A quaking Quaker trying to live adventurously!

A couple of weeks ago several Friend (Quakers) in Hamburg thought it would be a good idea to visit our Friends in Bremen and worship together. This morning 12 of us met in “Die Forum Kirche” for worship. It was lovely and I felt the spirit and I began to quake and moved to give Ministry. It was on a Jewish Midrash rooted in the Prophet Isaiah and Psalm 37, that Jesus probably meant in the “Be-Atitudes”, it is from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew 5, Verse 5 (or Gospel of Luke, sermon on the plain).  

Has the message got lost in multiple translations?

I felt I was being strongly moved by the spirit told to assume Jesus spoke in Aramaic with some Hebrew references to the crowd and not Koine Greek. The common English translation “Blessed or happy are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” seems odd and not transmitting the message.

This is not to say the Greek or Latin is wrong, but I was being given fresh insight.  So this evening I did some quick research….

Are you Blessed by the spirit or happy?

Alas I do not have time to write all the various meaning here, but four  translations often used are

Greek - Blessed or happy are those that and

Latin - Happy is a “man”

Aramaic - Blessed by the spirit are those that help, 

Hebrew  - Righteous and wise are those 

Meanings of meek!

- Greek “Praus” often translated to gentleness of spirit, mild of disposition,

- Aramaic “makika” also meaning mild, and gentle, but also humble, low, lowly, lay down flat, 

- Hebrew “anav”  also a term for gentle, but in the Hebrew scriptures nearly always used to refer to the poor and needy, the dregs of society, dispossed and afflicted often not worthy to be heard.

Inheriting the earth!

Many translations and interpretations, 

- getting back what “belongs to us”, our land we were dispossessed from and indirectly

- a reference to the biblical land of Israel (the Jewish people were living under Roman occupation)

- Entering the new Jerusalem the new capital of the republic of heaven (a.k.a Kingdom of Heaven), where justice and peace shall reign, where the previously poor and unheard walk and cry no more.

Is Jesus referring to Psalm 37 ? In short, after reading it, quite probably!

Afterwards it occurred to me how that actually we don’t own this earth we are but stewards, we have no right to buy the land and dispossess those on it, we are moved  to stand up and actively go and help.

How often are we moved to go to the “voiceless” and listen to them. Sounds strange, but now I realise I haven’t been listening to the poor and lowly and often “voiceless” very well recently. Of course they have voices, but it is hard work speaking when no one appears to be listening.

I have been too caught up in my family and personal situation these last couple of weeks. Thank you Lord for the reminder. I am not perfect, but will be trying to listen better.