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Dear Disciple, In the fourth beatitude Jesus once again pronounces blessing upon those who at first glance don’t seem to be blessed at all. Indeed, they seem to be rather pathetic. Jesus pronounces blessing upon the hungry and the thirsty. In Luke Jesus says “Blessed are the hungry…” He doesn’t there describe the nature of the hunger. Jesus fills in the blanks more here in this teaching in Matthew – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
It would be too easy to separate out the meaning of these out too sharply. In order not to do that, we need to focus on the meaning of righteousness. Remember the Madeleine stories? Remember Mrs. Clavel? She’s lying in bed, something is bothering her, something is not as it should be, and she bolts up in bed, finger pointing upward, “Something is not right!”
We live in a world made by a God who is a certain way, and His world is meant to be a certain way. When any part of His world is not the way it is supposed to be we say that it is not right.
There are a whole group of English words used to convey the idea of things either being right or not being right. These words all have the word “right” right inside them -- righteous, righteousness, unrighteous, and unrighteousness.
Righteousness exists when things are the way they are supposed to be. Sometimes you can just use the word “rightness” instead of “righteousness” to get this idea across more clearly. When things are right, as they are supposed to be, then you have rightness, or righteousness.
Jesus came into a world that was, and is still, not right. Human beings who were made to be in close relationship with God are alienated from Him and under condemnation. Human beings who were created to have beautiful relationships with each other are separated from each other; they fight and quarrel and ignore and use and hate and gossip about and hurt each other.
Human beings who were made to exercise loving dominion over the earth and its creatures instead abuse and exploit and make it ugly, and kill its creatures indiscriminately.
Dear Disciples, something is not right!
That is why we cannot put a strong line between the meaning of “those who hunger” and “those who hunger for righteousness.” The poor of the world, those who are literally hungry and thirsty and forgotten and despised and abused – they certainly know that the world’s not right. That are more ready to hear the word of Jesus.
Yet, wanting food for one’s self on the one hand and wanting real rightness in one’s heart and in the world on the other are not ultimately the same.
Do you want to be truly right with God? Do you want to be made new inside? Turn to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the King. Believe in Him and follow Him, and you will be right with God, and empowered to live a new life. Do you want to see the world made right? Do you long to see the God of Heaven honored and revered as the rightful King that he is. Do you long for the kingdom of God? Then do the work of the Kingdom. And pray “Thy kingdom come” everyday. Pray for Jesus’ return, when He will set all things right.
If you yearn and long for these things, you are blessed, for Jesus has made the pronouncement, “You shall be filled!” He alone can fill your soul. No one else can. No other person, movement, cause, medicine, or vocation – only Jesus can.
As the Psalmist says: “as the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
As Jesus says in another place: “do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures unto eternal life.”
And again: “seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.”
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