God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6
In Lent this year, our church decided to fast every Friday. We encouraged people to fast food and to experience hunger. This was the way that Jesus fasted and this was also the rhythm of the early church who would fast every single week. We wanted to use the rhythm to draw closer to God and for our hearts to come more into alignment with His. I always find fasting hard. I get grumpy and usually within a week my body struggles and I get sick. I have to be careful not to overdo it because we need food to remain healthy and happy. Everytime I would walk past a restaurant or cafe and smell the aroma of beautiful cooking, my stomach turned in knots. Whenever I felt hungry, grumpy or tired from fasting I prayed these words:
I am hungry for [a burger] right now. But I am even more hungry for your Kingdom. Let your Kingdom come.
We were created for a kingdom of righteousness and the absence of justice is as fundamental to us as missing a meal. It should make us grumpy, sick and desperate for it to be satiated.
The word ‘justice’ in this verse is the Greek word dikaiosynē. It refers to both an internal righteousness and a world where there is no more evil. It is talking about a state of goodness that is internal and external. Often we look at justice as an external cause. We want to end racism and trafficking and abuse against women. This word covers that but it also speaks about the anger that lives inside us. The hare and rage in our own hearts. It confronts our selfishness and the desires of our hearts. Justice for Jesus requires both. It is a place where evil has been made right, societal debts have been paid and what caused them has been resolved. So, as we hunger and thirst for justice in the world, we ask God to start with us.
Make in me a clean heart.
Jesus’ answer to this hunger is perhaps surprising. He says, you will be satisfied. You are not in a desert of justice with nothing to eat. Instead, you are invited to the feast of the king. There will be a time when all the sins of the world will be accounted for. There will be justice for every crime. There will be healing for every hurt. You may be hungry but you do not need to worry because satisfaction is coming. While we wait, as followers of Jesus, we continue to walk in the footsteps of justice and righteousness, feeding those around us.
