I invited our consistory members to prayerfully consider if they would be willing to contribute a letter to the church during the season of Lent. Today’s letters comes from our beloved elder, Lila Monton…
Dear Rose Park,
About a year ago Pastor Mark recited the Beatitudes (Mt. 5: 1-12) from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” When I got home, I felt that I needed to understand them better so I spent some time reading in order to find an explanation for each one. Fast forward almost a year, I was preparing for our monthly bible study through the Faith & Joy Circle using the book "Women and Identity" . We were studying about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
As I prepared for the bible study, I was thinking of the Beatitudes. Specifically, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth (Mt. 5:5). I see Mary and Elizabeth as meek and humble, yet they respond with bold faith given their circumstances. Elizabeth was well beyond child bearing age and Mary was an unmarried young girl, yet both are given a child to raise.
I then found this acrostic for meek: M: Mighty. The meek use their strength to help others. E: Emotionally stable. The meek are in control in how they respond to their ups and downs. E: Educate. The meek are humble and willing to learn continually. K: Kind. The meek are those who are sweet, sensitive, and thoughtful towards others and themselves.
However, meekness is not synonymous with quietness. A meek person is not always quiet; they are quiet when they should be, but will respond with bold faith when treated unjustly and will speak out for what they believe. Jesus was considered a meek person but He responded with tremendously bold faith when He entered the temple courts and overturned the tables (Mt. 21: 12-13).
Meekness is not just for some people, but for everyone.
Help us walk in Jesus’ meek footsteps,
Lila