The Sermon on the Mount: Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
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[The Devo] The Quest for Satisfaction
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt 5:1–12.
Excellence and intelligence are necessary for quality work in the public square. These two traits provide the foundation for years of valuable work on policy development and implementation. But without motivation — the drive to serve and lead, excellence and intelligence are just tools in a belt. Motivation is the ingredient that allows for sustained effort and the application of excellence and intelligence.
Motivation and Ambition
Motivation, however, should not be confused with ambition. Where motivation drives effort, or, for our purposes, participation in Christ’s mission of making all things new, ambition redirects our work elsewhere — namely, to ourselves. The public square was created by God as an instrument for seeking a nation's flourishing. Ambition, however, is used by Satan to hinder and even destroy that flourishing, one person at a time.
For servants and leaders in the public square, ambition redefines their purpose and slowly distorts their motivation into something that sustains their ambition. This is a key ingredient in Nietzsche’s thoughts on teaching the way of the Übermensch, which was the focus of our previous lesson on meekness.
Old Testament Appetites
When the crowd gathered on the side of the mountain heard Jesus say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,” they understood that he was referencing a trait which the Old Testament puts front and center as a critical aspect of discipleship and living the good life - our appetites.
If we have any question that our appetites are central to our ability to live the lives we were created to live, then a quick trip back to Genesis 3 will suffice to clarify the issue.
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
The serpent exploited Eve’s God-given hunger by replacing the object of her hunger with ambition. Specifically, the ambition to be like God, and to redefine the terms of the Creator-creature distinction. His statement reveals his intent: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent wants to replace Eve’s hunger for food and relationship with the ambition to be like God.
God rescues the people out of Egypt and provides manna and quail (Exodus 16) for their hunger and brings water out of rocks for their thirst (Numbers 20). Prior to entering the Promised Land, Moses reminds them, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the “LORD” (Deut 8) Once in the Promised Land, both David and Solomon fell prey to the corruption of their appetites with ambition (2 Sam 11, 1 Kings 11), leading to the eventual collapse of the Kingdom.
The message of Isaiah to the soon-to-be-exiled people of God in Israel is a reminder that distorted appetites lead us away from the flourishing we are intended to enjoy.
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food. Isiah 55:1-2
New Testament Appetites
Jesus’ use of the hunger-and-thirst metaphor would have been a clear reference to the Isaiah passage. The Prophet’s message was to a rebellious people, imploring them not to deny their hunger or thirst, but to quench their appetites with that which satisfies. Instead, the people doubled down on their desire to be like all the other peoples of the world, to accommodate the surrounding cultures, and to acquiesce to sin in order to pursue earthly prosperity. This, as promised, ended in their failure to flourish and, ultimately, in their conquest and captivity.
In her book, Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good, Dr. Amy Sherman points out that hungering and thirsting for righteousness is necessary for flourishing. She builds her argument on the Hebrew words for "righteous" (tsaddiq) and "righteous people" (tsaddiqim).
“As the tsaddiqim prosper, they steward everything, their money, vocational position and expertise, assets, resources, opportunities, education, relationships, social position entreé and networks — for the common good, for advancing God’s justice and shalom.” (Kingdom Calling, page 17)
Dr. Sherman offers us words on target regarding the relationship between discipleship and the creation of the people of righteousness who work for righteousness. The Old Testament uses this word for "righteous" over 600 times, referring not simply to people who are redeemed by the God of steadfast love and faithfulness, but to those who wed themselves to their covenant relationship by living out the Law of God. There is no separating salvation from obedience.
The question of motivation and ambition was also central for Aristotle and the growing Hellenization of Jewish culture.
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