The true face of meekness

AS we begin the Holy Week and are made to contemplate the

passion, death and resurrection of Christ, let’s take advantage of

this liturgical celebration to re-appreciate the true value of

meekness by deepening our understanding of that virtue.

            Many of us are afraid to play the role of a meek character

in any situation we may find ourselves in. We often think meekness is

a defeatist trait, a weakness and a clear evidence of powerlessness

and helplessness.

            Well, it’s the virtue that figures prominently in the

passion and death of Christ that led to his resurrection. It’s the

virtue that helped win for us our redemption in Christ. It’s not at

all a trait of a defeated person, one who is weak, powerless and

helpless. On the contrary, it is the trait of a victor, of one who is

strong and powerful.

            In the first reading of Palm Sunday, for example, we are

made to see how we just have to present ourselves to all kinds of

suffering, following the example of the character highlighted in that

reading and who obviously prefigures Christ.

            “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those

who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and

spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I

have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to

shame.” (Is 50,6-7)

            That’s the attitude to have in life. Let’s not be afraid

of any kind of suffering. Relate all our suffering to the passion and

death of Christ and everything will just be fine, will just possess

great meaning and have a redemptive value.

            Yes, suffering will always be suffering. That’s why in the

responsorial psalm, we are reminded of what Christ said in this

regard: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Just the same,

Christ entrusted himself completely to the will of the Father who

wants him to pay for the sins of men by offering his life. That’s how

grave our sins are: they would require the God-made-man to repay for

them.

            Again in the second reading (Phil 2,6-11), we are reminded

of the extent to which Christ went to save us. He emptied himself

because being God, he became man to be with us, and he emptied himself

further precisely by offering his life on the cross for our sins. Then

we have the whole drama of the passion and death of Christ in the

gospel.

            We should never lose sight of the role of meekness in all

this. Christ did not fight back, not because he was weak, powerless

and helpless. He did not fight back because his passion and death is

the ransom for our recovery and reconciliation with God. He just had

to bear all our sins to save us!

            We should never miss the opportunity to unite whatever

suffering we have in this life with the passion and death of Christ.

That way, all our suffering would share in the redemptive value of

Christ’s passion and death.

            No wonder that Christ made meekness one of the beatitudes

promised to us. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the

earth.” (Mt 5,5) It is a trait that helps identify us with Christ.

            That is the true face of meekness. Authentic meekness is a

very positive, constructive and redemptive quality. So, whenever we

are insulted, misunderstood or mistreated, we should just bear it,

never failing to unite all this to the suffering of Christ.

            Whenever we are harmed in any way or treated unfairly, we

may have to seek redress but always with charity, never with bitter

zeal. To be truly meek is also about always thinking well of the

others and loving them truly, even if they are not nice to us, or are

offensive to us.

Deriving good from evil

WE have to strengthen our belief in this truth of our

faith. God is always in control of things no matter how much we mess

up with them. He allows evil to take place, since he respects our

freedom that can choose evil instead of the good. But he knows how to

turn the tables on evil.

            In the gospel of Saturday of the fifth week of Lent (Jn

11,45-56), we are told that the high priest Caiaphas “prophesied that

Jesus should die for the nation. And not only for the nation, but to

gather together in one the children of God, that were dispersed.” In

other words, the high priest plotted evil against Christ unaware that

his move would be working for the good of the children of God.

            This truth of our faith should always be vivid in our mind

and heart, especially when we find ourselves in difficult situations

or when we are going through some severe suffering and misfortune.

            As St. Paul said in his Letter to the Romans, “all things

work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called

according to his purpose.” (8,28) The secret is always in having a

strong faith and a vibrant love for God. It’s an incredible truth of

faith, of course, but it does not fail!

            In this regard, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has

this relevant point elucidated: “In time we can discover that God in

his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an

evil, even a moral evil, caused by his creatures.

            “’It was not you,’ said Joseph to his brothers, ‘who sent

me here, but God…You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good,

to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.’ (Gen 45,8;

50,20)

            “From the greatest moral evil ever committed—the rejection

and murder of God’s only Son, caused by the sins of all men—God, by

his grace that ‘abounded all the more,’ (cfr Rom 5,20) brought the

greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But

for all that, evil never becomes a good.” (CCC 312)

            Yes, God is always in control of things. But we just have

to be ready to tackle whatever possibilities the use and misuse of our

freedom can cause or occasion. That is why in the Book of

Ecclesiastes, we are already warned about this.

            “There a time for everything, and a season for every

activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a

time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to

laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” (3,1-4)

            We should just be sport about this condition of our life

here on earth. God is in control of everything even as he does not

exempt us from suffering the consequences of evil. As said earlier, he

allows evil to come due to his respect for our freedom, no matter how

badly we use it. He is never the cause, whether indirectly or much

less directly, of moral evil. But he allows it to happen for he can

derive a greater good from it.

            “Where sin has abounded,” St. Paul said, “God’s grace has

abounded even more.” (Rom 5,20) This truth of our faith has given rise

to that reassuring proverb that “God writes straight with crooked

lines.”

            This truth of our faith should always be in our mind even

as we make use of all human means to resolve whatever issues,

problems, crises, etc., we may have. We always have to use our common

sense, our sciences and technologies, our culture, etc. to resolve our

problems. But we should never leave God behind.

The word of eternal life

That’s what Christ clearly said. Of course, these are

words that have to be taken in faith. Otherwise, there is no way we

can take them seriously, especially nowadays when there are just so

many philosophies and ideologies that can sound more attractive and

seductive, especially if they show and give some immediate advantages

and conveniences.

            Let’s hope that we can repeat St. Peter’s words: “Lord, to

whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (Jn 6,68)

            We have to be wary of our tendency to be seduced by our

worldly cultures and systems. Let’s listen to the warning given by St.

Paul: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and

deceptive philosophy…” (Col 2,8)

            And he continues: “For in Christ all the fullness of the

Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to

fullness.” (2,9) This means that the fullness of our humanity can only

be achieved through our full identification with Christ who also made

it possible for us to attain it.

            How? Again St. Paul provides the answer: “In him (Christ)

you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human

hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were

circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in

which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working

of God, who raised him from the dead.” (2,11-12)

            It would be good if we can meditate slowly on these words

to let them sink in our mind and heart, and in our life in general.

The Good News is that we are already given the key to eternal life

while still here on earth.

            Yes, it’s a matter of faith, because the reality that

governs us is not simply of the rational and spiritual nature, much

less, of our bodily and natural condition. The reality that governs us

is, first of all, of the supernatural character, since whether we like

it or not, God has wanted and created us in his image and likeness,

sharers of his divine nature. (cfr. 2 Pt 1,4)

            That is why in spite of our human limitations, we always

harbor deep in our heart that desire for a life without end, a joy

with no shade of sadness, etc. In other words, we desire a life that

is not simply natural, space-and-time-bound.

            It’s not that our philosophies, ideologies, our cultures

and social, political and economic systems have no role to play in our

life here on earth. They do. In fact, they play a tremendous role.

It’s just that, as St. Paul said, “these are a shadow of the things

that were to come. The reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Col

2,17)

            With our worldly systems, what we have to do is to inspire

them with the true spirit of Christ as best that we can. This would

require of us authentic fidelity to Christ which is not simply a

matter of parroting his words nor aping his behavior, but rather of

deepening what Christ really wants to tell us today by discerning the

promptings of the Holy Spirit who intervenes in our life all the time.

            This fidelity means that we have to learn to adapt the

teachings of Christ to the concrete needs of the people, not, of

course, by changing those teachings but rather by applying Christ’s

relevant teachings to the situation on hand.

            Let’s remember that the word of Christ is eternal. It

defies time and space. It defies change and death. It is applicable to

all human conditions. It is always relevant and useful. As St. Paul

said:

            “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for

instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in

righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete for every good

work…” (2 Tim 3,16-17)