Hunger Pangs
Lenten Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. - Jesus, Matthew 5:6
A couple years ago, I was officially diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It runs in my family - both sides. On top of that, I am a Midwest American with a Korean father. Rice, potatoes, noodle casseroles, fast food, and fried…well, anything. Oh, also I am an emotional eater - eating food to comfort me when I’m down and eating food to celebrate when I’m feeling good. Such a concoction is, let’s just say, not a lifestyle suggested by the Cleveland Clinic for a person whose body does not process sugars well.
Medication helps. Regularly checking my blood sugar is important. But, appointment after appointment, every. single. doctor. I’ve consulted with has given the same refrain: you need to exercise regularly and you have to change what you eat.
Ugh.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says blessed - or happy - are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The Good Doctor is prescribing a change in diet.
Philippians 4:8 elaborates: Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Other scriptures go into detail as well, juxtaposing what is good and ‘righteous’ - those habits and desires and motives and ways of being that are in step with the Kingdom of God - against the alternatives that fit more with the kingdoms of this world than they do with The Way of Jesus. Caring more about money and labels and status symbols does not lead to lasting joy. More Things and Nicer Stuff are the fast foods of our desires, temporarily granting happiness when we are down or celebrating something good, but they are anything but lasting. Clothing goes out of style and cars get old. Fleeting, never truly satisfying.
Neither is the on-going pursuit of power. The political game swings from one side of the partisan divide to the other. Power. Influence. Control. Nothing new under the sun, but that doesn’t stop our inner-Icarus from flying towards it. Like a moth to a flame, so too are we drawn toward power. (An alarm always rings within me when I hear a preacher praying for “more power.” What is it they are asking for, exactly? The types of power this current strain of Christian Nationalism desire are not the kinds Jesus deployed. Jesus set his power aside in order to serve others, not to lord or legislate it over them for His own benefit. Jesus was always leveraging His powers to help the most vulnerable, not the most powerful.)
The Way of Jesus requires a change in diet. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just…
So what changes are you making to your diet these days? What steps is the Good Doctor advising you to take? Remember, this is the One who desires your good. And this Doctor is especially qualified to help lead you in that direction. In fact, He went through it Himself.
At the beginning of His public ministry, just after His baptism, Jesus was led to the desert where He spent 40 days fasting. He changed His diet. And, in so doing, spent more time listening to His Heavenly Father.
The season of Lent offers us a similar opportunity - to fast, to step out of the regular rhythms of this world in order to take steps toward God.
Of course it isn’t easy. Jesus never said it would be. Of course there will be hunger pangs in this diet change. When did ‘we’ start translating “Daily, pick up your cross and follow me?” into an Osteen-ian Your Best Life Now?! When did we start denying Christ’s crucifixion? Sigh…
No, the road to Easter - and all of its glory - inevitably goes through the cross. And while it goes through the cross, thank God, it does not end there. For, on the other side, is New Life, Life Abundant.
The funny thing about this whole diabetes journey, is that I am actually discovering my tastes are changing. Though it first fell like a sort of death, I now don’t like those sugar-filled sodas I used to drink two or three or more of in a day. I still love fried foods, bread and pasta, and rice-based dishes, but I also genuinely enjoy more vegetable-forward meals. And I am also discovering that I’m becoming happier again. My energy levels are changing. My weight is dropping. My cholesterol levels have improved.
It’s taking awhile. It’s required new medications, different doctors, and changes in how I choose to live my life. This will be part of the rest of my life, now. I’m not yet where I want to be, but I’m on my way, heading in the right direction.
Kind of like my journey with Jesus.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.