The Meek, Gentle, Humble Servant
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
February 2, 2025
Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. This morning at the Meetinghouse we are celebrating Scout Sunday. You will hear that referenced in this message. As well, we are continuing our exploration of the Beatitudes with Matthew 5:5 from the New Revised Standard Version.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
To begin our third Beatitude, I need to start with a little Greek lesson. The reason being is that the word that is translated as “meek” in our text for today is a loaded word in the New Testament. Often Greek words have multiple meanings and thus it can be complicated when translating them.
The Greek word in our text is praus.
Interestingly, it only appears three times in the entire New Testament.
· Here our New Revised Standard Version translates it as “meek.”
· In Matthew 21:5 it is translated as “humble.”
· And in 1 Peter 3:4, just to cover all ours bases, it is translated using the English word “gentle”.
Just to make my point, author Christopher Page checked 26 English translations of our Beatitude for today, Matthew 5:5:
· 14 translate praus as “meek,”
· 8 use the English word “humble” and
· 4 use “gentle”.
Even though these three descriptors: meek, humble, and gentle could easily take us in different directions, I think a blend of these words could help us understand who Jesus is saying is blessed in our text for today.
To help us make this more real, I want you to take a moment and think of a person in your life who you would describe as meek, humble, and gentle. These are individuals who exhibit qualities like kindness, self-control, a willingness to listen and consider others, and a lack of self-importance, often displaying a calm and patient demeanor even when faced with challenges, essentially demonstrating strength through humility rather than aggression; they prioritize the well-being of others over their own desires.
· Does someone in your life come to mind?
· What has that person meant to you?
· How have they impacted your life?
For me, it was my grandfather. I have talked about him before in a message last year when I shared one of his paintings in worship. He was not only gentle, meek, and humble, but his life exuded these qualities and offered an example for others to follow. He was what some, including myself, would describe as a “gentle leader.”
Part of my doctoral program in leadership and spiritual formation at a Quaker University had me exploring, “Gentle Leadership.” Some Quakers have a hard time embracing the concept of “leadership,” but I find they are more open if we label it “gentle leadership” because of how it is described. Also, out of all the leadership styles, “gentle leadership” consistently has found proven success, and some of the best long term affects.
This is because “gentle leaders” incorporate, encourage and model patience, open communication, flexibility, supportive environments, give feedback, are consistent in their endeavors, all while focusing on the effects they are having on future generations. This then encourages creativity and innovation, builds trust, and motivates one to make a difference in their world.
People who are considered “gentle leaders” are individuals like Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandella, Desmond Tutu, The Dhali Lama, Jane Goodall, President Jimmy Carter, and the list could go on.
But if we polled Americans currently, “gentle leadership” probably would not be the desired choice of much of our country. Actually, we might quickly find that a majority of people in America consider “gentle leaders” to be the most unlikely to “take possession or inherit the earth” (as it says in our text for today) and they probably would consider them weak and unfavorable.
Sadly, most American models of leadership are based on a take-charge vision. We seek, promote, and even vote for leaders who show that they are in control and can “kick butt” when necessary. Many even desire leaders who are aggressive and have high energy and iron self-discipline.
In American, the gentle people are seldom put in charge of things. And if we do somehow find ourselves with a gentle leader – people often question their motives or wonder if they really are or were a good leader in the first place.
Someone who comes to mind, whose gentle leadership at one time was questioned but has now become his legacy, is the late Jimmy Carter. If you took a moment to watch his funeral, Jimmy’s grandson James Carter actually reads the Beatitudes from Matthew at his service - because many said President Carter embodied them in his life. I would agree with them.
Up there with my grandfather, I think I would put Jimmy Carter on my list of people whose example of gentle and servant leadership should be emulated. It seems appropriate to talk about Jimmy Carter’s legacy today as he was both a scoutmaster and the recipient of the Boy Scouts of America, Silver Buffalo Award, scouting’s highest commendation. President Carter once said,
“I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God's standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love.”
He also said,
“To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others."
What Jimmy describes are the attitudes of the beatitudes. Yet, I believe it also describes well the life of the “gentle leader.”
The term “Gentle Leadership” was coined by author James Hunter in his book “The Servant Leader.” Hunter believes the best way to lead is to serve those who you are leading. This puts the needs of your community, team, country before your own and shows them the respect that they deserve. That was, hands down, the life of Jimmy Carter and many of the others I mentioned earlier.
But let’s move away from just leadership and bring it into daily life. When Richard Rohr talks about this Beatitude he says,
“Blessed are the gentle [or the meek, humble, non-violent, unassuming]: they shall have the earth as inheritance.”
That is even more descriptive and speaks to us as non-violent Quakers.
But I think we need to return to the Greek once again. A literal rendering of the Greek (praüs) is "To Be Tamed." It is "power under control.” What this means is that the concept of meekness must have strength combined with the above translations.
Each of the scholars I looked at pointed out and were adamant that none of those terms should convey the idea of weakness in our minds. Meek is not weak. Too often that is how our world sees it, but not for Jesus.
Meekness is strength in submission, strength expressed in gentleness, strength expressed in humility, strength that yields, strength that is forbearing, and strength that is gracious. If you take strength out of it, you do not have meekness.
Some may consider these paradoxes, but I find them an excellent way to describe the essence of being a Quaker.
Quakers strive to be meek, gentle, humble, non-violent, and even unassuming and it is our strength because we put ourselves in submission to the Spirit’s leading. Our strength of being meek is manifest in each of our testimonies or S.P.I.C.E.S.
· Meekness made manifest in Simplicity frees us to live in harmony and alignment with the Spirit’s purposes.
· Meekness made manifest in Peace fosters effective communication and alternatives to violence.
· Meekness made manifest in Integrity allows one’s outer life to reflect the inward journey.
· Meekness made manifest in Community teaches respect for everyone and the idea that everyone has a piece of the truth.
· Meekness made manifest in Equality respects and reflects a broad, inclusive spectrum of the Kingdom of God.
· Meekness made manifest in Stewardship instills a sense of personal and social responsibility and service to environmental, economic, and societal sustainability.
Is it any wonder why Jesus says it will be the meek who inherit the earth?
This is not the world’s view of meekness, gentleness, humility, but it is the backbone, the core of our strength as Friends.
So, let’s end there this week, And take some time to center ourselves around these thoughts. To help you reflect on meekness, I have prepared the following queries:
1. What “gentle leader” in my life do I need to reach out to and thank this week?
2. How am I serving my neighbors through meek, gentle, humble, non-violent, and unassuming ways?
3. How will I embrace meekness, the strength in submission, in my daily life this week?