20Something 11-2-05 (Jen Austin)
The 4th Beatitude – Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
The dictionary defines Beatitude as extreme blessedness or happiness. When Jesus speaks of the Beatitudes he names situations that seem more likely to produce unhappiness than happiness. He talks about those who mourn, who are persecuted, who are poor in spirit, etc. Here are the Beatitudes:
Matthew 5
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying: 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The fourth Beatitude is our focus for this week. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
What does this Beatitude mean to you?
Name some things you hunger and thirst for.
How do you define righteousness?
{From a 1999 sermon by Dr. B. Clayton Bell Sr. at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas}
Physical hunger is the body's way of making sure it survives. If we never got hungry we would have no problem with weight. But, if you have ever sat by the bedside of a loved one who has lost their appetite, you know what it is to see someone waste away to nothing, and eventually die.Hunger for sexual contact is a built-in guarantee that the race will survive. {Or not. He’s preaching to a straight audience here.}
There is the hunger for affection, the longing desire to know that we are loved, and special to someone else……there is the hunger for significance, the longing to know that we mean something to our family, or community……there is the hunger for security, knowing that we are safe from bodily harm or safe from financial want in old age……there is the appetite for power, having the ability to control people, or circumstances, or social relationships……and on and on.
Laura Dewey Richmond was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on December 21, 1829. She was a bright, intelligent child, but, at two years of age, a high fever destroyed her hearing, her sight, and her smell. When she was ten years old, Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe of Boston undertook her care and education at the Perkins Institution for the Blind which he helped to found in that city.
One day her teacher made some reference to the soul. A look of bewilderment spread over the girl's face, and she slowly spelled out on her fingers the question, what is the soul?
"The soul," replied Dr. Howe, in the complicated language used in communicating with hearing and speaking impaired, "is that which thinks and feels and hopes."
A look of rare discernment mantled the blind girl's face. "And is it," she immediately inquired with her eager fingers, "is it that which aches so?"
The ache of the soul is the pain of incompleteness. It is the sense of partiality, knowing that there should be more and wanting to find it. A Laura Richmond or a Helen Keller, born with hearing and sight and then deprived of both at an early age, would carry through life a sense of incompleteness that makes the aching for wholeness doubly intense. This is the kind of desire about which Jesus is speaking in this fourth Beatitude.
Is there a specific time in your life when you have ached for God? Why was this more intense than daily hunger?
Hunger and thirst nag at us continually. We can drink a gallon of water and eat a large meal, but we’ll grow hungry and thirsty again as time passes. Our appetite can never be wholly satisfied. If we stop eating and drinking we will wither away and die. The same goes for our relationship with God. We can journey through a period of intense study and prayer and grow profoundly closer to God in the process, but if we don’t return to that place at regular intervals, our spiritual health will suffer. If we withdraw from God completely and continually deny opportunities to experience God, we will wither away spiritually. The good news is, when we are ready to satisfy our spiritual hunger, God is ready to satisfy us. We don’t have to place an order and wait twenty minutes. God meets us immediately.
Righteousness leads to closeness with God. As you hunger and thirst for righteousness, how does God satisfy you?
No one wants to eat a sandwich every day. Why is it important to experience God in different ways?
Everyone hungers and everyone thirsts, but each of us makes different choices about how to satisfy our cravings. The way that we choose to satisfy those cravings says a lot about who we are, and about the type of person we will become. Wisdom is taking the steps today that will help make you the person you want to be tomorrow.
Are you satisfied with the person you are? What type of person do you want to become?
Jesus is the ultimate example of what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. He was truly righteous. Righteousness does not neccesarily lead to glory or a perfect life, but it does lead to spiritual wholeness. That’s something God asks us all to aspire to.
Go in peace and aspire to righteousness!
Pray and dismiss.
The dictionary defines Beatitude as extreme blessedness or happiness. When Jesus speaks of the Beatitudes he names situations that seem more likely to produce unhappiness than happiness. He talks about those who mourn, who are persecuted, who are poor in spirit, etc. Here are the Beatitudes:
Matthew 5
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying: 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The fourth Beatitude is our focus for this week. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
What does this Beatitude mean to you?
Name some things you hunger and thirst for.
How do you define righteousness?
{From a 1999 sermon by Dr. B. Clayton Bell Sr. at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas}
Physical hunger is the body's way of making sure it survives. If we never got hungry we would have no problem with weight. But, if you have ever sat by the bedside of a loved one who has lost their appetite, you know what it is to see someone waste away to nothing, and eventually die.Hunger for sexual contact is a built-in guarantee that the race will survive. {Or not. He’s preaching to a straight audience here.}
There is the hunger for affection, the longing desire to know that we are loved, and special to someone else……there is the hunger for significance, the longing to know that we mean something to our family, or community……there is the hunger for security, knowing that we are safe from bodily harm or safe from financial want in old age……there is the appetite for power, having the ability to control people, or circumstances, or social relationships……and on and on.
Laura Dewey Richmond was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on December 21, 1829. She was a bright, intelligent child, but, at two years of age, a high fever destroyed her hearing, her sight, and her smell. When she was ten years old, Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe of Boston undertook her care and education at the Perkins Institution for the Blind which he helped to found in that city.
One day her teacher made some reference to the soul. A look of bewilderment spread over the girl's face, and she slowly spelled out on her fingers the question, what is the soul?
"The soul," replied Dr. Howe, in the complicated language used in communicating with hearing and speaking impaired, "is that which thinks and feels and hopes."
A look of rare discernment mantled the blind girl's face. "And is it," she immediately inquired with her eager fingers, "is it that which aches so?"
The ache of the soul is the pain of incompleteness. It is the sense of partiality, knowing that there should be more and wanting to find it. A Laura Richmond or a Helen Keller, born with hearing and sight and then deprived of both at an early age, would carry through life a sense of incompleteness that makes the aching for wholeness doubly intense. This is the kind of desire about which Jesus is speaking in this fourth Beatitude.
Is there a specific time in your life when you have ached for God? Why was this more intense than daily hunger?
Hunger and thirst nag at us continually. We can drink a gallon of water and eat a large meal, but we’ll grow hungry and thirsty again as time passes. Our appetite can never be wholly satisfied. If we stop eating and drinking we will wither away and die. The same goes for our relationship with God. We can journey through a period of intense study and prayer and grow profoundly closer to God in the process, but if we don’t return to that place at regular intervals, our spiritual health will suffer. If we withdraw from God completely and continually deny opportunities to experience God, we will wither away spiritually. The good news is, when we are ready to satisfy our spiritual hunger, God is ready to satisfy us. We don’t have to place an order and wait twenty minutes. God meets us immediately.
Righteousness leads to closeness with God. As you hunger and thirst for righteousness, how does God satisfy you?
No one wants to eat a sandwich every day. Why is it important to experience God in different ways?
Everyone hungers and everyone thirsts, but each of us makes different choices about how to satisfy our cravings. The way that we choose to satisfy those cravings says a lot about who we are, and about the type of person we will become. Wisdom is taking the steps today that will help make you the person you want to be tomorrow.
Are you satisfied with the person you are? What type of person do you want to become?
Jesus is the ultimate example of what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. He was truly righteous. Righteousness does not neccesarily lead to glory or a perfect life, but it does lead to spiritual wholeness. That’s something God asks us all to aspire to.
Go in peace and aspire to righteousness!
Pray and dismiss.
posted by Jen Austin at 5:24 AM
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