November 2005

The Sermon on the Mount comes at the beginning of the mission of Jesus. It opens with the beatitudes. The third of the eight beatitudes is being proposed to us this month:

«Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land»

What does it mean to be meek? It means that we do not become irritated in the face of evil, that we do not allow ourselves to be carried away by violent emotions. Meek persons know how to control and curb their reactions, especially bursts of temper and anger. Meekness, however, has nothing to do with weakness or fear. It is not passive consent to evil or conspiracy. On the contrary, it requires great will power to replace feelings of resentment and revenge with a firm and calm attitude of respect for others.
With the beatitude of meekness, Jesus is proposing a new kind of challenge: turn the other cheek, do good to those who mistreat you, and give your tunic to the one who wants your cloak. Meekness is able to win over evil by doing good, and to those who live it, Jesus makes a great promise:

«… they will inherit the land»

The promise of land brings to mind another homeland, that which Jesus, in the first and last beatitudes, calls “the kingdom of heaven”: the life of communion with God, the fullness of life that will never end.
Those who live meekness are blessed even now, because even now they experience the possibility of changing the world around them, especially by changing how they relate to other people. In a society often ruled by violence, arrogance and injustice, they become a “sign of contradiction” and radiate justice, understanding, tolerance, gentleness and esteem for others.
While the meek are working to build up a society that is more just and more in tune with the Gospel, they are also preparing themselves to inherit the kingdom of heaven and to live “in a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1).

«Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land»

To know how to live this Word of Life it would be enough to look at the way Jesus lived, he who said: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). In him meekness appears as a quality of love. And true love, which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts, is in fact “joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22).
Yes, whoever loves is not agitated, is not unduly hasty, does not offend, does not hurt others.
Those who love control themselves and are gentle, meek and patient.
The “art of loving” is found everywhere in the Gospel. Many children have learned this art. I know that they play with a special cube that they call the “cube of love.” Each side of this cube has a phrase written on it suggesting a way to love following Jesus’ example: to love everyone, to love one another, to be the first in loving, to share the other’s joy or hurt, to love Jesus in the other, and to love our enemies. At the beginning of the day they roll the cube [like rolling dice] and they try to put into practice the phrase that turns up. Then they share their experiences on how they tried to do so.
Francis is a three-year-old boy who lives in Caracas, Venezuela. One day his father came home quite upset because he had had an argument with a colleague at work. He told his wife about it and she too became angry with that colleague. Francis went into his room and came back with the cube. “Roll the cube of love!” he told his parents. They rolled it together. “Love your enemy” turned up. His parents knew what they had to do.
If we stop to think about it, we will realize that there are people who live exemplary meekness in their daily life. Through their meekness, great figures who have departed from this earthly life—John Paul II, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Frere Roger Schutz, for example—made a tremendous difference in society and in history, and they continue to urge us along in our journey.

Chiara Lubich