Tag: equity

Matthew 5:5 – Blessed Are the Meek

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth. (NIV)

To give us a flavor of Christ’s counter-cultural Beatitudes, when was the last time, or has anyone ever, described themselves to you as meek?

Whenever I have interviewed people for positions, both paid and voluntary, and asked them to tell me their strengths, I have never had anyone say to me, “I’m a meek person.”

Why would I want to be meek?

Far too often, we equate meek with weak. If someone is meek, we may wrongly reason they must be a washrag, or overly introverted, and maybe not taking proper initiative in life. Of all the character qualities we might aspire to, I doubt that meekness is on anyone’s top ten list of desired qualities.

Yet, of the few words in the Gospels which Jesus uses to describe himself, one of those words is meek. And even then, many English translations steer clear of the word. For example, the New International Version of the Bible says in translating the words of Jesus, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Only the King James Version translates the word as “meek,” instead of “gentle.”)

What does it mean to be meek?

Meek and gentle are the same words. The original Greek word is πραεῖς (pronounced “prah-ace”). “Meek” is the word used in other ancient Greek literature for breaking a horse. It is to be changed from being a wild stallion who wants to go his own way, to a broken horse who is gentle before the Master and allows others on his back without bucking.

Consider, for example, the scene around Christ’s crucifixion. Jesus was naked, exposed, and vulnerable to the idle curiosity of the crowd and the vulgar frivolity of the soldiers who were having a party around his suffering. “If you are the king of the Jews,” they taunted, “save yourself.”

And yet the extraordinary thing is there was no spirit of revenge with our Lord. Jesus did not curse his tormentors. Instead, he prayed, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” (Luke 23:24)

It is important to notice the meekness that Jesus is speaking about in this Beatitude is not being a pushover. Meekness is not to be confused with being nice and easy-going. Meek and lowly as he was, Jesus could also take a whip to greedy money-changers in the Temple. We must not confuse meekness with weakness.

What characterizes a meek person?

Whereas poverty of spirit is more a humility before God, meekness is a humility toward other people. It is to be flat on our backs with only one way to look: up to God; and because we are in that position, there is no opportunity to look down on others. 

Meekness is a foundational Beatitude. Jesus considers it a necessary part of righteousness. I believe the word “meek” needs a renaissance. Even if we use the word “gentle” this will be a great advancement in how people interact with one another. So, what characterizes a meek person?

  • The meek have a desire to put other’s interests ahead of their own, because they know it is not all about them. They practice healthy rhythms of giving and receiving with others, without prejudice or favoritism.
  • The meek are more concerned with edifying and building up their brothers and sisters than justifying themselves. They don’t care who gets the credit. And they receive criticism well.
  • The meek are truly egalitarian and do all things with equity and inclusion. They make no distinctions between rich and poor, beautiful and ugly, intelligent and cognitive deficits, black and white, gay and straight, Democrat and Republican, or insider and outsider. In the meek person’s mind, every person is created in the image of God and therefore deserves respect, attention, and justice.

It is the meek who will inherit the earth – not aggressive people who believe in survival of the fittest, stepping on people to get where they want to go, or badgering others in order to get their way. 

Someone might protest, “But if I live this way, I’ll be pushed around.”  Meekness is not living without boundaries but is power under control. Maybe you will get stepped on – but you will inherit the earth.

How do I live as a meek person?

The three Beatitudes of being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, and meekness toward others are foundational to all that Jesus says and does. They are central to being Christ’s follower. Without them, there is only a contrived legalistic righteousness of our own without any real need of God. That is the way of pride, which is the straight and broad road to hell. 

Perhaps repentance is in order. It could be that too many people have made much more of themselves than what they truly are. Maybe we have adopted a soft attitude toward shame and shaming others, believing that some people need a bit of guilt from us to change their obnoxious ways. Perhaps we have paid scant attention to those who are in physical or spiritual poverty. And just maybe we have ignored and gossiped about others simply because we believe we are better than them.

A genuine follower of Christ lives a repentant lifestyle. The Apostle James said, “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).  The way of Christ is the way of community. We are not to live ingenuine lives, hiding behind a mask of outward conformity. Now is the time for authenticity, living life as God intended it to be lived, as a disciple of Jesus in the way of spiritual poverty, mourning, and meekness – the narrow path that leads to salvation.

Non-retaliation happens when we realize our poverty of spirit and practice grief and lament. When we are flat on our backs before God, there is no place to look but up. And it means there is no ability to look down on others. It is to be broken and moldable before God. 

If you and I were part of the original crowd that listened to Jesus, there is hope. I have no ability to practice retaliation, even if I wanted to, because I have no earthly power. But that’s okay because, in this spirit of meekness, I take personal responsibility for my attitudes and my actions. I am neither worse nor better than any other person. I do not need to retaliate, even when egregiously wronged, because I can fully entrust myself to God alone who judges the living and the dead. 

Conclusion

It turns out that brokenness is the path to genuine righteousness. Jesus promised that the meek will inherit the earth. Christ didn’t just make that up. He was quoting Holy Scripture:

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity. (Psalm 37:1-11, NIV)

Jesus was saying that only the truly meek will learn contentment, joy, and satisfaction. Their ego is not so inflated that they insist they deserve more. Indeed, because as God’s people they are learning from him, the meek understand they are co-heirs with Christ in an inheritance of God’s kingdom.

May your meekness and gentleness be known to all.

*Above painting by Hyatt Moore

Psalm 9:9-20 – Assertive Anger and Confident Trust

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

The poor can run to you
    because you are a fortress
    in times of trouble.
Everyone who honors your name
    can trust you,
    because you are faithful
    to all who depend on you.

You rule from Zion, Lord,
    and we sing about you
    to let the nations know
    everything you have done.
You did not forget
    to punish the guilty
    or listen to the cries
    of those in need.

Please have mercy, Lord!
    My enemies mistreat me.
Keep me from the gates
    that lead to death,
    and I will sing about you
    at the gate to Zion.
I will be happy there
    because you rescued me.

Our Lord, the nations fell
    into their own pits,
    and their feet were caught
    in their own traps.
You showed what you are like,
and you made certain
    that justice is done,
    but evil people are trapped
    by their own evil deeds.
The wicked will go down
    to the world of the dead
    to be with those nations
    that forgot about you.

The poor and the homeless
won’t always be forgotten
    and without hope.

Do something, Lord!
    Don’t let the nations win.
    Make them stand trial
    in your court of law.
Make the nations afraid
and let them all discover
    just how weak they are. (Contemporary English Version)

Everyone gets angry. Every single person on planet earth knows what anger feels like. And, to me, it makes sense that people get angry. After all, God gets angry. As people created in God’s image, we share God’s sense of justice and injustice.

That’s really what anger is: an emotional response to injustice. Whenever we are wronged or treated unfairly – or observe another person or group of people experiencing injustice – it stirs up our anger.

So, anger, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. It just is. It’s what we do with our anger that gets dicey. A lot of human anger gets expressed in unhealthy ways by either passively stuffing it down into the soul and ignoring it; aggressively lashing out with verbal or physical violence; or passive-aggressively doing indirect jabs at the object of our anger.

The psalmist, however, takes another way of expressing anger. He is assertive, straightforward, and addressed God with his observations and feelings, as well as affirming that the Lord is the One who administers justice with fairness and equity.

When the poor are overlooked or oppressed by the rich, it is unjust. It creates anger, both human and divine. In their misery and hardship, they can flee to God, who is faithful to care for them and treat them with respect and dignity, as people carrying the divine image, like everyone else.

The nations of the earth are not all attentive to the needy. They don’t all serve their citizens and try to do right by them. Unfortunately, many people throughout the world groan under national leadership which is enamored with power and privilege – and forget those who are powerless, unable to lift themselves by their bootstraps.

Because of this reality, the psalmist petitions God. He asks, even insists, that God step in and act as judge and jury. It is an assertive use of anger that goes to the source of true help, to the Lord, who possesses both the will and the ability to overturn injustice and establish a right use of power.

Holy Scripture is consistent in its insistence on paying attention to those outside the halls of power. The prophets directed their message to issues of justice:

Learn to live right. See that justice is done. Defend widows and orphans and help those in need. (Isaiah 1:17, CEV)

Just look at those lawmakers who write evil laws and make life hard for the people. They are not fair to the poor. They take away the rights of the poor and allow people to steal from widows and orphans. (Isaiah 10:1-2, ERV)

He has told you, human one, what is good and what the Lord requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8, CEB)

Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want. (Amos 5:24, MSG)

Doing justice is taking up the cause of the powerless, the oppressed, and the needy among us in society. Because God cares, we care. To ignore the poor is to ignore God. To treat them unfairly is to flip the middle finger at God.

The Lord, thankfully, is a strong fortress for the oppressed and a protective force in times of trouble.

God remembers the prayers of the down-and-out.

Sooner, or later, those who are wicked in their dealings through exploitation of the powerless, will know firsthand, they are puny humans, and that God is immensely big.

Today’s psalm is both an angry petition, as well as an affirmation of faith. May it serve as a model for using our anger assertively, ordering our love rightly, and trusting our God confidently.

God almighty, you have given all peoples one common origin. It is your will they be gathered together as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of humanity with the fire of your love and with the desire to ensure justice for all. By sharing the good you give us, may we ensure equity for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May there be an end to division, strife and war. May there be a dawning of a truly human society built on love and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

**Above image: The Kveshi Fortress in the nation of Georgia.

Proverbs 1:1-7 – Right, Just, and Fair

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
“Passing Wisdom, Planting Seeds,” building art in Brooklyn, New York City by artists Danielle McDonald and Jazmine Hayes

These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
    to help them understand the insights of the wise.
Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
    to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
    knowledge and discernment to the young.

Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
    Let those with understanding receive guidance
by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (NLT)

The pursuit of wisdom is a noble aspiration for the New Year. One of the best places to go in that pursuit is the biblical book of Proverbs because it is all about living wisely and not foolishly.

To acquire and live by wisdom means learning to become right, just, and fair in all our interactions and dealings with others.

“Right” for the ancient King Solomon is a relational term – to be righteous, to have right relationships with God and other people. Righteousness involves experiencing peaceful, harmonious, and fruitful relations. For the Christian, right living is to know the wonderful freedom and joy of an unhindered relationship through Jesus Christ in dependence upon the Holy Spirit. 

When it comes to fellow human relations, a person characterized by righteousness does not, for example, let the sun go down on their anger. It is to know personal peace as well as to be a peacemaker so that relationships do not remain strained but enjoy harmony.

“Just” is closely related to “right.” We might tend toward primarily understanding justice as a punitive act – and that is certainly a part of the term. God punishes the wicked (not us!) with appropriate timing and wisdom; and deals with those who withhold righteousness and love through their uncaring, inattentive, or evil acts. 

Solomon understood justice as mostly concerned with providing a person with the necessities of life. So, for example, if someone is hungry and needs food, or does not have clean water to drink, it is a “just” act for us to provide those critical needs. God is deeply concerned for justice and expects people to act in this same manner.

“Fair” is to be egalitarian. Fairness and equity binds righteousness and peace together by avoiding prejudice toward others and their needs. It means to not show favoritism because there is an unshakable belief in the equality of all people, no matter where they are from, what they do, or who they are.

Therefore, if we exercise righteousness and justice exclusively with individuals and groups we like, but ignore others in need, there is no fairness. To give our love and service to all persons without strings attached, or without being concerned to get paid back, is the practice of being fair in all our affairs.

To live in the way of being right, just, and fair in all things is to be wise. Conversely, the classic fool is one who judges others, creates discord, and ranks persons according to their own personal standard of who deserves help, and who does not. Trying to have a useful and gracious conversation with a fool is like trying to reason with a toddler – you will get nowhere. 

A good place to start in pursuing the wise and biblical virtues of righteousness, justice, and fairness is to ask God to open our eyes to those within our sphere of influence who need both physical and relational needs met. Then, follow through with loving those persons for whom God brings into our lives.

Almighty God, the essence and source of wisdom, you are always right, just, and fair in all things, I praise you for your infinite and abundant wisdom. Whereas you abound in wisdom, I am lacking. Please help me to grow in wisdom as I increase in my knowledge and respect of your divine presence. By means of your Spirit, please increase my depth of insight as I study your Holy Word. Hold me back from leaning on my own understanding and enable me to wholeheartedly embrace the wisdom from above. Righteous God help me to grow in wisdom continually and consistently. Teach me your ways. Since you are a just God who shows no favoritism, lead me into being like you in my dealings with others through the example of Jesus Christ, in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Numbers 12:1-9 – Against Racism

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
American artist Alan Jones depiction of Moses’ wife Zipporah

While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard them. (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.)

So immediately the Lord called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So, the three of them went to the Tabernacle. Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:

“If there were prophets among you,
    I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions.
    I would speak to them in dreams.
But not with my servant Moses.
    Of all my house, he is the one I trust.
I speak to him face to face,
    clearly, and not in riddles!
    He sees the Lord as he is.
So why were you not afraid
    to criticize my servant Moses?”

The Lord was very angry with them, and he departed. (NLT)

There are three observations about today’s Old Testament lesson I want to point-out and lift-up, and they are crucial observations for us in our present world.

First, the older siblings of Moses, Miriam the eldest and Aaron the other brother, had a problem with their sister-in-law (whose name was Zipporah). She was a Cushite. Cush was an ancient country which encompassed present day northern Sudan and much of Ethiopia in Africa. In other words, Zipporah was black, and Miriam and Aaron were critical of their little brother for marrying her.

Second, although having a black sister-in-law was the real issue, Miriam and Aaron confronted Moses not about this, but went after him concerning his role as a prophet. In other words, the siblings engaged in the age-old practice of ostensibly presenting a concern which was not really the matter on their hearts.

Third, the omniscient God knew what was happening. God was fully cognizant of Miriam and Aaron’s cloak-and-dagger attack at Zipporah through her husband Moses. In other words, God was incensed with this coup attempt because it was unjust, unfair, ungodly, and frankly, racist. And so, the text states that God, with divine anger aroused, “immediately” addressed the situation.

Racism is insidious. It tends to get expressed most often through the methods used by Miriam and Aaron on the level of criticizing another somewhat related issue. So, I offer the following questions with as much humility from Moses I can muster:

Are we aware of our own inheritance of centuries and even millennia of dominance language which keeps other human beings docile and subservient to another’s authority?

Have we chosen to challenge points of order and procedure in the attempt to marginalize certain persons?

Are we detached from our own needs and, so, unable to listen well?

Is there secret fear in our hearts, believing that we must maintain our hegemony, or else, there will be chaos?

Is the end game using whatever tools available for others to become like us, as if we were the Borg who talk about how resisting us is futile?

Are we willing to do the hard work of pulling out our own roots of racial segregation and injustice?

Do we want cheap diversity or true solidarity?

Will we work toward creating a new liberated humanity, championing equity in all things for all people, instead of attempting to sanitize existing systems?

For far too long, too many have relied upon individualism and anti-structuralism and it has not served us well in addressing our contemporary problems. Individualism sees only individual racist words and actions and is blind to systemic issues. It views social problems as merely a reflection of broken relationships, and, so, again, makes it impossible to see the systemic and nature of our racialized society.

Anti-structuralism, that is, not addressing racism as an organizing structure, is the assumption that racism is only individual racial prejudice and hatred. Thus, the approach in dealing with racism is to always be on the lookout for “bad racists.” This avenue, however, diverts attention from upholding biblical justice, forming policies of liberation, and establishing equitable care and opportunity for the common good of all persons.

As an historian, I tend to view things through historical lenses and, so, I resonate deeply with the late twentieth-century essayist James Baldwin when he said, “White people are still trapped in a history which they do not understand; and until they understand it, they cannot be released from it.”

I want my history to be with Moses and freedom. I want God to show up and put racism to an end. I want to be part of the solution, and not the problem. I want justice and fairness to flow like a river that never runs dry.

Lord, Jesus Christ, you reached across ethnic boundaries between Samaritan, Roman and Jew. In your earthly ministry you offered fresh sight to the blind and freedom to captives. Gracious Savior, help us to break down walls and barriers in our community; enable us to see the reality of racism and bigotry; and free us to challenge and uproot it from ourselves, our faith communities, our society, and our world. Amen.