This Sunday we continue the sermon series based on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. The Beatitudes are the most significant moral teaching in all the New Testament, contextualizing the teaching of the Old Testament for the church in the age of Grace. Sunday we will look at the third Beatitude , “Blessed are the meek.” Meekness is not a popular character trait in the secular world view. We live in a “look at me world” which has no room for meekness and it is often equated with weakness as coined in the phrase “nice guys finish last.” As with all of Jesus’s moral teaching, the Kingdom world view is the opposite of secular society. Meekness addresses complex issues like how should we respond when we are wronged or our rights have been violated? When should we exert the power we have and what brings true and lasting justice?

This has been a troubling week on several fronts for our nation and for our Baptist denomination.  Those who were responsible for violence against others exercised a gross abuse of the power they had. It is safe to say if they were people of meekness we would not be grieving the loss of life and the loss of innocence. Jesus is the ultimate example of meekness: he held the power of heaven, and yet for our sake he willingly surrendered his life so others could be restored to the Father. Quite frankly, what our world needs  is more political leaders, business owners, spritual leaders and parents that demonstrate meekness in how they deal wth others.

The promise Jesus gives to those who are meek is an inheritance. And who doesn’t get excited about receiving an inheritance! But I’ll save what that inheritance is for Sunday. Join us this Sunday as we consider Meekness in a Look At Me World.

We live in a world where we don’t like to admit to or even recognize that we have expereinced a loss of some kind. Our general response when asked “how are you today” is the simeple “good” even when things are not.  We are conditioned to always put the best foot forward and in so doing we run the risk of denying our emotions which leads to all kinds of difficulties. From a casual glance, the statement “Blessed are those who mourn” can seem trite and even insensitive but nothing could be further from the truth. In this beatitude the word “mourn” is an active verb inviting us to recognize our feelings when we expereince a loss of some kind. God created us with emotions and Jesus is promissing a blessing to those that are willing to acknowledge and process those emotions in a godly way.

In the Old Testament there is a genre of literature called the Lament. It generally goes like this: something bad happened to me, so I feel bad, so I question God why this happened, and God anwsers me with the assurance of His loving care for me. We don’t talk much about Laments in churches today – but we need to. There is also a genre of music you may be more familar with that is based on the same ideas as a Lament: The Blues. Most Blues songs go like this: something bad happened and I’m feeling bad so I’m going to do something different in my life. When Jesus pronounces a blessing for those who mourn, for those who actively deal with their emotions in a godly way, he is really inviting us to sing the Blues. But unlike the Blues we are not left on our own to find a resolution. Christ promises that those who mourn will be comforted. The word comforted is referring to the supernatural and is loaded with meaning, but we will leave that for Sunday morning.  Join us this Sunday as we learn to sing the Blues Jesus style.