Dorothy Sayers, In A Book Of Her Essays Entitled ...

Dorothy Sayers, in a book of her essays entitled The Whimsical Christian, has one essay called “The Greatest Drama Ever Staged,” where she writes, “The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore — on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.” It is true that the Pharisees and political leaders saw Jesus as a very real threat. It was the zealots and even his disciples who thought of him as too meek. He did not use the language or the tactics of political liberators. He said things that inflamed those who wanted him to take action. He told them to put away their swords, for “all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). But the authorities saw another power at work: meekness lived out in a simple life of obedience which taught a new way of living. They deemed him dangerous. The benefits of his meekness is that he became the ruler of the universe. The Bible says, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). This lesson from the life of Jesus says that the meek win and the arrogant and powerful lose. This is heavenly wisdom, not worldly. Meekness is the quiet confidence that God is in control, and there are great rewards in that confidence. We are rewarded with peace.