Jesus is not always portrayed as meek and mild in the gospels- he threw the money changers out of the temple and got mightily miffed at the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Think of Him denouncing the hypocritical Pharisees as being corrupt like ‘whitewashed tombs-beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones’ (Mt 23:27 NLT).
He was in opposition with the religious leaders every time he taught in the temple.
But I don’t think Jesus was a loose cannon . He knew the hearts of those he was speaking to, and communicated in a way which was best for them at that time
In English, the word meek derives from the Anglo-Saxon and carries an aspect of timidity. but the Greek word used by Matthew does not signify a kind of cowardly or submissive surrender.
Meekness manifested by Jesus is the fruit of power.
Jesus was 'meek' because he had the infinite resources of God at His command.
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Meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest:: simply because it is not occupied with self at all !! Jesus was only revolutionary in that His mission here on earth was to re-connect people with God the Father.
He had a vibrant message of love and hope which contrasted with much of the lifeless religion of the priests and teachers of the time.
His growing influence, His denouncements of pomposity, clericalism and commercial religion and His saying that He was God brought Him into conflict with these religious leaders and eventually lead to them killing Him. It wasn’t because He was a hothead revolutionary.
Jesus wasn’t revolutionary in that He was leading a political movement.
The principles He taught were radical ones of selfless pure love and sacrifice. Even on the cross He asked God the Father to forgive those who were killing Him.
Jesus spent more time in healing and teaching than in conflict. He was gentle with those needing comfort and encouragement.
IS THIS OUR IMAGE OF MEEK AND MILD?
Baby Jesus, meek and mild
Bless the faithful with your smile
Holy Jesus, sacred child
Keep us safe from all things vile
Bless the faithful with your smile
Holy Jesus, sacred child
Keep us safe from all things vile
This is a great post on meekness from
Here : Just Another Claypot Blog .Meekness does not mean always saying yes when you mean no nor does it mean always agreeing with another person's views just to be safe.
True communicative competence is the ability to be able to disagree across all social situations. Not to be disagreeable, but to be able to disagree.
This the age old human problem-- in politics, work, culture, relationships.
In this article Mark Shea has this to say about meekness:
Just as nobody wants to be poor and nobody wants to mourn, so nobody wants to be “meek”. That’s because we think of the meek as doormats and dartboards.
We assume the meek are timid little people who scatter like mice when somebody of consequence clears his throat.
But our Lord does not say “Blessed are the weenies.”
St. Joan of Arc was neither a weenie nor a wimp. Nor was St. Paul. Nor, of course, was Jesus. That should be our first clue that to be meek is not to be a wimp. It is to be filled with the awesome power of the Holy Spirit; and to not be defined by earthly power.
It is to know who you are, where you are coming from, and where you are going; as Jesus did.
It is to be at home in your own skin and not to be afflicted with the itching envy of somebody else’s life.
It is to be free enough inside that lowliness is as easy as power since you are not defined by what you or anybody else owns or does or is.
To be meek, in short, is to be free. And to be free is find that the whole world is yours already, freely given by the Lord of heaven and earth—as lived by St. Francis.
The image of “Meekness” above (1650) is one of a set depicting the eight Beatitudes from the Chicago Museum but this is the only one I can find.(Eustache Le Sueur 1616-1655.
The lamb also stands for purity of the soul –
The alpha males of this world are not meek !!
Meekness is the opposite of weakness. As a firmly rooted willow or bamboo tree bends and flexes through the storm without breaking, so meekness is flexible resilient strength that can endure tests and turmoil, not by stiff resistance, but by gentle yielding.
If we try and root our lives in Christ and rest in His will, we get an insight into meekness and how it can help us stay anchored through the fiercest storms in our lives.
As we bend in the wind and give up our own stubbornness “the peace that passes all understanding” comes silently like a cloud and shelters us in His love.
There are some interesting texts in Hebrews about Jesus’ own experiences, and how He was ‘perfected’ and ‘learned obedience’ through suffering.
An amazing concept, but one I think that makes sense when you consider that even Jesus’ perfect character was tested and developed through the trials he experienced.
There are some interesting texts in Hebrews about Jesus’ own experiences, and how He was ‘perfected’ and ‘learned obedience’ through suffering.
An amazing concept, but one I think that makes sense when you consider that even Jesus’ perfect character was tested and developed through the trials he experienced.
This Meekness is certainly a tough one : I got to thinking Can a Soldier be Meek ?
This poignant poem by Nancy Meek at No Room For Tears shows the awful emotional reality and personal impact of war on the young soldier who fights on our behalf.
Faith in a Foxhole
How can a soldier keep his faith,
Inside his bloody trench,
When a bullet with his name engraved
Seeks him through the stench?
Memories of his former life,
When innocence was bliss,
Come mocking, haunting, asking,
"What golden rule is this?!
How could a loving, caring God
Desert me in such a place
When any moment, I might die
Or lose part of my face?"
But still he prays with fevered heart
Face-down in muddy sod,
"Please, just let me do my time
In this place so far from God.
Then get me home, in one piece,
To those who love me dear.
Help me make it through this night,
To sleep in spite of fear."
A voice beside him whispers
"Who are you talking to?"
"I'm not sure," came the answer
"Just someone I once knew."
I saw the conqueror riding by
With cruel lip and faces wan:
Musing on kingdoms sacked and burned
There rode the Mongol Genghis Khan.
And Alexander, like a God,
Who sought to weld the world in one;
And Caesar with his laurel wreath;
And like a thing from Hell-the Hun;
And leading like a star the van,
Heedless of outstretched arm and groan,
Inscrutable Napoleon went
Dreaming of empire and alone…
Then all perished from the earth
As fleeting shadows from a glass,
And, conquering down the centuries,
Came Christ, the Swordless, on an ass!
With cruel lip and faces wan:
Musing on kingdoms sacked and burned
There rode the Mongol Genghis Khan.
And Alexander, like a God,
Who sought to weld the world in one;
And Caesar with his laurel wreath;
And like a thing from Hell-the Hun;
And leading like a star the van,
Heedless of outstretched arm and groan,
Inscrutable Napoleon went
Dreaming of empire and alone…
Then all perished from the earth
As fleeting shadows from a glass,
And, conquering down the centuries,
Came Christ, the Swordless, on an ass!
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