by Marilyn Ehle
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6
I’m hungry. Not for a boiled egg at breakfast, soup and sandwich for lunch, or meat and rice for supper. This is a hunger that cannot be satisfied by the finest of gourmet foods. It is a hunger that insistently creeps into the soul in the dark night hours when sleep has slipped from my grasp. I feel its pangs at a party when laughter and conversation flow like silk. This hunger sneaks in when I sit in my quiet corner or when surrounded by hundreds in a shopping mall or beautiful church.
Here in the 21st century – especially in the Western world – we consider hunger our adversary. We conscientiously work hard and spend much to stamp out this enemy that robs so many of health. Our hearts break and we open our purses to feed the starving children in response to the commands of both law and grace.
Suddenly Jesus’ words break in: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” While the word blessed has frequently been translated happy, in the Aramaic language Jesus spoke, it is better defined as being on the right road. Could this mean my unrelenting soul hunger, my deep wanting of a spiritual “more” is a sign that I am on the right road? Could this be God saying,
“Yes, I want you to be always hungry for more of Me. My deepest desire is that you always sink deeper into my nature as you ask your questions, weep your tears, probe my book. You are on the right road. And I promise that you will always be filled and filled and filled.”
Father, so often I want all my hunger satisfied right now. But then I would never know the satisfaction of your continual feeding. Thank you for this paradox of hungering for more yet somehow knowing full satisfaction in you.
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