Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5



One of the feelings that can happen to us is one that burns right down to the core of our person. Shame. No matter what the reason may be, when we experience shame it has the power to take away the wealth of our lives. Mark Allan Powell writes that this beatitude has to do with the dispossessed...the humilated and those deprived of their share of earth's resources. Shame is a personal way to have ourselve deprived of the resources we have as God's children. With shame, people may experience the utter negation of whose their are. Just think of a child being told "shame on you for..." It is biting. It can cause a child filled with joy to be emptied and withdrawn. Sometimes, there are those whose whole lives are wandering in a land shame-filled. Sometimes there are those whose lives will be deprived in other ways. We see these people - from a distance. They are the utterly poor in a society that is filled with Wall ST. successes and the myth that more is better and more is vital to who we are. The meek are those who have been stripped down to nothing - material things gone...emotional energy drained...self worth suck away. It is for these dispossesed that a promise comes that will not be removed. The meek...will inherit the earth. They will have enough and more. They will not have to stand on the bus anymore...they will not have to hang their head anymore...they will not have to watch the world play while they hid in the shadows of their lives. They shall inherit the earth -- the fullness of God's reign. They will be as they always are seen by God - SOMEBODY!



Connect: People around us may react to situations and statements in what appears to be strange ways. Sometimes people - even those closest to us feel as though they are emptied of their worth and the smallest confirmation of that loss - real or unreal - can send them into the depths of life. AS disciples of Jesus, we give room to those who have been dispossessed for whatever reason. Is it possible to enter today with the blessed reminder that we serve our God as we, in many and various ways, "share the wealth of God's creation" with others. A simple pat on the back may give someone a bit of room in which to stand when they are tumbling down in a simple situation in their lives.



O God of each day and all that is, lift up those whose lives have become empty. Be with us that we may be a gentle reminder to those around us that they are full of "worth" no matter what may the situation at hand. Make us people who share joy and hand over to others the many opportunities to be "somebody" even when their world will not let that happen for them. Amen