODAY’S BEATITUDE, LITERALLY
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH,
GIVES US A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW A LITERAL TRANSLATION,
ALTHOUGH CORRECTLY RENDERING THE WORDS,
FAILS TO RENDER THE WEALTH OF MEANING
CONTAINED WITHIN THOSE WORDS.
MY PERSONAL AND PREFERRED TRANSLATION,
ONE WHICH I THINK CAPTURES THE ACTUAL MEANING OF THE TEXT
FAR MORE ACCURATELY THAN THE LITERAL
BECAUSE IT INCLUDES THE ESSENTIAL NUANCES
CONTAINED IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES,
IS A SENSE TRANSLATION WHICH READS:
JOYFUL ARE THOSE WHOSE WILLS ARE SURRENDERED TO GOD
TO THE POINT OF EMBODYING CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE
IN THEIR PERSONAL LIVES. THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH.
AS YOU CAN TELL, THIS RENDERING IS CLUNKY AND LONG.
BUT IT DOES CONTAIN A WHOLE LOT MORE OF THE TEXT’S
INTENDED MEANING THAN THE LITERAL APPROACH.
AND I THINK YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY A YOUTHFUL DREAM
OF MINE – TO MAKE A SENSE TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
THAT BROUGHT OUT ALL THE THEOLOGICAL NUANCES
CONTAINED IN THE ORIGINAL – CRASHED AND BURNED.
MY NEW TESTAMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN AS LONG
AS THE ENTIRE BIBLE!
SINCE A COMPLETE NEW TESTAMENT SENSE TRANSLATION
WAS A NO-GO, I’VE HAD TO CONTENT MYSELF WITH BRINGING OUT
THE THEOLOGICAL NUANCES OF CRUCIAL NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS
IN SERMONS, OF WHICH TODAY’S IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.
SO LET ME SHARE WITH YOU HOW I ARRIVED AT MY CLUNKY
AND LENGTHY JOYFUL ARE THOSE WHOSE WILLS
ARE SURRENDERED TO GOD TO THE POINT
OF EMBODYING CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE IN THEIR PERSONAL LIVES.
THE FIRST PROBLEM I ENCOUNTERED WAS THE USE
OF THE WORD “MEEK” IN THE NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION,
AND MANY OTHER SO-CALLED “MODERN” TRANSLATIONS.
TO PUT IT BLUNTLY, THE WORD “MEEK” NO LONGER
COMMUNICATES THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF THE TEXT.
AND SUBSTITUTING GENTLE,” OR “HUMBLE,” FOR “MEEK,”
AS DO SOME OTHER MODERN TRANSLATIONS
IS NOT THAT BIG AN IMPROVEMENT.
THE COLLINS ESSENTIAL THESAURUS LINKS THE FOLLOWING SET
OF ADJECTIVES TO THE WORD “MEEK:”
SPINELESS, WEAK, TAME, BONELESS, WEAK-KNEED,
SPIRITLESS, UNRESISTING, WUSSY, AND WIMPISH.
THIS IS HARDLY WHAT JESUS HAD IN MIND.
THE HEBREW WORD WHICH JESUS DID HAVE IN MIND
POINTS SIMULTANEOUSLY IN TWO DIRECTIONS:
TOWARD GOD, AND TOWARD ONE’S PERSONAL RELATIONS
WITH FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS.
THE GODWARD DIRECTION OF THIS WORD EMPHASIZES
THE IMPORTANCE OF SURRENDERING OUR WILL TO GOD.
BUT IS THIS A WISE THING TO DO?
I MEAN, CAN WE TRUST GOD ENOUGH TO SURRENDER TO GOD?
I WOULD HAVE TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION WITH A HEARTY “NO!”
IF ALL WE HAD TO GO ON WAS THE GOD REVEALED
IN MANY OF THE PAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
I PERSONALLY WOULD HOPE TO DEFY THE GOD WHO SUPPOSEDLY
ASKED ABRAHAM TO SACRIFICE HIS SON ISAAC,
AND WHO ORDERED THE EXTERMINATION OF WHOLE TRIBES
OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN.
NOTICE THAT I USED THE WORD “SUPPOSEDLY.”
BASED ON CLUES FOUND WITHIN THE BIBLE ITSELF,
I DON’T BELIEVE THAT GOD REALLY ORDERED THESE THINGS,
BUT THAT THIS IS WHAT CERTAIN BIBLICAL AUTHORS
PERCEIVED GOD AS ORDERING.
NEVERTHELESS, IF THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS ALL WE HAD
ON WHICH TO BASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD,
MANY CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING MYSELF,
COULD NOT FOLLOW SUCH A GOD.
HOWEVER, IF WE ACCEPT THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS
AS GOD’S HIGHEST AND DEEPEST AND CLEAREST REVELATION
OF THE MEANING OF LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT,
THEN I AM WILLING TO SURRENDER MY WILL TO GOD’S WILL,
TO GOD’S WILL AS REVEALED IN JESUS,
WHO CLAIMED THE AUTHORITY TO DRAMATICALLY
EDIT THE OLD TESTAMENT,
AND WHO TAUGHT US THE WAY OF UNLIMITED, UNRESTRICTED,
AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, CARE, AND COMPASSION.
IN SURRENDERING MY WILL TO THE WILL OF GOD AS REVEALED
IN JESUS, I’M MAKING SOME PRETTY BIG ASSUMPTIONS:
I’M ASSUMING THAT THE GOD OF JESUS IS, INDEED, MY CREATOR,
THAT THIS GOD HAS MY BEST INTEREST IN MIND,
AND ACTUALLY KNOWS ME BETTER THAN I KNOW MYSELF.
I’M ASSUMING THAT IN SURRENDERING MY WILL TO THE GOD
REVEALED IN JESUS, I’M ACTUALLY CHOOSING
MY DEEPEST AND BEST SELF.
I’M ASSUMING, TO PARAPHRASE ST. AUGUSTINE, THAT OUR HEARTS
ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN GOD’S HEART.
I’M ASSUMING THAT JESUS KNOWS WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT
WHEN HE TELLS US, IN TODAY’S BEATITUDE, THAT WE WILL FIND
DEEP JOY IN SURRENDERING OUR WILL TO GOD’S WILL.
IF “THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING,” AS THEY SAY, IT SEEMS TO ME
THAT JESUS WAS ONE OF THE MOST JOY-FILLED PERSONS
TO EVER WALK THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
HE EMBODIED HIS OWN TEACHINGS.
HE CAN BE TRUSTED.
TO SUMMARIZE THUS FAR:
THE FIRST ASPECT OF THE BIBLICAL WORD “MEEK”
IS DIRECTED TO GOD, AND EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE
OF SURRENDERING OUR WILL TO GOD’S WILL.
THE SECOND, PEOPLE-ORIENTED ASPECT OF THE WORD
TRADITIONALLY TRANSLATED AS “MEEK” COMES INTO PLAY
ONLY AFTER WE HAVE SURRENDERED OUR WILL TO GOD’S WILL.
THIS ASPECT OF THE WORD HAS TO DO WITH HOW WE TREAT OTHERS;
SPECIFICALLY, THE NUANCE OF THE HEBREW AND GREEK WORDS
CONCERNS HOW WE TREAT OTHERS WHEN WE HAVE SOMETHING
LEGITIMATELY AGAINST THEM.
AGAIN, THE ENGLISH WORD “MEEK” SIMPLY DOESN’T CUT IT TODAY.
IT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE WE’RE SUPPOSED TO PASSIVELY
LET OTHER PEOPLE WALK ALL OVER US,
AND DO WITH US WHAT THEY WILL.
IN REALITY, THIS IS EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT JESUS MEANS,
AND WHY I HAVE TRANSLATED THE PEOPLE-ORIENTED DIMENSION
OF THIS BEATITUDE AS
“EMBODYING CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE IN ONE’S PERSONAL LIFE.”
A COUPLE OF CLARIFICATIONS:
I’VE PUT THE WORD CREATIVE IN FRONT OF NON-VIOLENCE,
BECAUSE EVEN THE WORD NON-VIOLENCE HAS IN OUR TIME
TAKEN ON THE PERJORATIVE CONNOTATIONS
OF PASSIVITY AND NON-ACTION, WHEN IT STARTED OUT MEANING
DEALING WITH THE VIOLENCE OF OTHERS IN SURPRISING
AND CREATIVE WAYS WITHOUT THE USE OF FORCE.
A GOOD ANCIENT EXAMPLE OF CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE
COMES FROM THE DESERT FATHERS AND MOTHERS,
WHO LIVED IN THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES.
AN EGYPTIAN ELDER, ABBA ANASTASIUS, POSSESSED A BIBLE,
THE WHOLE OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS,
A RARE TREASURE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
BUT IT WAS STOLEN FROM HIS CELL.
THE THIEF TOOK IT TO A DEALER IN MANUSCRIPTS
IN ALEXANDRIA, WHO LOOKED THROUGH THE MANY SHEETS
OF PARCHMENT BUT COULD NOT DECIDE WHAT TO OFFER,
AND SO ASKED FOR SOME DAYS TO CONSIDER.
REALIZING HE NEEDED EXPERT ADVICE,
HE TOOK THE BIBLE TO ABBA ANASTASIUS.
THE ELDER LOOKED THROUGH THE BIBLE
AS IF HE HAD NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.
“DO YOU THINK SIXTEEN PIECES OF GOLD IS A FAIR PRICE?”
THE MERCHANT ASKED.
“YES, IT IS A FINE BOOK. IT IS WORTH THAT PRICE,”
ABBA ANASTASIUS RESPONDED.
BACK IN ALEXANDRIA, THE MERCHANT MET THE MAN
WHO HAD BROUGHT HIM THE BIBLE,
OFFERED HIM SIXTEEN PIECES OF GOLD,
AND TOLD HIM OF HIS VISIT TO ABBA ANASTASIUS
AND HIS AGREEMENT ABOUT THE PRICE.
“AND DID HE SAY ANYTHING MORE?” THE THIEF ASKED.
“NO, THAT WAS ALL,” REPLIED THE MERCHANT.
“WELL,” SAID THE THIEF, “I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND.”
HE TOOK BACK THE BIBLE, AND HURRIED BACK TO THE MONASTERY,
NOT ONLY RETURNING THE BIBLE, BUT BECOMING A STUDENT
OF THE “MEEK” ABBA ANASTASIUS, AND A DISCIPLE OF JESUS.
HERE, FROM MANY CENTURIES AGO, WE HAVE A GOOD EXAMPLE
OF CREATIVE MEEKNESS, OR CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE,
AS LIVED OUT IN TERMS OF PERSON-TO-PERSON RELATIONS.
AS WE WILL SEE A FEW WEEKS FROM NOW, THE BEATITUDE
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS CONCERNS THE NATIONAL,
AND EVEN GLOBAL ISSUE OF WAR-AND-PEACE.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK APPLIES THE SAME CONCEPT
OF CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE TO PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS,
INCLUDING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR OWN SELF,
AS THE FOLLOWING CONTEMPORARY STORY
FROM DR. RACHEL NAOMI REMEN ILLUSTRATES.
DR. REMEN WRITES:
“AFTER YEARS OF RUNNING A DISCUSSION GROUP FOR PHYSICIANS,
SO MANY SURPRISING THINGS HAVE HAPPENED
THAT WHEN AN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON REACHED INTO
HIS DESIGNER ATTACHE CASE AND BROUGHT OUT A HAND PUPPET,
I DID NOT BLINK AN EYE.
THE TOPIC OF THE EVENING’S DISCUSSION WAS THE JOY
OF PRACTICING MEDICINE, AND HE HAD BROUGHT THE PUPPET
BECAUSE IT WAS PART OF THE STORY
THAT HE HAD WANTED TO TELL THE GROUP.
AS HE SPOKE, HE SLIPPED HIS HAND INTO IT
AND CRADLED IT IN HIS POWERFUL FOREARMS.
IT WAS A FUZZY GRAY BUNNY RABBIT.
FROM WHERE I WAS SITTING, IT LOOKED QUITE REAL.
HIS STORY CONCERNED A THREE-YEAR-OLD-GIRL
WHOSE MOTHER HAD BROUGHT HER TO HIS OFFICE
BECAUSE OF A PROBLEM WITH HER THUMB.
THE MOMENT HE HAD OPENED THE DOOR OF THE EXAMINING ROOM,
SHE HAD BEGUN TO CRY IN TERROR.
CLOSING THE DOOR AGAIN, HE HAD GONE TO GET HIS PUPPET,
WHICH HE USES WHEN HE WORKS WITH FRIGHTENED CHILDREN.
CRADLING IT IN HIS ARMS, HE HAD GONE BACK INTO THE ROOM
AND INTRODUCED THE PUPPET TO THE CHILD.
SHE HAD BEEN DELIGHTED, AND THEY PLAYED TOGETHER FOR AWHILE.
THEN HE EXAMINED HER, USING THE PUPPET’S PAWS
TO HOLD HER HAND AND DETERMINE THE LIMITATION
IN THE MOVEMENT OF HER THUMB.
HE HAD DECIDED TO FOLLOW HER FOR AWHILE TO SEE IF SURGERY
COULD BE AVOIDED, AND HE HAD ASKED HER MOTHER
TO BRING HER BACK AGAIN.
SEVERAL WEEKS LATER, WHEN HE NOTICED THIS LITTLE GIRL’S NAME
ON HIS DAY SHEET, HE HAD REMEMBERED HER FEAR AND HAD GONE
TO GET THE BUNNY PUPPET BEFORE HE WENT IN TO SEE HER.
CRADLING THE PUPPET IN HIS ARMS AGAIN,
HE HAD OPENED THE DOOR AND FOUND HER SITTING THERE
ON HIS EXAMINING TABLE, SMILING AND WAITING FOR HIM.
SHE WAS HOLDING A CARROT.
(PAUSE)
THIS STORY WAS TOLD IN A DROP-IN DISCUSSION GROUP,
OPEN TO ANY OF THE DOCTORS WHO HAVE ATTENDED ONE OF MY
CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION RETREATS.
THIS EVENING, A FAMILY DOCTOR FROM KENTUCKY
WHO WAS PASSING THROUGH SAN FRANCISCO
FOR A MEDICAL MEETING HAPPENED TO COME BY.
BY CHANCE, HE HAD BEEN ONE OF EIGHT PHYSICIANS PRESENT
AT A RETREAT YEARS BEFORE WHEN THE SURGEON
WITH THE BUNNY RABBIT HAD TOLD ANOTHER STORY. . .
HE REMINDED THE SURGEON OF THIS OLDER STORY
AND ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD TELL IT AGAIN NOW.
IN A QUIET VOICE, THE SURGEON BEGAN TO SPEAK
ABOUT AN EVENT IN HIS LIFE THAT HAD CHANGED HIM.
AS A FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD, HE HAD BEEN GIVEN THE GIFT
OF A REAL BOW AND ARROWS.
THIS HAD BECOME THE CENTER OF MANY HOURS
OF ADOLESCENT DAYDREAMING, IN WHICH HE HAD
IMAGINED HIMSELF STANDING AMONG THE GREAT COMPANY
OF FIERCE WARRIORS WHO HAD CARRIED SUCH WEAPONS
INTO BATTLE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.
HIS HEAD FILLED WITH SUCH FANTASIES,
HE WOULD GO OUT INTO THE BACKYARD AFTER DINNER
AND SHOOT AT ANYTHING THAT MOVED.
HE HAD NEVER ACTUALLY HIT ANYTHING, BUT THIS HAD NOT
DIMINISHED THE INTENSITY OF HIS WARRIOR DAYDREAMS.
ONE EVENING, WHEN HE WAS ABOUT SIXTEEN,
HE HAD GONE OUT WITH HIS BOW SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET,
AND IN THE DUSK OF THE BACKYARD
HE HAD SEEN A LITTLE RABBIT.
DRAWING BACK HIS ARROW, HE HAD AIMED AND,
TO HIS SHOCK, HAD HIT IT.
IT HAD SCREAMED ONCE.
(PAUSE)
HIS DREAMS OF FIERCENESS HAD EVAPORATED INSTANTLY.
HE HAD RUN FORWARD, HORRIFIED, FALLEN TO HIS KNEES,
AND LIFTED UP THE SMALL, FURRY BODY PIERCED BY THE ARROW.
IN THAT MOMENT HE KNEW BEYOND DOUBT
THAT THERE WAS NOTHING IN HIM THAT HAD WANTED
SUCH AN OUTCOME, OR WAS EVEN CAPABLE OF WANTING IT.
CRADLING THE LITTLE RABBIT IN HIS ARMS,
HE HAD KNOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME THE NATURE OF HIS OWN HEART.
“I GUESS I’M NOT A WARRIOR,” HE SAID.
(PAUSE)
THERE WAS A SILENCE IN THE ROOM.
HIPPOCRATES, THE GREAT TEACHER OF HARMLESSNESS,
HAD REACHED ACROSS GENERATIONS
AND TOUCHED MANY OF US AGAIN.
I LOOKED AT THE SURGEON, STILL HOLDING THE PUPPET
CRADLED IN HIS ARMS.
CLEARLY, HE HAD NOT REALIZED ITS SYMBOLISM
OR MADE A CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO STORIES BEFORE.
BUT THE DOCTOR FROM KENTUCKY,
HAVING TRAVELED OVER TWO THOUSAND MILES,
HAD BEEN THERE TO MAKE THIS CONNECTION FOR HIM.
IN HIS SOFT BACKWOODS DRAWL, HE SAID,
“PERHAPS YOU ARE AMONG A GREAT COMPANY
OF FIERCE WARRIORS, DICK.
IT’S JUST A DIFFERENT SORT OF BATTLE.”
(PAUSE)
JESUS SUMMONS US, HIS FOLLOWERS,
TO FIGHT A DIFFERENT SORT OF BATTLE,
AN UPSIDE-DOWN SORT OF BATTLE,
WITH THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT AS OUR FIGHTING ORDERS,
AND THE MANY ASPECTS OF CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE
AS OUR MAJOR WEAPON.
ONE OF THE MAJOR MISTAKES THAT VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS,
LOCAL CHURCHES, AND INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS
HAVE MADE CONCERNING THIS BEATITUDE
HAS BEEN TO MISREAD IT AS A CALL FROM JESUS
TO HIS FOLLOWERS TO BE PASSIVE IN THE FACE OF EVIL
AND TO SIMPLY ALLOW IT TO TAKE ITS COURSE.
LIKE MANY SO-CALLED “CHRISTIAN” TEACHINGS,
THIS IS EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT JESUS HAD IN MIND.
TO CONNECT WITH THE KIND OF “MEEKNESS”
THAT JESUS DID HAVE IN MIND THINK OF THE
CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING.
THIS IS WHAT A “MEEK” CHRISTIAN LOOKS LIKE!
I WOULD LIKE TO END THIS SERMON WITH A CHALLENGE.
I WOULD LIKE TO CHALLENGE YOU –
AND TO EQUALLY CHALLENGE MYSELF –
TO CLOTHE YOURSELF IN THIS BEATITUDE FOR THE NEXT WEEK.
LET’S PUT IT ON, AND MAKE IT AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OURSELVES,
TRYING TO LIVE OUT THE MEANING OF THIS BEATITUDE
IN EVERY THOUGHT AND ACT OF OUR EVERYDAY LIVES.
WHAT WOULD IT ACTUALLY LOOK AND FEEL LIKE
FOR US TO LIVE OUT CREATIVE MEEKNESS, CREATIVE HUMBLENESS,
CREATIVE GENTLENESS, CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE
IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS,
AND IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR OWN SELF?
I KNOW THAT EMBODYING THIS BEATITUDE IS GOING TO LOOK
VERY DIFFERENTLY IN OUR VERY DIFFERENT LIVES.
BUT I SUSPECT THAT THE FEELING WE GET FROM
ACTUALLY LIVING OUT CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE
WILL BE VERY SIMILAR FOR EACH OF US.
IT WILL BE THE FEELING OF BEING DEEPLY BLESSED.
IT WILL BE THE FEELING OF ABIDING JOY.
AMEN.