Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: " Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied" ( Matthew, 5:6). Like many passages in the Bible, we think that we know the meaning of 'righteousness', but in fact we don't. Usually, we hunger and thirst for food and drink to satisfy our bodily needs. Here hunger and thirst are for righteousness, which, therefore, must be from our soul. Soul being spirit in the body must be longing for spiritual food and drink. Righteousness is that spiritual food and drink combined as a gift flowing from God to those who hunger and thirst after it.
That it is not a product of our actions is clear from what Jesus says: " For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew, 5:20). Righteousness implies our right standing before God for which we are incapable unless we receive it as a gift from God. It does not consist in good actions we perform nor in rituals of sacrifices and offerings we make to God. The essence of righteousness consists in taking upon ourselves the punishment for the wrongs others have committed while we remain innocent. It is most repugnant to human nature to undergo this ordeal and yet is possible in union with the one who conquered the world by conquering his own self. This is what God did in Jesus: " God made him who had no sin be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" ( 2 Corinthians, 5:21). Our righteousness, therefore, is through our participation in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who alone is righteous in his own right before God. Subsequently, our good actions, sacrifices and offerings are acceptable to God.
All our good actions, sacrifices etc.offered to God should follow on the basis of this righteousness for which we should hunger and thirst. If so, we shall be able to control our impulses to kill as well as our tendency to get angry. We should be able to reconcile with anyone who has anything against us before our display of devotion to God in public. We shall understand that looking at a woman with the eyes of lust is committing adultery with her in our heart. In marriage, there can be no divorce according to our whims and fancies. Forget about swearing, one has to be so honest and trustworthy that there is no need of any swearing. Instead of "an eye for an eye", " a tooth for a tooth", we have to turn the other cheek too. If someone sues us for anything, give him or her double of what they ask for We should not turn away anyone empty-handed who asks us for some help. Even people who ask for a loan should not be refused. On top of everything, we have to love our enemies as well as our friends.
Is it practical to live like this in this world? In order to follow these principles, we have to first understand them correctly. A literal interpretation of the texts in all cases may not bring out the intended meaning.The social situation in each age, human tendencies to be lazy and to take advantage of others, the need to uphold the dignity of everyone including our own etc. should be taken into account to properly understand each case. Within this framework, it is practical and possible to live by those principles if we can follow the instruction of Jesus: " But seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew, 6:33). These things are our daily needs like food and drink and clothing etc. for which we anxiously labor every day. If so, how much more will be the gift of God that fulfills our spiritual needs! Seeking God's Kingdom and his righteousness implies that we start with the beatitudes whereby we are in the right frame of mind to put into practice the instructions of Jesus and be his disciples. The beatitudes (Matthew, 5:3-12) and all the instructions that follow (Matthew, 5:13-48) are specifically addressed to those who would like to be the disciples of Jesus. The following chapters 6 and 7 expand the theme in the same spirit. A disciple is empowered from above to put into practice the instructions of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus are extremely happy people because of the influence of the beatitudes (Matthew, 5:3-12) in their life.
The happiness that starts in the life of the disciples in this very life will be completed in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the hope we live by everyday. People like the pharisees and the doctors of the Law among the Jewish people during the time of Jesus were extremely legalistic and were slaves to the Law. In their condition of slavery they were not fit to understand the freedom offered through the beatitudes and the meaning of righteousness before God. This is why Jesus discounted them from entering the Kingdom of God. The righteousness acceptable to God did not arise from the observation of the Law but from the promise made by God to Abraham and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It is, therefore, essential to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. A nominal Christian may not qualify while a true disciple of Jesus from any religion, being truly righteous, may enter heaven before many others. St. Augustine has given a reason for this paradox by saying that there are some who think that they are in the Church who may really be outside it while there are others who think that they are outside the Church who may be really in. The ultimate mystery is that true righteousness being identified with Jesus Christ, anyone who participates in the one does so in the other too.
That it is not a product of our actions is clear from what Jesus says: " For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew, 5:20). Righteousness implies our right standing before God for which we are incapable unless we receive it as a gift from God. It does not consist in good actions we perform nor in rituals of sacrifices and offerings we make to God. The essence of righteousness consists in taking upon ourselves the punishment for the wrongs others have committed while we remain innocent. It is most repugnant to human nature to undergo this ordeal and yet is possible in union with the one who conquered the world by conquering his own self. This is what God did in Jesus: " God made him who had no sin be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" ( 2 Corinthians, 5:21). Our righteousness, therefore, is through our participation in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who alone is righteous in his own right before God. Subsequently, our good actions, sacrifices and offerings are acceptable to God.
All our good actions, sacrifices etc.offered to God should follow on the basis of this righteousness for which we should hunger and thirst. If so, we shall be able to control our impulses to kill as well as our tendency to get angry. We should be able to reconcile with anyone who has anything against us before our display of devotion to God in public. We shall understand that looking at a woman with the eyes of lust is committing adultery with her in our heart. In marriage, there can be no divorce according to our whims and fancies. Forget about swearing, one has to be so honest and trustworthy that there is no need of any swearing. Instead of "an eye for an eye", " a tooth for a tooth", we have to turn the other cheek too. If someone sues us for anything, give him or her double of what they ask for We should not turn away anyone empty-handed who asks us for some help. Even people who ask for a loan should not be refused. On top of everything, we have to love our enemies as well as our friends.
Is it practical to live like this in this world? In order to follow these principles, we have to first understand them correctly. A literal interpretation of the texts in all cases may not bring out the intended meaning.The social situation in each age, human tendencies to be lazy and to take advantage of others, the need to uphold the dignity of everyone including our own etc. should be taken into account to properly understand each case. Within this framework, it is practical and possible to live by those principles if we can follow the instruction of Jesus: " But seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew, 6:33). These things are our daily needs like food and drink and clothing etc. for which we anxiously labor every day. If so, how much more will be the gift of God that fulfills our spiritual needs! Seeking God's Kingdom and his righteousness implies that we start with the beatitudes whereby we are in the right frame of mind to put into practice the instructions of Jesus and be his disciples. The beatitudes (Matthew, 5:3-12) and all the instructions that follow (Matthew, 5:13-48) are specifically addressed to those who would like to be the disciples of Jesus. The following chapters 6 and 7 expand the theme in the same spirit. A disciple is empowered from above to put into practice the instructions of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus are extremely happy people because of the influence of the beatitudes (Matthew, 5:3-12) in their life.
The happiness that starts in the life of the disciples in this very life will be completed in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the hope we live by everyday. People like the pharisees and the doctors of the Law among the Jewish people during the time of Jesus were extremely legalistic and were slaves to the Law. In their condition of slavery they were not fit to understand the freedom offered through the beatitudes and the meaning of righteousness before God. This is why Jesus discounted them from entering the Kingdom of God. The righteousness acceptable to God did not arise from the observation of the Law but from the promise made by God to Abraham and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It is, therefore, essential to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. A nominal Christian may not qualify while a true disciple of Jesus from any religion, being truly righteous, may enter heaven before many others. St. Augustine has given a reason for this paradox by saying that there are some who think that they are in the Church who may really be outside it while there are others who think that they are outside the Church who may be really in. The ultimate mystery is that true righteousness being identified with Jesus Christ, anyone who participates in the one does so in the other too.
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