Beatitude #3: Blessed are the meek

"Meek" is one of those wonderfully archaic words which seems only to be used in a Biblical context - much, I suppose, like "blessed". It comes, I understand, from an Old Norse word meaning something like "soft". A Google search of the word, however, is quite informative. Firstly you get the standard array of dictionary definitions and Wikipedia entries. But somewhere down the line your screen will display a website entitled "Blesse'd Are The Meek". Interested, you may click on the link, to find this page - the homepage for an Australian fashion label. Click on "About" and you will read their story, accompanied with fairly raunchy photos of their not-particularly-meek products, and the following opening line, in all its mock-Biblical splendour:

In the beginning, in Melbourne 2003AD a small gathering of obsessed fashion devotees embarked on a quest to create divine and coveted pieces with which to adorn themselves.

And so Bless’ed Are The Meek was born, and it was humbly decreed that they would strive together to push the boundaries of meekdom.

Have they, perhaps, pushed the boundaries a bit far? Have they, in fact, missed the point altogether?

Meekness is wonderfully misunderstood. Friedrich Nietzsche famously criticised this verse because of the "slave morality" it reflected. Others have parodied Matthew 5:5 or simply been fascinated or intrigued by it (Wikipedia boasts a formidable list of musicians, comedians, authors and the like who have referenced the third beatitude, ranging from Eddie Izzard to Frank Zappa to Gorky's Zygotic Mynci). But what exactly does it mean to be meek? Is it the same, as many understand, as being a wuss? It's fairly clear, I think, that it means nothing of the sort. But that isn't very helpful; neither, for that matter, is a quick, unscholarly survey of the Greek, which merely tells me that meek comes from the Greek word "praeis" which means...meek.

Though that isn't half as unhelpful as it seems at first. You see, in Matthew 5:5 Jesus is using the noun form of "meek", a word that should perhaps be rendered "the meek ones". Then, in Matthew 11:29, he uses the same word, as an adjective, to speak of himself:

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle [praos = meek] and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

So here we see something utterly wonderful: that Jesus calls us to be meek, because he himself is meek. He blesses the meek, declaring that they shall inherit the earth, and he leads the way. Meek to the death, he inherits all things as his reward (Philippians 2:9-11). And as for us - well, we are "co-heirs" with him, if we believe (Romans 8:17) - which isn't to say that we receive all that Jesus receives, but it does tell us that, in some manner which we cannot yet fully grasp, we will gain from that to which we have absolutely no right: His glorious inheritance.

So what then does it mean for us to be meek? Well, not to be wusses, that's for sure. Going to the Cross was just about the least wussy thing a human being could do - and that's exactly what Jesus did for us, much as it terrified him. But it was meek. If he had put himself on the pedestal that he deserved, he could have spat in Pilate's face, told Herod where to get off, shown the mocking soldiers who was really in charge. But he didn't.

If we want to know what meekness is, what humility is, let's start with Jesus: God in every way, yet humble; the creator of the universe letting His created subjects mock Him, torture Him, kill Him.

Is that the fruit of a "slave morality"? Look at meek Jesus, risen and exalted, then look at proud Friedrich Nietzsche, dead in despair. Tell me who was the slave.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

I don't understand half of what that means. I'm not even beginning to understand it. But I know where to begin it: Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Cross, and now in Heaven, meek but exalted, humble but acknowledged for who He is. And what a place that is to begin.