God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. – Matthew 5:6 NLT
Sometimes when I read the Beatitudes, I want to call “Bologna”. I see how divided we are in our country – and in the Church globally – and wonder where the satisfaction is. The word play got my attention, though, and got me thinking differently. Hunger. Thirst. Satisfied. I think of the word satiated as an appropriate substitute for satisfied. It recalls times when I might be hungry or thirsty and finally get to eat or drink to satiation, to fullness. Quite satisfying. And then, in due time, I get hungry and thirsty again. It’s a never-ending cycle, this hunger and thirst needing to be satisfied. Perhaps my desire to see injustice finally and fully remedied has robbed me of some good food and drink in the here and now as we work toward the long-term dream.
The Gospel of John gives witness to this very phenomenon. In the fourth chapter, we see Jesus calling his disciples to take an unpopular route back home to Galilee from Jerusalem. Most Jewish people took the longer route following the Jordan River, avoiding the region of Samaria altogether. Jewish people had a centuries-old hatred of the Samaritans – they hated them more than any other group. Jesus said that they “had to go” through Samaria, not because Google Maps wanted to avoid traffic, but because shalom impelled and compelled him to cut directly through the region of the enemy.
In the heat of the afternoon, they came to an historic well that both traditions knew well. Jesus stayed there while the disciples went into a village to get food – they were all certainly hungry after their long trek. While they were away, a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus started a conversation (a cultural faux pas). She rebuffed him. He persisted. Jesus knew that the woman was not in a good place. She was drawing water all by herself in the heat of the day. Such daily tasks were handled in the coolness of early morning, with women carrying water together for safety and mutual support. As the story unfolds, we discover that the woman was likely shunned from her community, forced into isolation for no fault of her own.
At one point, after Jesus correctly identified her situation, she tried to distract him with a theological fight that would have sent any Jewish person into a tailspin rage. Yet Jesus was unflinching in his pursuit of justice. He recognized that she had been treated unjustly by her community. Further, he recognized that Samaritans and Jews had treated each other unjustly. This was an opportunity to stand for grace and justice on both fronts.
Because Jesus stayed the course of shalom, even going so far as to let her be the first to hear him say that he was the anointed one Jewish people were waiting for, she left transformed. The weight she carried to the well was off her shoulders. She rushed back to her village a new person. The community that shunned her noticed the difference and even heeded her plea to see Jesus for themselves – and they did! It is remarkable what the love of God can do for a person.
When she was headed back to her village, the disciples certainly passed her on the way back to the well. They had lunch ready to offer Jesus. His response surprised them: “I have a kind of food you know nothing about. My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing God’s work.” Jesus was satiated. Jesus’ hunger and thirst for justice in that moment was fully satisfied. It didn’t solve all the world’s problems, but it changed the world in that village in Samaria. It changed the relationship between the villagers and the woman. It changed how the woman felt about herself. Shalom was cultivated, providing a feast.
I take heat from folks who have left CrossWalk because they think I am too political and want to keep politics out of the church. But if we claim to be followers of Jesus, throwing political issues out of the church will require us to throw Jesus out, too. The desire to not see this truth or follow Jesus’ invitation is in part why so many social ills are still as pronounced as they are today. The decision to ignore Jesus’ teaching and calling is why Martin Luther King, Jr. had to write Letter from a Birmingham Jail, which was largely an indictment against mostly white churches who were telling King to “tone it down.” Jesus was told to tone it down, too. It was not met with acquiescence. Rather, it was met with a stern, “Get behind me, Satan!”
To be followers of Jesus is exemplified in the Samaritan woman’s story. By the way, note the intersectionality of her situation. She was a woman, of a different ethnicity, of a different faith tradition, and in her own way undocumented. She was blind and then saw. When she saw, she spoke. When she spoke, more people saw and believed for themselves. Justice was realized. To say yes to Jesus’ invitation to follow him in standing up for justice is not to abandon our spiritual connection to God but rather the opposite. She was a beautiful example of following Jesus fully. And I bet she was satiated, too.
I wonder if the reason some Christians are so starving for more of God in their lives is because they are ignoring the buffet right in front of their faces, rejecting it as “too political.” More worship songs will never satisfy like actually following in the footsteps of Jesus. Maybe it’s time to learn from this woman, of color, of a different tradition, who was undocumented, who was transformed by Jesus only to find herself serving the transformation for others.
How have you been overwhelmed by shalom? Shalom is overwhelming. How have you been transformed by shalom? Shalom is transforming. How have you followed Jesus in sharing the overwhelming, transforming shalom? The way you do this is as unique as you are. The satiation is assured. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? The buffet awaits.
Take some time to learn how Benjamin Lay – The Quaker Comet – was overwhelmed and transformed by shalom who then used guerilla theater to stand up for grace and justice with his anti-slavery efforts.
Take some time to appreciate Napa artist John Hannaford’s painting, “Birthday/Last Day” – a haunting critique of the unnecessary suffering a world away caused by hunger while others are full.
How will you allow shalom to more fully overwhelm and transform you? How will you heed the call of shalom to cultivate its growth wherever you are? From shalom, toward shalom, with shalom.
Things you can do...
· Download the Five Calls app that gives you the ability to contact your representatives quickly and easily. Contact them with your concern!
· Show up. If there is a nonviolent gathering taking place for an issue you care about, show up!
· Be an advocate. White people, pay attention! Feeling guilt and shame regarding racial prejudice is not the goal. Becoming increasingly aware of its presence and stating its reality challenges voices that deny it and emboldens others to own it and do something about it. Do your work! Courage required! It’s the shalom thing to do! It’s the patriotic thing to do!
· Support organizations that are doing good work on many fronts – you can’t do it alone, but a million people donating even $5/month can do a lot!
· There is so much more you can do, of course. Part of the process is doing your own research to find out more.
Watch the teaching related to the post below on our YouTube channel (YouTube.com/CrossWalkNapa). Or listen via your preferred podcast provider ( search CrossWalkNapa). This post is informed by, and references noted are sourced from (unless otherwise noted) Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount Together, which will inform CrossWalkNapateachings throughout 2025.