Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok, this week we will be meeting in the upstairs seafront lounge at the Crescent Club at 7.30, it would be great to see you if you are able. If you have never been on a Sunday night you would be very welcome to join us.
What a week it’s been, so much going on, and so I had to smile when I realised that this weeks text from the Beatitudes was this:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
It does seem very apt to read these words in the light of all that is going on, not just on our own shores but across the world. And there is a lot going on in this verse, ‘hunger’, ‘thirst’, ‘righteousness’, ‘filled’. It seems that this verse will never not be relevant!
I wonder what comes to mind when you think about hunger and thirst? I suspect we have all experienced this, but maybe not in a way that equates to hunger and thirst found during extreme drought and such like. But really what we mean here is a sense of lack, an emptiness or craving. And of course this is not about food or water, but about the world around us and things that are going on.
That is where righteousness comes in, a sense of things being ‘put right’ or a sense of justice, it’s hard to get your head around but it’s what we think about when we look at the world and think, ‘that’s just not right’! It’s a dream of something better. It is when we wonder ‘what would the divine want out of this world’, It’s about recognising the sacred worth of each human being, the sacred worth of what it is to be alive in this world, it’s that. And right now, we see many situations where that is the case, where we see a sense of lack and think, ‘it could be better’, in fact maybe each of us is hard wired to pursue a sense of righteousness and that is what we crave.
And then of course we have this sense of being filled, in other words a sense of satisfaction, like that satisfaction after a slap up meal or when something has gone well and you know, and sense it within you.
So where does this lead us? Well, it seems to me as we look at the world, at this life, that the world often actively works against this sense of righteousness, it overrides, sidelines, monetises, limits it, and assumes that it’s overrated and overstated and so this is where this beatitude reminds us of who we are.
Some questions
What is your favourite meal?
What is your favourite soft drink?
Can you remember the last time you were hungry or thirsty and what was it like?
What does this sense of inner lack feel like for you?
How do you understand righteousness, is it hard wired into our humanity?
What small things can you do to make changes to feed this sense of hunger and thirst?
Peace, Rob
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.