What in the world is "meek?" Part 2

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

What in the world does Meek mean? The word meek is not a word I use in my daily life. We always read the beatitudes during our Midday Prayer, and when we read meek, I almost always want to pause and research what it means. Most of the other words I use or have seen before in the beatitudes, but meek is one that makes me stop and have to think.

In an effort to try and understand Jesus and what he is communicating, I started doing some research on the word meek. I found it fascinating and thought I would share what I have found so far. We will have a three-part blog relating to the word meek. So welcome to part two of the blog series on the word meek.

What does it mean to be meek? Those who are meek are unimportant according to society and do not have societal power. The power dynamic of being meek is interesting. At first that means they have no way to change anything. But that doesn't fit with the biblical usage of this word. Moses and Jesus are described as meek. Two individuals that we do not see as powerless. Maybe a better perspective on power is to understand it from a powerful perspective. Those in power in society do not view the meek as people who have power. The power of the meek comes from their radical trust in God and God's justice.

A meek person is seen as unimportant and powerless by those in authority and society. However, they see the world's injustice, mourn the reality and state of the world, and know they are not in positions of power to bring about the change needed to flip the world upside down. Yet, the meek trust that God does see the injustice, weeps alongside the meek, and will overturn the world to bring about justice, peace, and wholeness. Despite the meek not being able to change the world on a large scale, we see the meek being the ones who comfort those who mourn and are the peacemakers. The meek are the ones that, despite what little they have, are those who are generous in giving.

The meek are very interesting because of what they can do. The way I see it, the meek are the grassroots movement. The meek are the community organizers in the sense that they are often overlooked but have a profound impact on local communities. When there is enough grassroots movement, it can impact the bigger structures and powers of society. I find a resinating presence between meek and grassroots that they are seemingly not taken seriously by the larger powers, but seem to impact the communities.

Here are two questions to end on.

Do you identify as with the meek?

If not, who do you view as the meek in your community or nation?