Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteouness
Today’s Verse:
From Matthew 5:6 ESV
(Jesus said) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
We continue our reflection on the Beatitudes, today looking at verse 5:
Hunger and thirst are not polite desires. They are needy, insistent, and decidedly physical. When Jesus says that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees in the same way that the bridegroom’s dined must exceed that of the guests, He’s not talking about a vague interest or a polite preference for righteousness. He is describing a soul-deep longing, the sort of thirst that makes a person willing to do or be anything to satiate it.
But of what sort of righteousness? It is not self-made righteousness. It is not the sort of righteousness that might puff us up with pride at our moral superiority or piety, or church attendance, or Bible-reading habits. That righteousness withers up and dies in a heart, and leaves us emptier than we were before. The righteousness that Jesus promises to satisfy us with is not the righteousness that we could or should earn for ourselves, but is the righteousness of Christ imputed to us as a gift to sinners, given freely to those who trust in Him by faith.
This is not a righteousness that we work our way into, but a righteousness that we receive. Lutherans believe that we did not earn God’s favor; we received it. This is justification by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. And it is for this reason that this Beatitude is not a commandment but a promise. Jesus is saying that when we hunger and thirst for righteousness – when we ache for true good, long to be made right with God and the world – we will be satisfied. Our hunger is stilled at the cross, our thirst is slaked at the font, and we are fed at the Table with Christ Himself.
Filled up and filled over with the righteousness of Christ, we are sent back out into a world that is still hungry and thirsty for true righteousness, for justice, for peace, for mercy. Not to puff ourselves up and show off how “full” we are, but to point others to the One who satisfies.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, I hunger for the wrong things too often. Redirect my cravings toward Your righteousness. Fill me with Your mercy, and make me an instrument of it in the world. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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