Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to His beloved is that of overcoming Self. –St Francis

Lift up your heads, O gates,

And be lifted up, ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:7

And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. Esther 5:11

God blesses those who are humble,

    for they will inherit the whole earth. Matthew 5:5

Ah, one realizes the beauty of pilgrimage or journeys out into the desert and why  such a passage has been part of spiritual passages around the world, throughout time.

How to die to Self, in order to find Life, step by step.

Sifting wheat, as in the great empty, harvested fields I am walking through.

Stillness to hear His gentle rebukes. 

And the soaring lilt of a grateful heart.

And walking (sort of, as I wander away from the directing orange arrows or red and white naturalist bars with distracted frequency) the path of a faithful follower of Christ, Francis, one considers the impact, the fruit of a life held loosely, in humility and a welcoming love who noticed Jesus in all that He created. 

Indeed, indeed he inherited the earth.

When it is all said and done

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

Here Jesus is simply quoting from Psalm 37, “the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” And because “meek” is the sort of word that we really don’t use much these days as a character trait, especially using it to describe winners and not losers, it is helpful to review the descriptors David lays out.  Actually, in this Psalm meekness is equated with righteousness, which makes sense.  The focus of a meek person is The LORD and what is good, and not what is Me.  

The meek trust in the LORD and do good.

The meek befriend faithfulness.

The meek delight in the LORD.

The meek commit their way to the LORD.

The meek wait patiently for are still before the LORD who will act.

The meek fret not.

The meek refrain from anger and refrain from wrath.

The meek give and are ever lending generously.

The meek are people of peace.

And when the dust settles, that is who remains. The meek are left standing. It is not coincidental that the meek action verbs sound a lot like love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Because when the dust settles, that is what remains: love, joy, peace.  And the greatest of these is love.

From a Sturdy Down-low Position

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Matthew 5:5

Meekness (gentleness, humility, consideration, courtesy) is applying the poverty of spirit and repentance to people too.  It is one thing to humble oneself in the sight of the LORD, it is another step to walk humbly in and around and about people- who first of all are very tangible and in-my-face and second of all, often do not respond with grace to my baby steps of meekness. 

Oddly enough, David Brooks wrote about meek politicians today in his New York Times editorial.  He says that some of these sorts quietly walk the halls of power.  Citing Trollope he says, “They are reserved, prudent and scrupulous.  They immerse themselves in dull practical questions like, say, converting the currency system.” 

Meek is one of those words quietly at work in the heart of some of the great how-to-live verses: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, said Christ. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

And is part of the definition of wisdom: Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth... This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits.

Funny, I just got an image of the girls playing basketball in high school.  All of their coaches were really into getting them to bend their knees, get down low.  This gave them not only agility to make quick reactions, but also, bent knees and a down-low position made it very difficult for others to knock you about, there is a sturdiness about the position.  You are still there at the end of the game.  

Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 

Inherit the earth.