Lenten Devotional – Thurs, Mar 4: MEEK
Meek: does this sound like a blessed condition? Matthew’s author used the Greek word praus. It might convey, as Brian Stoffregen writes, the “positive sense of ‘humble’ or ‘gentle’” or it might carry a more negative connotation such “‘humiliated’ … ‘walked on’ … ‘doormats’ … ‘powerless.’” In Hebrew scriptures, these people would be called anawim. The scholar Powell writes that the meek are the “ones who have not been given their share of the earth. They have been denied access to the world’s resources and have not had opportunity to enjoy the creation that God intended for all people.”
In this understanding, the meek include those who, without choice, are dispossessed and disenfranchised. They lack representation and authority. They are unable to hold onto land, resources or struggle to gain access to channels of influence and power.
Additionally, Martha Stortz writes that ‘Biblical meekness is tempered strength, power deliberately held in check.’ According to John Stott, ‘the Greek adjective translated “meek,” means “gentle,” “humble,” “considerate,” “courteous,” and therefore exercising the self-control without which these qualities would be impossible.’
In other words, the meek are people who are gentle and kind, and also exercise self-discipline about when and how they respond to unjust situations. They’re capable of righteous anger, but they restrain themselves unless the issue demands advocacy to be rectified or addressed.
According to some commentators, the meek, as defined by Biblical context, opt for strategies of nonviolence. Examples of such people include Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. If we point to communities that adopt such practices, we might consider the Amish communities for their principles of nonviolence. They may be meek, and yet they are also strong and resilient.
Whether dispossessed or deliberately soft-spoken and courteous, do we often notice or listen to such folks? Christ’s Beatitude is pointing us toward this part of the population and reminding us that these are neighbors with insights to offer and gifts to share. By offering a blessing, Christ confirms their place within the community.
Do you identify as humble or meek? In what way? — Gail
You are meek
A trait few seek
Mistaking it for weak
― Lidia Longorio
He never complained. He seemed to have no instinct for the making much of oneself that complaining requires. ― Wendell Berry
Men sometimes speak as if humility and meekness would rob us of what is noble and bold and manlike. O that all would believe that this is the nobility of the kingdom of heaven, that this is the royal spirit that the King of heaven displayed, that this is Godlike, to humble oneself, to become the servant of all! ― Andrew Murray
The least known among the virtues and also the most misunderstood is the virtue of humility. Yet, it is the very groundwork of Christianity. Humility is a grace of the soul that cannot be expressed in words and is only known by experience. It is an unspeakable treasure of God, and only can be called the gift of God. “Learn,” He said, not from angels, not from men, not from books; but learn from My presence, light, and action within you, “that I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls”. ― William Bernard Ullathorne
One of the best exercises in meekness we can perform is when the subject Is in ourselves. We must not fret over our own imperfections. Although reason requires that we must be displeased and sorry whenever we commit a fault we must refrain from bitter, gloomy, spiteful, and emotional displeasure. Many people are greatly at fault in this way. When overcome by anger they become angry at being angry, disturbed at being disturbed and vexed at being vexed. By such means they keep their hearts drenched and steeped in passion. ― Francis de Sale
Challenge or Question: Have you ever used a nonviolent response to an unjust situation? Was your response to a personal situation or a societal one? What strategy did you use? How did it work? What other strategies might you try?
Lenten Devotional – Wed, Mar 3: COMFORT
God promises comfort for those who are heartbroken. The simplest understanding of consolation is that people will regain the capacity to experience healing and joy. Interpreters also assert that comfort will come within the anticipation of being forgiven and restored to a more healthy and whole self, and reconciled to Godself.
Sometimes our comfort comes in a spiritual form. We regain a sense of being connected to something larger than ourselves. Perhaps we even experience a reassuring presence, or know a wave of calm and peace, though not always. Yet as humans, we eventually heal.
As mentioned in prior reflections, this Beatitude doesn’t promise miracles that will address people’s suffering directly, at least in ways that will remove the causes and circumstances. Yet it suggests that mourning and grief have a place in the human experience, alongside joy and delight. People heal by becoming fully being present to and experiencing their feelings and thoughts. As humans, we learn and cope best by embracing the breadth of our emotions.
God remains faithfully present to God’s people, and continually offers the resources to become active partners in restoring and renewing the world that humans have also hurt. As St Teresa of Avila so eloquently reminds us, we are Christ’s hands and feet in the world now. Comfort will come, often, by the ways we are present to each other. We share our spiritual and emotional journeys and find strength and peace along the way. Just as we are designed for joy, we are also created to grow from the difficult experiences of sorrow, fear, and anger. As the Psalms say, we may weep in the night, but joy will come in the morning. — Rev Gail
Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always. — Hippocrates
I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort where we overlap. — Ani DiFranco
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Christ has no body now but yours … Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. —
St Teresa of Avila
Challenge or Question: Could you take a moment to simply acknowledge what you need? What hurts in your life or needs mending? Then perhaps you can say, what would give you comfort? What would give you comfort? Can you do something for yourself or someone else to ease some pain, loneliness or sorrow today? A call, walk, or visit? A note or cup of coffee?
Lenten Devotional – Tue, Mar 2: MOURN
Tue, Mar 2: MOURN
At first pass, in English, this sounds like a blessing for the bereaved. As if it was meant only those who are grieving. Yet it encompasses more.
All by itself, grief is a defining human experience. People mourn for those who have died. According to Maxie Dunnam and Kimberly Dunnam Reisman,“Sorrow and tears are part of life. The ability to cry is a gift from God. … The Bible talks about all kinds of sorrow and mourning, and it certainly makes the case that weeping and mourning are part of life. In fact, the Bible uses twenty Hebrew words and thirteen Greek words to express sadness and grief. Mourning is a natural human response.”
Yet translators say that this blessing’s intention covers a broader human experience. Perhaps we can also expand this blessing to those with mental health challenges such as depression or other conditions such as traum and loss. It embraces the broken-hearted or sorrowful.
Sometimes we express personal loss. Other times it’s societal.
Another scholar, named Boring, says those who mourn fall into the category of people who lament. Boring writes, ‘they lament the present condition of God’s people and God’s program in the world.’ They are folks dissatisfied with the current conditions of the world. They are restless, and cry out against the human experience of injustice and oppression, illness and suffering. They long for the ideals of the kingdom of heaven to unfold. They’re advocating and actively working toward transformation.
We are in holy company when we mourn. Martha Stortz summarizes the grief shown in the life of Christ as both personal and societal. “Jesus tears over the loss of a dear friend, the fate of a great city, and his own impending death establish his humanity. He knows the full range of human experience, and the comfort he offers comes from the depths of suffering.”
Then comes the word of teachers such as Rumi and the wisdom of our own Christian philosophers and guides from St John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila to CS Lewis, Joan Chittister, and Richard Rohr. They remind us to open the door to our emotional and psychological houses, and allow grief and pain to enter our hearts. Give them space. Work with them. Learn from them.
How many ways does this Beatitude name times in your life? — Rev Gail
Sorrow prepares you for joy.
It violently sweeps everything out of your house,
so that new joy can find space to enter.
It shakes the yellow leaves
from the bough of your heart,
so that fresh, green leaves
can grow in their place.
It pulls up the rotten roots,
so that new roots hidden beneath
have room to grow.
Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart,
far better things will take their place.
― Rumi
In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares. The older have learned to ever expect it. I am anxious to afford some alleviation of your present distress. Perfect relief is not possible, except with time. You cannot now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only to believe it … ― Abraham Lincoln
Some people, they can’t just move on, you know, mourn and cry and be done with it. Or at least seem to be. But for me… I don’t know. I didn’t want to fix it, to forget. It wasn’t something that was broken. It’s just…something that happened. And like that hole, I’m just finding ways, every day, of working around it. Respecting and remembering and getting on at the same time. ― Sarah Dessen
Everyone keeps telling me that time heals all wounds, but no one can tell me what I’m supposed to do right now. Right now I can’t sleep. It’s right now that I can’t eat. … Right now all I seem to do is cry. I know all about time and wounds healing, but even if I had all the time in the world, I still don’t know what to do with all this hurt right now. ― Nina Guilbeau
Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break. ― William Shakespeare
Unless you have been very, very lucky, you have undoubtedly experienced events in your life that have made you cry. So unless you have been very, very lucky, you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit. ― Lemony Snicket
Someday you’re gonna look back on this moment of your life … You’ll see that you were in mourning and your heart was broken, but your life was changing … ― Elizabeth Gilbert
Challenge or Question: How has grief or sorrow been a teacher in your life? What have you learned from it? Consider writing a letter — in a notebook or journal — to someone whom you’re missing or grieving or about an issue that is breaking your heart.
Lenten Devotional – Thurs, Mar 11: FILLED
As he talked to the people of his time, Jesus used imagery that helped them identify with the conditions of humanity: those who would receive the blessing. Hunger. Thirst. The same metaphors translate well for modern folks.
We understand such deep and essential needs. Authors of the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Biblical commentaries write about this Beatitude by including it among the three earlier ones that addressed being poor in spirit, mournful, and meek. These scholars say that those who receive the first four blessings are “conscious of their need of salvation” and that they do not yet act as if they are “possessed of it.”
They’re metaphorically empty. And they know it. And somehow, this need or ‘lack’ is always creating space for the presence of God in their lives.
Folks who are about to be ‘filled’ are among those in the early stages of the twelve-step recovery model: a helpful way to compare the journey through the Beatitudes. They’re in need. They’ve admitted to that need. They’ve named the nature of their issues and challenges. They have handed over their lives and wellbeing to redemptive relationships, such as Godself. They long for help. They have turned themselves toward God for that help.
If we’re longing for a healthy and sustainable relationship with Godself, mirrored in our self-care and ethical connections to other people, then the answer to our desire is to experience a wholeness of connection that satisfies what seems missing in our lives. That’s what being ‘filled’ means. That’s the blessing.
It’s an easy metaphor to understand. Harder to live out.
Think of this desire as life-threatening. As vital as lack of food or water would be.
You need to be filled. Fulfilled. The promise of the Beatitude is that the need is met. More than met, by forming a relationship with Godself.
Our desire to be in relationship with God, when fulfilled, is satisfied in such a way that it may remain sated. It continually renews wellbeing. We’ll probably have relapses. Bumps along the way.
Yet our holistic connection to God restores equilibrium. In such conditions, we can care for ourselves and others, because we are anchored in a bond with Godself.
Of course, the human experience, named at the start of the blessing, is that we’re constantly wanting. We start out empty: devouring and processing whatever we can imbibe. In a sense, that’s how we learn.
Even if we want good, healthy, ethical conditions and outcomes and connections, we’re on the empty end of the equation, wishing for fulfillment. And we’re perpetually out of balance, we cannot stand alone: we need to be in relationship.
Simply wanting to be connected to God turns us in a life-affirming direction. It won’t be easy or absolute. The state of reaching toward God, as God leans close to meet us where we are, remains part of our journey. Apparently, we must exercise the option to say yes, over and over.
While we’re always invited to belong to God, the choice remains ours. The opportunity to say yes — or not — is within our power. So the only one who gets in the way of the relationship with God is us and our human experience.
God always draws close. Pursues us. Never backs down. Never gives up. Always shows up. ANd that presence … that’s what fulfills. And fills. — Rev Gail
It’s emptiness, not fullness, that Jesus blesses. — John Koessler
Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living? — Bob Marley
Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied. — Henry George
To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he that increaseth his riches, increaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not. — Akhenaton
You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried. If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set high goals, you don’t branch out, you don’t try – you don’t take the risk. — Rosalynn Carter
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. — John Piper
Challenge or Question: When do you feel that you are enough? How does that reflect on your connection to Godself? What gifts have you received that allow you to experience that feeling of contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction, and being enough?
This week’s Lenten Fast suggestion: Tips to Use Less Plastic
From: THE UCC’s Environmental Justice Mission Group
Check out these easy ways you can start reducing your waste in your everyday life! Did you know that of the 30 million tons of plastic waste generated in the US in 2009, only 7 percent was recovered for recycling?
Here are 17 ways to reduce your plastic waste:
- Stop using plastic straws, even in restaurants. If a straw is a must, purchase a reusable stainless steel or glass straw
- Use a reusable produce bag. A single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade. Purchase or make your own reusable produce bag and be sure to wash them often!
- Give up gum. Gum is made of a synthetic rubber, aka plastic.
- Buy boxes instead of bottles. Often, products like laundry detergent come in cardboard which is more easily recycled than plastic.
- Purchase food, like cereal, pasta, and rice from bulk bins and fill a reusable bag or container. You save money and unnecessary packaging.
- Reuse containers for storing leftovers or shopping in bulk.
- Use a reusable bottle or mug for your beverages, even when ordering from a to-go shop
- Bring your own container for take-out or your restaurant doggy-bag since many restaurants use styrofoam.
- Use matches instead of disposable plastic lighters or invest in a refillable metal lighter.
- Avoid buying frozen foods because their packaging is mostly plastic. Even those that appear to be cardboard are coated in a thin layer of plastic. Plus you’ll be eating fewer processed foods!
- Don’t use plasticware at home and be sure to request restaurants do not pack them in your take-out box.
- Ask your local grocer to take your plastic containers (for berries, tomatoes, etc.) back. If you shop at a farmers market they can refill it for you.
- The EPA estimates that 7.6 billion pounds of disposable diapers are discarded in the US each year. Use cloth diapers to reduce your baby’s carbon footprint and save money.
- Make fresh squeezed juice or eat fruit instead of buying juice in plastic bottles. It’s healthier and better for the environment.
- Make your own cleaning products that will be less toxic and eliminate the need for multiple plastic bottles of cleaner.
- Pack your lunch in reusable containers and bags. Also, opt for fresh fruits and veggies and bulk items instead of products that come in single serving cups.
- Use a razor with replaceable blades instead of a disposable razor.
Trying even one or two of these ideas can lead to good habits that will last well beyond Lent!