ORDER THE MYSTERY OF THE BEATITUDES
‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’.
After the construction of the two pillars, the Beatitudes which follow are concerned with the methods by which the work must now be continued in order to achieve victory. Therefore, we think it is useful to repeat here that the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes in particular are designed for those who desire to walk the path of threefold regeneration and who, in fact, have already set their feet positively upon this path.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’.
This saying, spoken on the Mount, is a quotation from Psalm 37, 10—11 which states: ‘For yet a little while and the ungodly shall not be anymore; when you consider his place he is not anymore. But the meek shall possess the earth as an inheritance and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’
What is meekness? You should interpret this word in the light of what has preceded. Meekness is the absolute courage which does not want to force and cannot force, by virtue of a person’s inner state. The binding with the Kingdom is the first pillar; the strength to accomplish the work is the second pillar. Now this twofold divine grace must be established in nature with meekness. It is with meekness that the victory must be gained.
Courage, as understood in this nature, is always forcing and often the result of passion. With this kind of courage one is like a burglar. It is disruptive and destructive. But the courage that originates from the order of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the result of a renewed balance of the will. He who is meek is not craving for dazzling and sudden success, because he knows that the lustre of such success soon fades. He who is meek does not become disheartened when the result of his work fails to come, or when his field of work is beseiged by satanic driving forces, for behind everything he sees the ultimate attainment of his aim shining as a sun which never sets. Therefore, he continues with a quiet, unfailing courage as one who walks the path and pursues his aim without concerning himself about the initial dialectical result.
Courage born of renewed spirit is always impersonal, is devoid of any criticism and is never stopped by inconsequentialities. If people say, ‘My goodness, how drab it looks in your field of work’, the meek one will answer, ‘You are right. It could hardly appear more so’, but with even more determination he pursues his task.
He does not lose heart, because behind all the problems he sees the ultimate victory. He shall inherit the earth. He pays no attention to good or bad rumours, to what is thought about him and his work, if one cries or laughs, to what- ever the reaction to his work is, nor what is done with it or made out of it. He shall inherit the earth. Like a still flame the meek one keeps ‘burning’ in the name of eternity and the consolation of Christ is the fuel that flows to him with a steady regularity.
Is a meek person, then, merely a negative mystic whose only desire it is to shed his light in the present and dream about the future? No, the meek one in the sense of the Spirit is of an entirely different stature. When the classical enemy attacks his working-field and reduces his accomplishment to a caricature, sowing tares among the wheat, the meek one differs in his struggle and his strategy from the one who is merely bolstered by the courage of nature. A meek man is impersonal, i.e. he does not attack the enemy nor is he time-bound. Heedless of evil and its suggestions he redoubles his energy. Against and over the disharmony of nature he shows the harmony of the divine realm of Light. It is a very ancient technique to attempt to break down the work of any adversary by sowing agitation in all possible
forms from within and by setting up cells of influence. When this is done the natural inclination of most people to try to remedy such a focus of infection with anti-pathy, is always a trusted factor of cooperation. However, if the meek one enfolds his attackers with the fire of his love, not in a resentful, personal way but sympathetically and impersonally, while quietly continuing his work of service, the core of infection must sooner or later disappear like snow in the sun.
This is what Psalm 37, verse 10 (or in more ancient editions of the Bible: ‘Vau’) points to: ‘For yet a little while, and the ungodly shall be no more. When you consider his place, he is not anymore.’ The Hebrew letter ‘Vau’ signifies that there is a power which causes a separation between virtue and vice; that there exists a divine law accompanying the Light which, by virtue of its being, separates in an impersonal way the wicked and untrue from the virtuous and the true.
If that which is true should fight that which is untrue, it would then link with evil; in the pupil a binding would be established between him and this nature and he would ultimately be kept from his work and go astray in the whirl of time. But now as a true pupil, what could cause him harm? Aflame as a candle in the universal Temple, animated by the principle of ‘no reaction’, he sees his adversaries being driven back by the sword of Love. ‘When you consider his place, he is no more.’ The enemy ceases his attempt to try again later on in a different guise, only to be defeated once again.
The meek, born of the order of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Friends, have courage to be meek. Fight your battle with the lighted fire of impersonal love. Never force anything; don’t be aggressive. Let the miracle of victory be accomplished by meekness.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Kingdom’.
Source: The Mystery of the Beatitudes by J, van Rijckenborgh