Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
This morning we are continuing our exploration of the different places in the Bible that we find the idea of thirst, and what they say to us about our lives now. Since the beginning of the year we’ve thought about the fact that Jesus thirsted on the cross, about thirsting for God, about the spiritual water that Jesus offers us to quench our thirst. If you’ve missed any of those, then you can catch up on Facebook, Youtube or the podcast of our sermons. Following on from these, this morning we are picking up on the idea of thirsting for righteousness from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5.
Now, righteousness isn’t a word we use much in everyday conversation, or at least I don’t. So, let’s start by exploring what it means to say that an action or a person is righteous.
It seems to me that this is actually two different questions, with two different answers.
What does it mean to say that a person is righteous? And what does it mean to say that an action is righteous?
We might think that it’s as easy as saying that someone who does righteous things is righteous, but I’m not sure that it’s that simple. Bear with me a moment, as we go to Romans 3:10 where Paul quotes Psalm 51:
“There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands; there is no-one who seeks God.”
Now I don’t believe that Paul is saying that there is no-one that ever does righteous things. There are loads of examples of people who do lots of righteous things, so what does it mean?
I wonder if you ever have an argument or a falling out with someone, and you’ve talked it through, or made up, but you’re not quite sure that it’s all OK. Or maybe you’ve just got a sense that someone’s annoyed with you, or you’ve upset them, but you’re not sure how, or if you’re just misreading the situation. You might say to them, “Are we alright?”
It seems to me that this question is a way for us to get into understanding what it means to be righteous. To be righteous means to be alright with God. For things between us and God to be good.
This is what Paul is getting at. Because of our human tendency to go against God, to hide from God, to disobey God, to sin, in our natural state we are not alright with God. There is no-one righteous, not even one.
What does it mean to say that a person is righteous? It means that they are right with God.
So what about our second question – what is a righteous act? Is it as simple as saying that doing the righteous thing is just doing the right thing? It seems to me that that pretty much sums it up, with an idea of right in a moral sense, with a sense of the right thing to do in God’s eyes. Of course, we are then left with the question of working out what the right thing to do in any particular situation is.
Our first port of call for deciding that is the two great commandments. Love God and love those around you. Then we might ask, is it true, kind, merciful, just, patient? Does it show joy, peace, faithfulness, gentleness? Does it build up, encourage, strengthen, point to Jesus? Is it in line with the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the Word of God? These are the characteristics of righteous deeds.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Or,
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to be right with God, for they will be filled.
We know that we can’t make things right with God ourselves, but we don’t have to, because Jesus has already done it by his death and resurrection. As Paul puts it in his letter to the Christians in Colossae, in Colossians 2:14
“God forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”
All the wrong things we have done, the list of the things that we are ashamed of, the things that mean that we aren’t right with God – that list has been nailed to the cross. The power of those things in our lives died on the cross with Jesus, and they stayed dead. If we are thirsty to be right with God – we can be – we just need to come to Jesus and be filled with the living water of forgiveness that he offers us.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to do the right thing, for they will be filled.
We’ve already talked about some of things that help us to know what the right thing to do in a situation is. Sometimes it’s not easy to work out, and that is why God has given us the Holy Spirit, to guide us, and each other, so that we can work it out together.
Even when we know what the right thing to do is, it’s not always easy to do it, especially if it’s difficult or unpopular, or will mean not doing something that we want to do, or making an effort to do something that we don’t really want to do. Again, it’s part of the work of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us do the right thing, and we can encourage each other, ask people to hold us accountable.
I was feeling irritable at the beginning of this week, I could feel myself getting angry about little things. I knew that at some point it was quite likely that if things continued like that I would end up losing my temper with someone. So, on Tuesday morning I told the team in the office that was how I was feeling, and asked them to help me – to warn me if I got grumpy with them, to hold me accountable.
When we’re struggling to do the thing we know is right, we can pray, “Lord will you make me thirstier for righteousness than I am for this thing that I’m tempted by.”
Another aspect of thirst for righteousness that I want to touch on is a thirst for righteousness in the world. A thirst to see everyone put right with God that motivates our mission and our sharing of the good news of Jesus with those around us. A thirst for right actions in the world that motivates our engagement with things like Climate Justice, Racial justice, campaigning for peace, supporting Fairtrade initiatives.
There is, however, one kind of righteousness that we don’t need to be thirsty for and, in fact, can get in the way of thirst for Godly righteousness, and that is self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is that sense of “Aren’t I good.” How can this get in the way of thirst for God’s righteousness?
Well, firstly and at it’s most basic, if we are sure that we’re good on our own, that we don’t need to be alright with God, then we won’t thirst for that, we won’t see a need for it.
As those forgiven by God we are alright with God, but that’s not self-righteousness, that’s God’s righteousness given to us.
Secondly, self-righteousness can be off putting. This is my phone, it’s a Fairphone. The company that makes these phone does all they can to ensure that the raw materials are mined in places that pay their workers well, the manufacturing plants are those which look after their workers. It’s designed to be repairable and recyclable. It costs the same as other phones, but the specs aren’t as good – not such a fast processor, cameras aren’t as top end.
Sometimes I get a bit frustrated with this, but then I think, “I’m saving the planet, aren’t I good.” I see other people with their phones, and maybe am tempted to think less of them for not having a Fairphone, “Aren’t I good.” I could bang on and on about how everybody should have a Fairphone and people who don’t just don’t care about the planet, “Aren’t I good.” And suddenly my self-righteousness has put everybody else right off having a Fairphone.
Thirdly, self-righteousness can make us defensive and unwilling to be corrected, to grow in Godly righteousness. A little while ago I made a thoughtless comment about an aspect of Afro-Caribbean culture in staff meeting. Afterwards Natalie pulled me up on it, and let me know how it had made her feel. I had a choice.
I could have let my self-righteousness defend me. I grew up in Africa, I have colleagues and friends of colour, I value the diversity and contribution of people from all around the world in our church and community. Aren’t I good. Or, I could drop my defences, listen to Natalie, understand the impact of what I’d said, say sorry, and commit to do better.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Whatever sense that is you this morning, whether you thirst to know that you and God are alright, whether you are thirsty to live a righteous life, whether you thirst to see more righteousness in the world around you, then hear that promise of Jesus. Blessed are you, for you will be filled.
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