Blessed Are the Meek

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The sermon this morning is on the third beatitude. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. And that connection I would like to read for you, Psalm 149. Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song. His praise in the assembly of the godly. Let Israel be glad in his maker. Let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in his people. He adorns the humble with salvation. Let the godly exult in glory. Let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands. To execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples. To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron. To execute on them the judgment written. This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord. The word of the Lord. Today with this song, Psalm 149, we sing a new song a song of joy, of praise, of celebration. Praise the Lord, shouts the psalmist, both in the first and in the last line of today's psalm. All of Psalm 149 is an exuberant song of joy, of praise, of celebration. There's every reason for that. We read the Beatitudes. These blessings celebrate the baptized. They celebrate all saints. There's eight of these blessings. Eight speaks of the final Sabbath. Eight makes up the fullness of the church. Eight is the number of all saints. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Am I among the meek? We ask ourselves that question, don't we? Am I meek, gentle, lowly, humble, mild? Today we celebrate the baptized. We celebrate all saints. We celebrate the meek. Am I, are we among them? It's no sense fooling ourselves. We all know our own shortcomings, our irritations, grouchy moods, angry outbursts. Blessed are the meek. Am I? Are we? And yet, the Beatitudes are Beatitudes. Jesus is not accusing his disciples. He is blessing them. He is celebrating them. How do we know? Turn back for a moment with me to Psalm 149. Jesus is pretty much quoting the psalm. Verse 4, the Lord takes pleasure in his people. He adorns the humble with salvation. The humble, the meek. Same word Jesus uses. God adorns them with salvation. The psalm is a song of joy and celebration. Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song. Remember, the entire song from beginning to end is praise. There's one exception. That's verse 4. It doesn't give praise itself. It gives the reason for the praise. For, it says, for the Lord takes pleasure in his people. He adorns the humble, the meek, with salvation. Here, in this verse, the psalm tells us why we have reason for praise. God takes pleasure in us. Jesus' Beatitude, friends, is no different. He is talking about the baptized. He is talking about you and me. He's talking about all the saints. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Baptism joins us to the people of God. Baptism joins us to the humble and meek. Baptism joins us to what the psalm calls the assembly of the godly. Baptism joins us to the church. Me too, you ask? Am I among the meek? Will I inherit the earth? Will he adorn me with salvation? Well, let's ask it again. Who are the meek? Who is Jesus talking about? Jesus himself is the King who, it says in chapter 21 of Matthew, Jesus is the King who comes to us humble, meek, mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. That is our King. Humble, meek, mounted on a donkey. Listen also to Jesus' words from chapter 11. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle, meek, and lowly in heart. Jesus is talking about himself. The King is the one who is truly meek. This King is the one who inherits the earth. Blessed are the meek, for they, or rather he, shall inherit the earth. You see what's happening. When you're baptized, God doesn't leave you standing out in the cold by yourself. When you're baptizing, you are joining Jesus. You put on Christ. You are clothed with his meekness. That is why the Beatitudes really are Beatitudes. We are blessed because we are meek and we will inherit the earth. Our meekness, in some ways, may be far from that of Christ. And yet, when the old frustrations come up, anger is just around the corner. He pulls us. He draws us deeper into himself. And he says, blessed are you, for I give you a share in my meekness. I'm going to ask one more time. Who is it that is meek? And so, who is it that is blessed or happy? The entire tradition tells us God himself is true happiness, true blessedness. And so, that is the third answer to the question of who are the meek. Yes, you and I, the baptized, all the saints, we are the ones who are meek. And yes, Jesus, our King, meek and mounted on a donkey, he is the one who is meek. But if that is true, then God himself is meek. After all, isn't Jesus the self-revelation of God? Blessedness, happiness, points us to God. Why? Because meekness is His name. Meekness is who He is. If it is not just we, too bad. If it is not just we, but if it is also God Himself who is meek, then what does that mean? Will He, the eternal God, inherit? Will He get the promise that Jesus holds out? Isn't everything always already His? Isn't heaven His throne and the earth, isn't it His footstool? How can He inherit the earth? Yet, that is the language of Scripture. For there is that other new song, that other song of praise and celebration. Ephesians 1, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christ shouts the Apostle. And as He winds His way through His thanksgiving song, He comes to verse 18, where He says, the riches of God's glorious inheritance in the saints. Now, you have to pause and let those words sink in. St. Paul doesn't talk here about our glorious inheritance in God. He speaks of God's glorious inheritance in the saints. The baptized, the saints, the meek, you and I. God inherits us. The Lord takes pleasure in His inheritance. Saints, if you're like me, you're often hard on yourself. You don't see much meekness in yourself. You can't imagine God would think of you as His glorious inheritance. Yet, that is what the psalmist says. The Lord takes pleasure in His people. He adorns the humble with salvation. You see the never-ending cycle of God's self-giving love? God gives us a share in His own meekness, the meekness of Christ. We have no greater blessing, no richer inheritance than the joyful share in His meekness. When God sees that, when He recognizes His meekness in us, He says, I have no greater blessing, no richer inheritance than this joyful inheritance in the saints. Meekness makes the world go round. Amen.