I was pleased to see that in addition to Chelsea Zimmerman (put me in a paragraph with her any day), John Hathaway is on the undecided couch. He ponders here and here, and then finally takes action in this letter. This is one thing that I admire about John, even when it terrifies me: the man is not shy. Just not.
But I’m definitely leaning toward the Tollefsen-Shea camp, not a surprise. It fits too well.
Am I so meek? I wish. My specialty is doing things exactly the wrong way (even when I know better), and I’ve failed out of Meekness 101 more times than I care to count. Despite this, I have been wanting to write about Meekness for a while now, because if you’re a poly-sci/history type, you eventually figure out that the meek really do inherit the earth.
Here’s the tough part in making sense of it: In your brain when you hear the word “meek”, do you just swap in “weak” and think it means the same thing? And maybe something about “shy as a mouse”, since mice are small and the word “mouse” starts with “m”?
[And maybe you add in something about being a peasant or something, because you think “humble” = “poor”. Doesn’t work. St. Thomas More was meek. Wealthy, opinionated, but ultimately meek.]
What it really means is “mild of temper” (that’s not me) “long-suffering” (more not) and “patient under injuries” (nope, not that either). And then we think of the Amish, who are famously meek. So we think, oh, okay, meek = pacifist? Maybe sometimes. But a really good soldier is massively meek. How else do you hold up under confusing orders, dangerous conditions, constant hardship, and just do what is asked no matter the personal cost? That’s meek.
Public, peaceful resistance to brutal dictatorships? That’s hardcore meekness. (And not forgetting that yes there is a time and place to bear arms. But remember those just war criteria? “Some chance of success”? Though it is just as bloody, sometimes peaceful resistance is the only moral option. But much harder. All the pain and suffering, maybe more, and none of the gratification of sticking it to your enemy, no matter how futile the effort.)
Anyhow, saying all that, the way I think it ties in to the recent internet excitement, is that maybe shy, weak, pro-lifers like myself need to work on our meekness a little more? Not the fake-meekness that means ‘doing nothing’, but the real kind, which is doing what is right and what is necessary, no matter the cost.
I hate it when I post things like this.
Thanks! After reading Dawn Eden’s contributions, and Chris’s article, I’m a lot less on the fence than I was to begin with.
I know a priest, Fr. Gode Iwele, OMI, who was a major leader in the resistance against Mbutu in Zaire in the mid-90s. He led a million man prayer march on the capital city and faced down the turret of a tank. He was in prison for like a year or something, tortured, most of his bones broken, and the US State Department snuck him out of the country.
He was assigned to Sumter for 6 months in 1989 while he was still working on his doctorate. During his exile, he lived with the Oblates in DC. My dad called him up once, and there was a knock at the door of his room.
“Just a second, Joe. Someone’s at my door.”
Pause while he answers the door.
“No big deal.”
Dad: “Who was it?”
Fr. Gode: “Oh. Just the Oblate Provincial General is visiting from Rome and wants to speak to me. I told him no because I don’t like talking to important people.”
That’s a great story. And yes, I’m not terribly on the fence now either. Awaiting Rome, though. Very glad you did that. I hope we get an answer.