“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (11/5/2021)

(Note: this is the fifth in a series of 10 articles on the Beatitudes in Christian Life)

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” In this beatitude, Jesus surprises us with the intensity of righteousness that He presents as appropriate for those who seek eternal life with our LORD. We can’t settle for just wanting to be righteous, we must crave it. Righteousness isn’t a want in the life of a disciple, it is a need. But what is righteousness?

Jesus reminds us that the very source and foundation of life is relationship; our life is about our relationships with the LORD and with one another. We will be judged not by what we accomplished in our careers, not by the fame we attained or lack of it, but by how well we loved. That is what righteousness is. It is living in right relationship with the LORD and others in all situations at every moment. Recalling the LORD’s word through the prophet Micah, we must “Do justice, love loving relationships, and walk humbly with our LORD” (Micah 6:8).

This beatitude not only tells us how we must conduct ourselves but it also helps us to see into the true source of joy. Jesus is telling us that when we are committed to being loving individuals who seek to do always what is best for our relationships with the LORD and with each other, we will be filled. That very human feeling of “something is missing” even when we’ve reached our goals and won our big games can’t be filled with what we attain but only with who we are. The fullness that we seek comes only through loving righteousness, only through being righteous people, only through loving well.

Righteousness isn’t something we do at specified times, it must be who we are, it must be our motive. We on the way realize we must seek to love the LORD with our whole being. But we must also seek to love one another, treating others as they deserve to be treated because of their God-given dignity, with their needs met. Justice is righteousness; righteousness is justice. It calls all of us into action. And if we “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” we are committed. None of us can do everything, but each of us can and must do something. And if we do, if we all make sacrifices for the needs of others, we make a difference.

As we journey in faith, hope and love, we seek to grow ever closer to the LORD. As we draw nearer and our love for the LORD deepens, our desire to love all whom the LORD loves grows as well. Let us pray that our journey in Christ leads us deep enough into the mystery of the Triune LORD that we might realize that the fullness we seek is possible only through uniting our diversity in love, with love, through love, and for love. The fullness we seek is the LORD and being with the LORD and with those who love the LORD and others well; the fullness we seek is in returning home after a life well lived.

Until tomorrow, love well.