Food For The Soul
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
Very few of us know what it means to be hungry and thirsty. We may not dine on the choicest of foods all the time, but we rarely miss a meal.
Just the opposite was true in first-century Palestine. Subsistence living was not a lifestyle people chose; it was something they were born into. To know hunger and thirst was an ongoing reality in most people’s lives.
Knowing this helps us hear the full force of Jesus’ words. Jesus is not speaking of the hunger we feel when missing a meal. Hungry people are desperate people. Their very lives are at stake. For this reason, they are willing to do things others consider unthinkable. And in the crowds that gathered to hear the teachings of Jesus, there were many desperate, hungry people.
So when we hear these words of Jesus, we need to understand that our Lord is saying that a desperate longing for righteousness characterizes his disciples. A longing that leads them to do whatever it takes, to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to experience righteousness in their lives and in their world.
Then there’s that word righteousness. It refers not only to our personal righteousness or “right living,” but it also speaks of justice. And justice is a two-edged sword, is it not? For the oppressed - those mistreated and taken advantage of - justice means something entirely different than it does for the oppressors.
To desperately desire a life that, in both words and deeds, glorifies God and long for a world where all people are treated with dignity and respect is the way of Jesus. And the way of Jesus rejects a world that divides people into “winners” and “losers.”
“You know,” Jesus says to his disciples, “that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:42-43)
Once again, I am reminded of the words of Jesus, which frame everything he has to say in his Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard it said, but I say to you.” As followers of Jesus and citizens of God’s kingdom, we see our world from a completely different perspective. And unlike so many who have so much but remain unsatisfied because their self-seeking lives lead them to a greater emptiness, we are filled with a joy, meaning, and purpose that only Christ can give.
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.