Blessed are the Humble
(Psalm 37 selected verses; Matthew 5:5)
The word meek as defined in Webster’s dictionary, means
humble, patient, submissive. These are all adjectives that we
would rather not describe ourselves by, because we don’t want
to be humble. We do not want to be humble and patient, and
above all we most certainly do not want to be submissive –
submissive to anyone or anything. We want to think of ourselves
as courageous and strong, independent, and in control. (61 years
ago a lighting strike on this site demonstrated that we are never
in control). We want to be conquerors and meekness sounds too
much like surrender – surrender to those around us who would
have power over us – surrender to the powers that be. Meekness
equals cowardliness in our minds.
How then could Jesus say to us blessed are the ‘meek,’ for
they shall inherit the earth? Does Jesus want us to be cowards?
He certainly was no coward – turning over heavy tables of
coinage cleansing the Temple; taking on Scribes and Pharisees
and Rome (all had power of life or death over Jesus)! Most of
all, Jesus was no coward when he prayed: Father let this cup
pass from me, yet, not my will but yours be done; and then
willingly died on the cross for you and me.
I think that Jesus would have us to be courageous and
sometimes being humble is being courageous. It takes real
courage to humbly walk away from an altercation, than to give
in to your basic, baser, animalistic nature; and to return evil for
evil. The humble according to Jesus are those who under the
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pressures of life have learned to bend their wills to the will of
God for them, and to set aside their own notions about rightliving and wrong-living as they live the way God in Christ
would have them live. Being a Christian is not for the weak and
cowardly; but for the humble-courageous. It took humility and
courage for our Bethlehem Methodist ancestors 61 years ago to
begin to build out of the ashes.
The true meaning of the word meek as Jesus used it, is
found in the 37th Psalm. The meek shall inherit the earth (verse
11). Jesus was a Jew of the First Century. We tend to forget that
and think of him instead as a white, middle-class, AmericanChristian. Oh no, he was Jewish and a man of his time. His
languages were the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The
Hebrew word that is translated meek really means to be molded.
Psalm 37 also says: Fret not thyself because of the evil-doer, do
not be envious of the prosperity of the wicked…instead: commit
thy way unto the Lord. In other words, let yourself become putty
in God’s hands. Be molded by God who created you—is
creating you, and is not through with you yet. You are not a
finished product. Learn the lesson that Jeremiah learned at the
potter’s wheel. Yield your life to the purposes of God, and real
living—total and complete living – will be yours in the here and
now and forever.
I believe that Jesus had Psalm 37 in mind and heart when
he spoke this particular Beatitude: Blessed are the meek for they
shall inherit the earth. Meek means controlled by God in Christ,
submission to the Divine Plan of God for your life. Such a
decision in the affirmative takes all the dread out of tomorrow.
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Proverbs 3:6 reads: …in all your ways acknowledge God, and
God shall direct your paths. The very act of accepting the will
of God for your life today places the responsibility of what
happens tomorrow on God. So why worry about what the results
will be? There is wonderful peace in leaving the results in God’s
very capable hands.
Sixty-one years ago, lightning struck the sanctuary of the
Bethlehem Methodist Church, Climax, North Carolina and it
burnt to the ground. The people who were then the Bethlehem
Methodist Church – people who in all their ways acknowledged
God knowing that God would direct their paths, began
rebuilding the sanctuary we enjoy today. Sixty years ago this
month, this sanctuary was opened. We celebrate that on this day.
How humbling an experience that must have been – seeing
the charred remains of your beloved sanctuary and the prospects
of the financial burdens of rebuilding. Some of you are alive and
here today who remember those events of sixty years ago—
some of you even entered the building to carry out or toss out
anything that could be saved from the flames.
Now we are the Bethlehem United Methodist Church
Climax, NC, and living in a very different world where church is
not as important as it was sixty years ago. Being humble today
as a Christian characteristic may be more important than ever. If
we are going to reach people for Jesus Christ—build the Church
from the ashes of decline—we are going to have to weigh the
value of other religions, befriend those who believe differently,
and even understand what is at the heart of our own faith. Much
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humility—meekness, therefore, is in order. This shouldn’t be
hard for us Christians.
Consider the shrinkage of Christianity – and not just in
numbers. All mainline Protestant denominations are losing
ground, indeed, dying. Just a couple generations ago, the front
page of the Monday, New York Times featured synopses of
preacher’s sermons from the day before. Churches were being
built, not being boarded up like so many today. The only press
coverage Christians get today is about reprehensible behavior.
Could it be that Christians and Church in their heyday—
when they were rich and powerful and influenced all areas of
life in the American Experience, became so bold and brash and
controlling and self-confident, that they lost Jesus’ characteristic
of meekness—humbleness? Is that the reason we, the Church
are in decline and fighting for our very existence?
I had a humbling experience during this worship service
two Sundays back when I invited the children to come forward
for Pastor’s Pals. With boldness and self-confidence, I
extended the invitation and stepped from the pulpit to the Altar;
but no children were in the service to come forth. You see, I just
naturally assumed that there were children that would meet me
at the Alter for Pastor’s Pals. How embarrassing and humbling
for me. But you see, I forgot that we are in a new age as
Church. We are fighting for our lives. Church doesn’t have the
priority it had in the 1950’s and 60’s when this church burnt and
rebuilt.
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Where are we going to be as church in twenty years? Do
you think that just because the church has been here since 1863
that it will always be here? Let’s do a reality check…if you
think that you are going to be alive and well enough to come to
church in thirty years, please stand up...twenty years?...ten
years?
I rest my case.
We can erect artsy signs that read: all are welcome, but so
many feel unwelcome – or even worse, they have no thoughts or
feelings about Church or God at all. Less relevant, fewer in
number, very few children, youth and young adults – we have
good cause to feel humble, and ask questions like: why bother?
We may even ask: what is so special about Christianity?
It may be helpful to realize that Christianity’s most valiant
moments have come when there were not many Christians at all.
Seventy years after Jesus’ crucifixion, Christians were a mere
1/100th of 1 percent of the population. After 200 years,
Christians made up a larger number in the population – nearly
2%!
Major religions dwarfed the early Church. Major religions
are beginning to dwarf the church today. In the first and second
centuries Christians were ridiculed, shut out of business deals,
and even executed. Yet, Christianity grew. Theologians grew
profoundly: stories of holy heroes became big news.
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In 1948, the Communists made Christianity illegal in
China, and expelled or killed all the Western Missionaries.
Today, sixty-five years later, the number of Christians in China,
all converted underground and in constant peril, has grown tenfold. And in America, we have declined ten-fold since 1948.
But here’s the good news…our Duke Intern, Dane Womack and
thousands of young dedicated Christians God is still calling into
the ministry. Do you think God is calling them to a Church
entombed? If God is, God is calling them to resurrect the
Church!
We have come full circle. Christians are in the minority
again—forced to be humble—meek.
The humble can listen and learn. The humble aren’t eaten
up inside by a judgmental spirit. The humble can feel very
special – blessed – if for no other reason than they are much like
Jesus, the Risen One, the Founder of our Faith, who got annoyed
only with the pious believers in his own faith who felt superior
and were exclusive instead of all-inclusive as Jesus was and is. I
do not believe that in 1952 and 53 the good and humble people
of the Bethlehem Methodist Church built this sanctuary to
exclude anyone but to include everyone who would come to
Jesus Christ.
So let us pray:
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Lord, you said blessed are the humble (Matthew 5:5) – and
we would be blessed. Give us humble hearts and minds. We
ponder Christianity, and confess that we have been cocky, dull,
irrelevant, turned-inward, and designed to suit our preferences
more than your Glory and Your Holy Mission out in the world,
and in this ever-changing community where all the faces are of
different colors, and everyone who looks like us and have
lifestyles like us, know not you. Forgive us – but in a way that
keeps us mindful of our desperate need for You, and the
desperate need of people so close by who need You too. Forgive
us – but in a way that helps us learn and grow. Daily, let us
recall that you said: ‘come to me, all who are heavyladen…learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart’
(Matthew 11:28-29).
Amen.
Charles Lee Hutchens, D.Min.
Bethlehem United Methodist Church
Climax, NC
September 15, 2013
Source: The Reverend Dr. James Howell