OAKRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
April 24, 2016
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Psalm 107: 1-9; Matthew 5: 1-12
Rev. Ed Hoekstra
Hunger and Thirst: Every single day, we experience varying degrees of hunger and thirst. This is just a part
of everyday life. One must eat and drink to sustain life! Hunger and thirst are wonderful gifts from God
because these physical longings propel us to fulfill what they desire – food and drink. Eating and drinking is
one of the simple daily pleasures of life. Without the natural desire, eating and drinking would be far more
of a chore than a pleasure.
Physical and spiritual hunger and thirst for righteousness: We are all well familiar with physical hunger
and thirst. Spiritual hunger and thirst for righteousness, on the other hand, goes much deeper and has to
do with giving life meaning. What Jesus is saying in effect in Matthew 5: 6 (“Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”) is that when we find meaning in righteousness, then
we will be ‘filled’ or satisfied. Trying to satisfy the desire for meaning in other ways, may briefly satisfy, but
will not fill.
What is righteousness? Dictionaries would define ‘righteousness’ as “behavior that is morally justifiable and
right.” This is behavior which meets an acceptable standard for being moral, just, and virtuous. But no one
can do this perfectly – we are all hypocrites if we think we can! The Bible’s standard which Jesus is
referring to reflects perfect righteousness found only in God. In other words, when we hunger and thirst for
righteousness we are hungering and thirsting for God! We cannot attain this moral, virtuous behaviour on
our own. However, through Jesus’ sacrifice where he physically suffered, died and was resurrected from
the dead, by God’s grace, we are declared by God to be righteous. Therefore, when we are hungering and
thirsting for righteousness, we hunger and thirst for God and for serving God. Through Jesus Christ, we
know we are known and loved by God, and Jesus wants us to accept this love of God, and hunger and thirst
for him daily (a close relationship with God). When we do that, we will be filled and satisfied by His Holy
Spirit! We also need one another to be encouraged to keep hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
What about the culture we live in? Here in Canada, we live in a free country with wonderful freedoms and
human rights. According to our bill of human rights, we value equality and denounce discrimination. In view
of these qualities, Canada is one of the best countries in the world to live in. However, we are part of a
Western individualistic culture, which focuses on greed and the god of material wealth. Marketing
encourages this cultural way of feeding our hunger and thirst for meaning through material wealth and
personal gain.
The individualism of our culture produces competitiveness and jealousy. As an early teenager, I was a good
soccer player and I played on a Brampton rep team. My position was right full back, and I took great pride
in stopping the forwards from the opposing teams. During one game, I recall a left winger who was faster
than I was, and I could not stop him. Feelings of resentment and jealousy sprung up inside of me. The joy of
the game was lost because I had to be the best. Years later, it occurred to me that I was trying to satisfy my
hunger and thirst for meaning by my performance in the sight of others.
Though we live in an amazing country of opportunity, our hunger and thirst for meaning can be elusive.
When we hunger and thirst for the superficial, we are robbed of being blessed.
Freedom found in God. We all carry burdens. Some of the burdens are worry about the future. Others
carry the burdens of difficult relationships which weigh them down every day. Though we live in an affluent
country, an increasing number of Canadians are dealing with financial burdens. At this moment, you may
be dealing with a grim health diagnosis. Consider Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 11: 28, “Come to
me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Though life is difficult and
we do carry some very difficult burdens, we have the freedom to trust in Jesus, who will help you carry that
burden and give you rest in the midst of it. When we acknowledge that we are not righteous or complete
on our own, and we hunger and thirst for God who loves us and knows us by name, we can be blessed in
spite of the challenges and struggles. Author and theologian Henri Nouwen said it this way, “Where true
inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be.”
Righteousness, not self-righteousness: Author Eric Kolbell in his book, “What Jesus meant, the Beatitudes
and a meaningful life,” says that righteousness is not a word we often use in our regular conversation.
Righteousness conjures a monk-like holiness which seems so different from the way we live our daily lives.
These monks would not have the same worries, burdens and concerns of a typical person in society. In light
of this perception, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, may seem irrelevant and out of reach to your
average citizen. Kolbell then says that righteousness is not first and foremost about this, ‘it’s about
relationship, about being right with God, about trusting more in God’s time, God’s way, God’s inscrutable
wisdom than our own.’ In relation to righteousness, Kolbell quotes Isaiah and offers his commentary, ‘“O
Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time trouble (Isaiah
33:2)” Isaiah could pray this because he was in a state of righteousness, because all evidence to the
contrary, he would not abandon hope that God would redeem his chosen people. (p.71)’.
Self-righteous is a word we are more familiar with. I have accused others and I have also been accused of
being self-righteous. No one appreciates a know-it-all and someone who portrays the attitude that they are
without fault; they are good people; and enlightened while others they are speaking about are wrong and
bad people. I think most of us have been guilty of this from time to time. The point is that we are very
sensitive when someone does that to us and more oblivious when we are doing it to others. We all know
that not one is righteous by one’s own efforts, and that righteousness can only come from our God.
A way of life: How does one hunger and thirst more for righteousness? Put another way: How does one
achieve more of an appetite for God? The physical needs and desires of hunger and thirst, moves us to
satisfying this appetite each day. How can the same be true of our spiritual desires? In addressing this
question, it is important to realize that there are misconceptions of how faith is connected to daily life.
Desiring God and God’s righteousness is not meant to be a hobby, but a way of life. In other words, we do
not connect with God just once a week, or just on special occasions. It is natural and logical, that the one
who made you; who knows everything about you; who loves, knows you, and suffered for you, would be in
a loving relationship with you in every area of your life (from the time you wake in the morning, to when
you turn out the light at night.) We involve God from the mundane tasks of cleaning up and doing the
dishes for example, to those tasks we deem more important in our lives. This involves regular conversation
with God and accepting that God helps to carry your burdens. For some, this is already a way of life, for
others, you want to take steps towards a more Christ-centered life. As we take steps in denouncing
individualistic values in our culture and take on the ways of God, the blessings encountered will increase
your appetite. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Amen.
(Eric Kolbell: “What Jesus Meant – the Beatitudes and a Meaningful Life” Westminster, John Knox Press, 2003.)