Matthew 5:6-7                How to Live a Right Life              February 12, 2006

       A small bottle containing urine sat on the desk of Sir William Osler, professor at Oxford Medical University.  In the class were a group of medical students listening to his lecture on observing details.  He said, “This bottle contains a sample for analysis.  I want you to do what I do.”  He dipped a finger in the bottle and brought it to his mouth.  The bottle passed form row to row among the medical students, each student reluctantly and bitterly sampling the contents.  Finally, Dr. Osler retrieved the bottle and said, “Now you will understand about observing details.  Had you been observant, you would have seen that I put my index finger in the urine sample but my middle finger in my mouth.” 

      Many of us live our lives like those medical students.  We think we have it all figured out, think we see what is going on, but we have overlooked one important detail.  We have overlooked Jesus Christ, and life now tastes oh so bitter.   We are continuing our series on the Beatitudes, Jesus message about the life of joy.  Shockingly, Jesus’ ideas of the happy life do not begin with much happiness.  In the last few weeks, we have seen how step one is to recognize our own lost condition, our own inability to build for ourselves a better life.  Step two is that we need to mourn.  Although it hurts, in order to change we need to come to that place where we regret our own failures.  Today, we finally come to some good news.  Jesus wants to tell us about the right life and how that leads us to a life of love.

       Let’s begin in verse six where Jesus tells us “happy are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, they will be filled.”  Hunger and thirst are among our most powerful and primitive of feelings.  Most everything else will be forgotten when we really are hungry.  Most of us in the United States, thank the LORD, have no idea of real hunger.  For us hunger means that we missed our snack an hour ago.  But for people in Jesus’ day and for millions of people around the world today, daily hunger was a powerful and urgent reality.   Jesus says that our quest for the joyful life needs to be powerful and urgent, a very hunger for this quality called righteousness.

      Hunger and thirst are powerful feelings and they can only be satisfied by food and drink.  How many of you saw the movie “Castaway” with Tom Hanks?  In the movie, he has a planeload of stuff with him that was being shipped by Federal Express.  Some of it valuable things back in the civilized world.  But none of it can he eat or drink.  You know, for a man on a deserted island, gold and silver mean nothing.  High prestige and honors are not important.  Elegant fashionable clothing fades.  All this man wants is food and drink.  It is his very life and nothing else will satisfy.  Jesus tells us here that if we want the life of joy then nothing else will satisfy us except righteousness. 

       What is this righteousness?  Many people get confused here.  Does it mean doing the right things in life?   Many people try to live a good life in order to be happy.  Here in the Bible belt, there are certain ideas about what it means to be a good person.  A good person is one who first of all does no harm, who refrains from outward sinful behavior such as theft, swearing, drunkenness, adultery.  Secondly, he not only avoids bad behavior, he tries to do some good in the world.  He is a charitable person who helps out in his community.  Thirdly, this good Southern lady or gentleman goes to church and participates in the life of the church.   The world would look at such a person who does no harm, who tries to good, and who attends to church, and the world would call this a good person, a religious person.  But will this satisfy the one who hungers after righteousness, who thirst after God?  No these things are not food for the deepest soul and will not bring full joy.  Make no mistake, these are important matters, but they are only the outside of the life of joy. 

     Often, young boys playing sports will emulate their sports heroes by wearing certain clothing.  They see a basketball team all wearing the same uniform and so a young boy may decide that the uniform is the secret.  Getting a shirt like that will make me better on the court.  But the shirt is only the outside.  The athletic greatness is something much deeper. Sure, all great basketball team wear uniforms, but uniforms do not make great basketball teams.  It is easy to confuse ourselves about righteousness.  We see these outward actions which are important, but we make the mistake that these actions are the whole thing.  Sure, righteous people do these things, but righteousness is something much deeper.

      So what is righteousness?  This is one of the most important words in the New Testament.  The word in Greek is di kaio sy ne.  And the key to know here is that this word for righteousness is the exact same word that Paul uses in his letters for justification.  The word di kaio sy ne means to be made right, to be made just in relationship with God.  The Gospel of Matthew uses this word 24 times and tells us in 3:15 that Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness, in 5:20 that we must seek the better righteousness, in 6:33 that we are to seek first the Kingdom and righteousness, and 21:32 that Jesus is the way of righteousness.  I could go on.  Of course, in Paul’s letters, we find this main theme of being justified by Christ.  When we hear in the beatitudes “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness…” it is easy to confuse this as meaning “Blessed are those who do right things.”  But when we look at the real meaning in the New Testament, we realize that Jesus is saying, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to be made righteous.”  You see, people who merely do right things are trying to fill their own life, but those who are made right by God, well, they are filled by God.  And that is the promise of Jesus…They shall be filled.

     John Wesley wrote, “Beware of quenching that blessed hunger by what the world calls religion, a religion of outward forms, of outside show, which leaves the heart as earthly as ever.  Let nothing satisfy you but the power of God, a religion which is spirit and life.” (Sermon 22) 

     Let me ask you seriously—Are you hungry for the righteousness of God which is life and spirit and joy?  Or has your hunger been quenched by mere outward forms?  I know most of you are good people.  You avoid sin.  You do good.  You come to church.  But do you hunger for God?  Are you right in relationship, in friendship, with Jesus Christ? 

      Well, how can you know?  Verse 7 gives us a big clue.  When you are made right with God, you will be merciful.  You will discover the love of God poured out from your heart.  You see, the more we are filled with the righteousness, the very life of God, the more tenderly we will be concerned for others whom God loves.  We no longer avoid sin because we are afraid to go to jail.  We no longer do good to impress other people.  We no longer attend church because we are supposed to. All those are outside motivations.  We now do all these and more because the mercy, love, and charity of God have exploded in our heart.  Jesus brings us to a faith of the heart.  Make no mistake.  Righteousness will lead to love.

       I have known church people who tell me they believe all the right things.  They say they have been made right by God.  They will tell you how they were saved.  But they are just mean people.  Where is the mercy?  Where is the love?  Where is the charity?  When I examine my life, it is love that is the touchstone.  Nothing else will tell me as quickly where I am in my faith.  Do I love?

       When I realize my own poverty of life; when I am pierced to the heart about my own failures; it is then that I am ready to be made right by God.  I realize I cannot fix my own happiness.  All my good outward actions will not change my heart.  It is God who changes me over to righteousness.    And in that place of life, I cannot help but be merciful.  You know, the more I see myself for my own shortcomings, the less I am prone to judge or look down on others.  No matter what they have done, no matter what failures, what mistakes, what bad decisions, I have no place to judge.  I only feel love and mercy.  And I long to share with them that love and mercy.  How about you?  Where is your heart?  Are you right with God?  A big clue is found in the love of your heart.  And this is the blessed life, the joyous life, the happy life promised by Jesus Christ.  Amen.