“Meek Christians”

Text of a chapel sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Paul D. Numrich at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, November 11, 2004

I

“What kind of Christian leaders are you producing there at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus?”  This question comes to us from outside the seminaries.  It begs a larger question: “What kind of Christians do we need today filling both pulpit and pew?”  We have had our share of opinion polls in the last election.  What answer would we get to this larger question if we polled Christians exiting our churches on Sunday morning?

My answer draws upon one New Testament word group, perhaps surprising—but only to those who have forgotten the radical Gospel.  The New Testament proclaims that we need meek Christians today as much as any time in Christian history.

II

Let us begin with our Lord and Teacher, for we are but his disciples.  What kind of Master do we serve?

We serve a Master who imposes a kind yoke and a light burden, who bids us to come to him and find rest from our labors, to “learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart” (Mt. 11:29).[1]  What kind of Master is this!

We serve a Master who chose a donkey as his royal mount when entering Jerusalem as her King on Palm Sunday, fulfilling prophecy with a surprising connection to the Messiah (Mt. 21:5, cf. Zech. 9:9).

We serve a Master who included the meek in his Beatitudes: “Happy are those who have been humbled, for they will inherit the earth” (Mt. 5:5).

We serve a meek Master, a complete contradiction in ordinary terms!

You know about the WWJD trend today?  I think we should add an “M” in the middle of it: WWMJD—What Would Meek Jesus Do?  We serve a meek Master.

III

What kind of Christians filled the early Church’s pews and led those congregations?  If we read our New Testaments carefully, it was a mix of the meek and the un-meek.  Not quite sheep and goats, but close.

The Pauline literature provides a Real World picture of the early Christian community.  “I . . . appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ,” Paul pleads with his most difficult spiritual children in Corinth (2 Cor. 10:1).  Which would you like better? he writes to the same unruly lot in another place, would you like me to come to town with a whip or with a gentle heart (1 Cor. 4:21)?  Let me ask you, Which would you prefer from your founding pastor?

We find long lists of the marks of a Spirit-filled life in these epistles, like our responsive reading this morning: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-3).

That list follows an equally long list of what Paul calls “the works of the flesh,” which he finds “obvious,” including debauchery, hatred, strife, jealousy, selfish ambition, factions, envy, “and the like.”  Why were these “works of the flesh” so obvious to Paul?  Because they were so common in his churches?

How is the fruit in your congregation?  I can put a Christian face to every one of these “works of the flesh.”  There are some Christians I wouldn’t turn my back on!

So what’s the Church to do?  Paul says to invoke the attitude of meek Christianity.  Set wrongdoers right, he counsels, but “in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal 6:1).  In the later Pauline letters we hear what a servant of the Lord should be like: “It is necessary that a servant of [the] Lord not be quarrelsome but be gentle to all, skilled in teaching, patient even in the midst of evil, in meekness instructing those who oppose [you] . . . ” (2 Tim. 2:24f).  The faithful are reminded “to blaspheme no one, to be peaceable, gracious, showing complete gentleness toward all people” (Titus 3:2).

This teaching is found in other New Testament writers as well.  “Who among you is the wise and understanding person?” asks James.  “Let him demonstrate by fine conduct his deeds [done] in the humility that stems from wisdom” (Jas. 3:13).

What kind of Christians have we always needed?  Sixteen times we hear the New Testament refrain: Give us meek Christians!

IV

What kind of Christians do we need in interfaith relations today?

I care more about the attitude Christians adopt in their interfaith encounters than their motivations.  Christians have multiple motivations, but they can all adopt a meek attitude.

I find at least two kinds of Christians in interfaith relations: On the one hand, those who count Christian truth as their primary concern; on the other hand, those who don’t.  On the one hand, those who seek to save non-Christian souls; on the other hand, those who seek other things (like interfaith harmony, cooperation, social justice).  On the one hand, those who dialogue in order to bring others into the Christian fold; on the other hand, those who dialogue without salvation on their minds.

Whatever position we take as Christians toward other religions, our manner can be meek toward their adherents.

V

Let us be clear: There is a kind of strength in meek Christianity, a strength that confounds ordinary thinking.  As one Biblical commentator explains, “the meekness manifested by the Lord and commended to the believer is the fruit of power.”[2]  Again, that strange Christian fruit!

This is meekness first before God, which then translates into meekness among others.  This is not weakness or helplessness in oneself, but rather a disregard of self, a renunciation of self-assertiveness and self-interest because one is completely humble and reverent before God.

With our eyes are fixed upon God, we cannot make too much of ourselves, and so we can relate to others with gentleness, mildness, and meekness, all English translations of the original Greek word group.

I often speak to Christian groups about world religions and America’s increasing religious diversity.  I tell them that non-Christians are watching you, to see how you act.  Think about that.  What do you want them to see?

VI

1 Peter 3:15-16 is my new mantra in interfaith relations: “… always be ready to answer anyone who demands of you an accounting of the hope that is yours.  Yet [do so] out of humility [meekness] and reverence. . . .”

This advice is applicable far beyond the original context of persecution of Christians.  It is part of a larger, consistent New Testament teaching on Christian attitude, as we have seen.  I first encountered this passage in a workshop on missions, where an elderly Quaker cited it as his guide in interfaith work.

I learned recently that this passage was invoked by another Peter, Peter the Venerable, abbot of the great Cluny monastery in the Middle Ages, in response to Islam.  Like many of his contemporaries, Peter the Venerable believed that Islam was a Christian heresy that needed refutation and correction.  Unlike most of his Christian contemporaries, Peter the Venerable approached Muslims with the New Testament Peter’s attitude: “I do not attack you,” he wrote, “as some of us often do, by arms, but by words, not by force, but by reason; not in hatred, but in love.”[3]  This is the only legitimate Christian “attack” on other religions, if you wish to use that word.

VII

The New Testament Peter reminds us of two important things.  First, the proper Christian attitude—humble, gentle, meek.  To be quite frank, some Christians have copped the wrong attitude in their dealings with non-Christians.  They may have Christian truth in hand, but they wield it like a weapon.

Note carefully the word “reverence” here, sometimes weakly translated “respect.”  Christian meekness has a far more profound basis than the principle of tolerance that promotes “respect for others.”  Tolerance and respect are taught to our school children.  I went to the Website of the public school district I attended as a child and sure enough one of its priorities is to “Foster an atmosphere, based on mutual respect, that is conducive to learning and promotes leadership throughout the school community.”

This is all fine and good, I’m generally in favor of tolerance and respect—they’re better than intolerance and disrespect.  But Peter talks about a reverence before God that makes us reverent among others.  Here is a deep Christian foundation for civil discourse.

The New Testament Peter also reminds us of the hope we have as Christians.  We should never forget about this.  Some Christians would never think of sharing their faith with adherents of other religions, even if asked.  In fact, some Christians wouldn’t know what to share because they have no clue about their Christian hope.  Thus, they have no Christian hope.

So, what kind of Christian leaders are you producing there at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus?  What kind of Christians do we need today filling pulpit and pew, and participating in interfaith encounters?

We need Christians who know the hope that is ours and are always ready to share that hope in meekness born of reverence.

Amen.

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