The Meek

Jesus said, following Psalm 37, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” Christ was born to a powerless family. I find it fascinating that the holiest scripture in Islam recounts the birth of Jesus as a prophet. By not flinching away from the difficulties of his divine birth, they compare Mary to Hagar in the Old Testament, the concubine of Abraham and the mother of Ishmael, an important ancestor. From the Holy Qu’ran:

During her pregnancy, Maryam was alone and under a great deal of stress, until at last, the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She cried, “Oh, I wish I had died before this, and was in oblivion, forgotten!” An angel called out to her and reassured her: “Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat and drink and be comforted.”

This caring voice reminds me of God’s promise during Advent: "And everyone beneath their vine and fig tree, shall live in peace and unafraid” (Micah 4:4). Whether dates, figs, or olives, trees in the desert provide humans with a sweet, humble existence, if only we will commit to living in peace. The modern state of Israel is currently committing Ecocide in the West Bank, rendering it uninhabitable outside of Israeli settlements, deploying American corporations, money and technology to remove the native population of Palestine. What role do our voices play in the meek remaining on the land?

with love, Pr. Chelsea