Third Friday of Eastertide

5/1/2020

Introductory Note: This morning’s virtue to meditate upon is: gentleness. To be ‘gentle’ means to be thoughtful, calm, considerate of and courteous to others; humble and mild in character and temperament.

One source defines ‘gentleness’ by its opposites. “A gentle person does not self-righteously insist on his or her own way. A gentle person is not angry or arrogant, not a bull in a china shop, a loud-mouth. He or she is not obstinate, demanding his rights or pound of flesh, but makes allowances and accommodations for the weakness and foolishness of others.

The calm, reasonable, caring spirit that attends gentleness is a mark of inner beauty and nobility that the pushy and the forceful do not possess.

The ‘meek’ spoken of in the beatitude in Matthew 5 can also be thought of as ‘gentle in spirit.’ “Meekness [or gentleness],” according to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others … The man who is truly meek is the one who is truly amazed that God and man can think of him [or her] as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.”

The gentlest man in all history is also the mightiest and most terrible. The One to whom all knees will bow and all tongues will confess, ‘The Lord!,’ is also the One who said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,” (Matthew 11:28-29).

The Spirit of the Lord is making His Easter People as gentle and lowly in heart as He is. To fail to be gentle, then, is un-godly.

Epistle Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11-12 “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue … gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith.”

Meditation:

Easter People, God’s people, flee some things and pursue other things – as the Lord commands. There’s a paradox about the command to pursue gentleness.

Gentleness is meekness, humility, tenderness that is produced in us by the Holy Spirit, and yet we are called to pursue it ourselves with a fury. The word ‘pursue’ (dioko) that Paul uses in verse 11 is not what anyone would consider a gentle pursuit. Paul means for us to hunt gentleness down as a hunter chases its prey. Paul is telling us to run after gentleness earnestly, doggedly, relentlessly until you take hold of it, wrestle it to the ground, and capture it.

Furthermore, this hunting and acquiring of gentleness is necessary ‘to fight the good fight,’ (verse 12). Gentleness is in the Christian’s arsenal for the good fight. (Isn’t that wonderful?) Some people confuse gentleness with weakness or timidity, but they are mistaken. Gentleness is one of the manly (in the old sense of the word) virtues, requiring courage and perseverance to hunt down, as well as wisdom and discipline to possess in the heat of battle.

Reflect upon your own character and nature? Do your family and friends, co-workers and neighbors, think of you as gentle, meaning: humble and approachable, accepting and winsome, healing and restful, someone with whom they can let their guard down and be themselves without fear?

Or are you prickly, thin-skinned, and defensive? Do people have to walk on egg shells around you so as not to trigger your ill-tempered irritability and self-righteous condemnation? Are you inclined to push past the lesser people to get to the front, to assert yourself onto center stage, to be the big noise that must be heard at the gathering?

Of course, the central question to ask yourself is this: to what degree am I gentle like Jesus? It was said of our Lord that, “… a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory ….” Jerry Bridges wrote, “The bruised reed and the smoldering wick refer to people who are hurting, spiritually weak, or of little faith. Jesus deals gently with such people. He does not condemn them for their weakness; He does not come down with a ‘heavy’ hand; rather, He deals with them gently until their true need is exposed and they are open to Him for help.”

Reflect how, in fact, you are the bruised reed and smoldering wick, and how gently, tenderly, humbly, the Lord Jesus Christ treats you, loves you, and cares for you. In this moment, hear is invitation: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” And now come to Him, to the One who is gentle and lowly of heart, until your soul is at rest in Him. You cannot give to others what you yourself have not received. Receive the gentle restfulness of Jesus this morning.

Cloud of Witnesses

“The man who is meek is not even sensitive about himself. He is not always watching himself and his own interests. He is not always on the defensive… To be truly meek means we no longer protect ourselves, because we see there is nothing worth defending… The man who is truly meek never pities himself, he is never sorry for himself. He never talks to himself and says, ‘You are having a hard time, how unkind these people are not to understand you.’”

– Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“We must truly serve those whom we appear to command; we must bear with their imperfections, correct them with gentleness and patience, and lead them in the way to heaven.”

– Francois Fenelon

“The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. “In himself, nothing; in God, everything.” That is his motto.

– A.W. Tozer

Mustard Seed Theology (for small kiddoes).

Note to parents: Perhaps the easiest access to a child’s understanding about the spiritual virtue of gentleness is the practice of good manners, or courtesy, towards others. Someone has said that good manners are one way of loving your neighbor. When we say, ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ for instance, we are demonstrating respect and esteem toward others, and exercising humility and meekness within ourselves. And, when done with sincerity it is, to that degree, gentleness.

I expect you already require these simple acts of courtesy and respect at home. Very good! I would amplify such practices to highlight the lesson of pursuing gentleness in the hearts of your child(ren).

Here’s one idea: designate one meal where all are gathered around the table – probably dinner – and call it ‘Gentle-men and Gentle-ladies’ Dinner,’ (or something fun). At that meal, ideally formal, everyone must: come well-dressed and on time, treat one another with the utmost consideration and respect, and address one another in refined British accents.

Set the terms of dinner etiquette and gentleness beforehand together with your child. Let this dinner be an extravagance of the highest and best table manners. Show that by your ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ your thoughtful way of offering the seasoning, the butter, the mustard, etc., your considerate way of asking about each other’s day, and the attentive showing of interest and encouragement in the thoughts, feelings, and activities of others, that you are actually demonstrating gentleness toward one another.

(If you need examples to go by, watch some of the earlier Jane Austen movies, (e.g. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma), for ideas and models.)

Have fun!

Mustard Seed Truth: Jesus is gentle toward us; He wants us to learn to be gentle towards others.

Mustard Seed Scripture: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Morning Prayer: Heavenly Father, I come to you, knowing that even in my weakness, my foolishness, my sinfulness you will not condemn me, deal harshly with me, humiliate or shame me. O God, I thank you with my whole heart that when I come to You You are gentle and lowly of heart, a bruised reed you do not break, a smoldering wick you do not snuff out. Such a one am I. Jesus, you are my rest and my peace, my strength and my song. You are my good and gentle shepherd. You make me lie down in green pastures; You lead me beside still waters; You restore my soul. I love You, my dear Jesus. Amen.

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Third Friday of Eastertide

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