4 Epiphany Year A 1/29/2026
Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
Our Gospel reading today takes us through the beginning of Matthew chapter five.
And begins with some of the most famous words of Jesus…
The Beatitudes…
They mark the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.
We probably know the words well…
Blessed are the poor in spirit, …
Blessed are those who mourn, …
Blessed are the meek, …
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…
They are called the beatitudes because they are attitudes that we should be…
Attitudes that we should have in our life…
These attitudes should be reflected in our behavior, our words,
our actions…
They are not just requirements…
Moral laws to live by…
Some sort of moral code…
But rather a description of the life of a people gathered by and around Jesus. [1]
As the famous theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes:
Action in accord with Christ does not originate in some ethical principle, but in the very person of Jesus Christ. [2]
The teachings of our Lord are not just for morality…
But focus on the work and person of Jesus.
In his teachings we find the grace and mercy…
The forgiveness and power…
To live life in this new community of God.
The followers of Jesus.
The Sermon on the Mount is the foremost teaching we have from our Lord in the Gospels…
So may we listen intently…
May we have ears to hear.
Actually, at the Reading with the Rector, on Tuesday at 11:30 am we will be reading and looking at Mathew chapter 5 more intently…
Everyone is invited to come… just ask me for more details.
The Beatitudes and the rest of the Sermon on the Mount can not be lived out in a vacuum…
The way we behave…
The actions we take…
All involves other people.
In our culture it has increasingly become vogue to be isolated…
Whether intentional or not…
Many choose to live their life behind a screen…
At home…
Rejecting others who have a differing opinion…
Disassociating themselves from loved ones who hold different political views…
A really sad trend in our culture.
Even a vast number of Christians choose to live life away from the church…
Trying to live their faith alone.
Or perhaps Christians choose to live their faith in a private way…
So as to be invisible in society.
Theologian Stanley Hauerwas is helpful here…
He writes:
For the followers of Jesus, “to flee into invisibility is to deny the call. Any community of Jesus which wants to be invisible is no longer a community that follows him.”
Christians, however, are tempted to become invisible,
justifying their identification with the surrounding culture in the name of serving the neighbor…. [3]
Today I want to focus on just one of the beatitudes in particular.
Jesus said:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Hunger…
Thirst…
They certainly wouldn’t show up on my list of the top things that make me feel blessed or happy.
In fact, I don’t really like being hungry or thirsty…
But when we truly hunger for something…
When we are so thirsty…
We won’t stop until those desires are filled.
Often when I have heard these words of Jesus:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
I have personalized them…
That if I truly wanted to live righteously before the Lord…
If I truly hungered and thirsted after the right-way of living before God…
He would fill that desire.
And there is truth to that…
If we truly hunger after the things of God…
Seeking his wisdom and understanding while meditating on the Holy Scriptures.
Seeking the heart of Jesus through prayer and fasting…
Worshipping with the gathered community of God…
I believe God will fill that hunger with His righteousness.
But there is another way to read this text too.
And that is not internalizing the desire…
But looking externally with the desire…
That is to say…
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
(for justice, not just ourselves, but for others)
for they will be filled.
It has to do with being passionate about the way the “others” the “marginalized” the “outcasts” are being treated.
Do we hunger and thirst for righteous justice to reign in the here and now?
The horrific assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. happened at the height of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s.
But just four days later, his widow Coretta Scott King courageously took her husband’s place in leading a peaceful protest march.
Coretta had a deep passion for justice and was a fierce champion of many causes.
Jesus said:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.”
We know that someday God will come to deliver justice and right every wrong, but until that time…
we have the opportunity to participate in making God’s justice a reality on earth…
just like Coretta did.
Seeking justice for the oppressed and the marginalized is one way our lives point back to God.
Isaiah writes (58.8):
that His people seeking justice is like the light of dawn and results in healing for them as well as for others.
Today, may God help us cultivate a hunger for His righteousness here on earth…
For ourselves…
In our pursuit of God…
But also for the people around us.
As we seek justice… in His way and in His power, the Bible says we’ll be satisfied.[4]
And this isn’t just looking for justice with the politically charged events of our day that are broadcast in various ways across the media outlets…
What about the areas around us…
Sure, it might make us feel good to post something on social media and get lots of likes from people that think like us…
But what about people that are suffering in our county, our communities, in our neighborhoods.
I would like to share one that we, as a church, take on…
That is hunger in our wonderful county…
Lake County, Florida.
Approximately 12.6% of Lake County’s population, or over 40,000 residents, faced food insecurity as of 2022…
And each year that number rises… got to be higher now.
8.3% of residents reported that their food did not last before they had money to buy more.
Second Harvest Food Bank reports that 1 in 6 children in the wider region face food insecurity.
Hunger is a real thing in our neck of the woods.
In December last year, we had 22 people help stock shelves and prepare food at Lake Cares Food Pantry.
We are planning to do that again on February 20th, and we will have a sign-up sheet next week.
That’s just one thing though…
We can assist our Veterans,
those with unplanned pregnancies,
those with medical and health crisis…
and on and on…
What is one injustice that draws your attention?
How could you take a step towards doing what’s just and right today?
Jesus said:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.”
It not just a good thing to do…
It’s the way of following Jesus.
Let us respond with the words:
I will with God’s help.
Let’s pursue Christ together!
Amen.
[1] Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew, BTCB (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006).
[2] Quoted from Hauerwas, 61.
[3] Ibid., 62.
[4] Karen Pimpo, Our Daily Bread (Monday, January 16, 2023)
