Beatitude #4: You Who Hunger and Thirst for Justice
Blessed are you* who hunger and thirst for justice
*You who weep at the tears that flood the nightly newscast
you whose tears prompt you to action
You who are willing to practice joy in the fierce furnaces of this world
you whose joy cultivates the courage
to create a world where all may laugh,
where all may give and receive the joys of created life
You who reject easy definitions of freedom as
the freedom to do as you please
the freedom to shop your way to the good life
the freedom to envision your life outside the good of others
the freedom to stroll past human suffering, to scroll past human pain
You who embrace the freedom of the gospel
the freedom to love
the freedom to let love correct everything that stands against love
You who are willing to be silent
to better hear the whispers of the upside-down revolution
You who dare to be silent, to let silenced voices speak
You who dare to speak – for justice, for dignity, for hope, for yourselves –
even after years of
well-meaning but indifferent friends and dismissive congregations
You who read the numbers
and can imagine the pain of mothers fathers sons daughters sisters brothers friends partners kokums moshums grandpas omas
all those grieving lost ones and loved ones and little ones who never came home who never come home who’ll never come home
you who read the numbers of victims and imagine the lost lives of God’s image-bearers, each and every one
You who can imagine that another world is possible
that another world is coming
a world where valleys are raised and mountains laid low
where private mansions give way to community gardens and penthouse suites give way to public squares
a world where a gun is beaten into a garden hoe and drones are turned into ventilators
a world where doors swing open wide and tables stretch long
a world where love for God is matched only by love for neighbours.
Blessed are you*, who hunger and thirst for justice.
You will be filled.
