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The glass half empty

A Constant Hunger and Thirst

Isaiah 25:4-8; Luke 16:19-31; Revelations 19:6-10

John Stoltzfus, LMC, November 1, 2009

This past Wednesday, I went to First Church of Lombard to participate in their weekly “soup kitchen”. They call it “the community table”. Much like we do with PADS, that congregation prepares a home cooked meal every Wednesday evening open to all in the community. It is a beautiful “heavenly banquet” of righteousness that not only addresses food insecurity but also social and emotional needs. The place was packed. There was young and old, rich and poor, strong and weak, able and disabled. I came away from that meal hungrier than when I arrived: hungry for God’s kingdom to come more fully in our community in addressing the many needs among us; hungry for the time when we all will be feasting around God great table.

This beatitude is an odd one. Blessed are those who hunger? Hunger and thirst is a sign of need. How can they be a source of blessing? Maybe this is similar to those who mourn. Those who mourn are those who see and lament the absence of God’s healing and saving presence among us. They hunger for more. I’m starting to see the connections between these beatitudes; they are not just a random list of blessings but they share very common themes. The promise of righteousness is offered to those who are empty. It belongs to those who are aware of their lack.

This beatitude is also odd in that Jesus seems to have put the emphasis in the wrong place. Doesn’t it seem as if Jesus might say "Blessed are the righteous?" Hunger implies that there is a lack of righteousness whether personally or communally!

“According to Jesus, when we draw near to the kingdom, it is better to come empty than full. We are tempted to think that righteousness is the condition we must be in to be blessed. Jesus says the opposite. Righteousness is the blessing or gift; hunger is the precondition.”

What is righteousness?

It may be hard to get a handle on this beatitude in that the concept of righteousness is difficult to translate into our everyday vocabulary and practice. Who or what comes to mind when you think of righteousness? One author suggests that an appropriate definition for this is “restorative justice.” Or we may tend to think of righteousness more along the lines of personal piety in relationship to God.  Perhaps it is both in that when we seek God’s restorative and saving justice for others we are brought into right (righteous) relationship with God and others. It is interesting that later in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus encourages his disciples to have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees and then warns against self-righteousness in practicing piety before others.  Jesus radicalizes the notion of righteousness—it is not a matter of meeting some high or perfect standard of the law so that others may be impressed by our goodness but it goes much deeper. It goes to the heart and then expands it to places beyond with the law suggests. You have heard that it was said…(don’t murder; but I say if you are angry you must seek reconciliation; love neighbor and hate enemy, but I say love your enemy).

Last week I became aware of the ways in which we can suppress these right hungers. Kathy Kelly, who has done much work in area of enemy love in her work in Iraq, Pakistan and Palestine, spoke very movingly of her encounters with persons in Pakistan who have suffered deeply from the bombs dropped from drones by our own government. She is a slight graying woman but her witness and stories pack a punch! She a deep hunger to deliver restorative justice. As I listened I felt a new hunger awakening in me. A hunger that is too often drowned in a sea of events and cares in my life.

Wrong tastes

The story of Adam and Eve eating the apple reminds us of the prodigal nature of our appetites. We are addicted to an unwholesome diet. In Jesus' beatitude, we hear an echo of the prophet Isaiah’s complaint: "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare" "You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite ... for God,"

Yet our tastes have been captivated by other delicacies. We log onto the internet and feast our eyes on things which drain life from us. We turn on our televisions and get drunk on the wine of violence. We fill our stomachs with the bread of busyness. We are full. Our bank accounts, our retirement stockpiles, our closets, our garages, our bellies, our personal or career agendas…no wonder Jesus said it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. We don’t hunger for it. The sobering parable we heard in Luke is a parable calling us to repent of our hungers that do not lead to justice and righteousness

Let us not fill ourselves with self-righteous indignation, bitterness, complaint, petty disputes…let us be hungry to give and receive forgiveness, to be reconciled, to reveal God’s mercy and salvation to the undeserving…

Let’s stay hunger and thirsty as a congregation. We are now ramping up for the craft and rug sale at the Ewert home. Even though it is such a time consuming event every year, I’m always encouraged that we are just as hungry to do it again the next year. We don’t say, “look what a great job we did” and then sit on our hands…no, we recognize that God’s righteousness and restorative justice needs to be proclaimed in our world now more than ever.

Jesus' promise in this beatitude shows us that true righteousness leaves us craving more. We tend to think of righteousness as a standard. Like the little boy whose progress in growth has been marked inch by inch on the kitchen wall and compared to his father's height, we hope that we, too, will measure up someday. Yet there is no limit to God's righteousness. As worshipers of an infinite God, we are always longing, always filled.

How to stay hungry and thirsty

Recognize your own emptiness or otherwise known as humility; come to God as a beggar.

Get out there and brush shoulders with those who are hungry and thirsty

Fast and pray

Immerse yourself in scripture especially the prophets who were constantly calling people to awaken to God’s righteousness

Give it away; practice giving away something every week or month that is precious to you

Remember the saints who have gone before us; awaken your hunger for the coming of the kingdom of God when we all will be gathered around the banquet table of heaven.

 

On Earth As In Heaven

In the Bible there's a rich vein of teaching about God's banquet, the heavenly banquet.
In Isaiah we here this:
 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats and the finest of wines.
In Matthew, Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a King who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
And in Revelation, we read this:
 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. The wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean is given her to wear.
This is the banquet to which scripture and this one here before us points:

Invitation to the Table

This beautiful table before us today is a sneak preview of God’s heavenly banquet—the feast that we’ll someday share with loved ones, prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, and quite a few other surprising guests from “east and west, north and south”! (Lk 13:29).  And on that day, God will wipe away our tears, death and terror and war will be no more, and we’ll experience the indescribable joy of being finally and fully with our Lord. 

Our prayer is for Jesus to come: ‘Maranatha!’ ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ ‘May your grace come and this world pass away!’”. At the table, the future breaks into the present time. Our communion with God at this community table is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

I invite us to come this morning not as a way to fill our hunger but as a way to awaken our hunger for God and God’s justice and right living. As we share in the heavenly feast later, the lighted candles will be a reminder of the time when we will all be gathered around the table in God's kingdom.

Before we come to the table, Curtis will lead us in singing our prayer of thanksgiving and grace:

Some instructions.  All are welcome to participate.  After you’ve filled your plate and glass, please leave the table area to make room for others.  We invite you then to share toasts of blessing with those around you.  Friends, for heaven’s sake, let our banquet begin!

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