Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst ...  Sounds like someone who wants to dig into the brunch picture below.  Especially when we realize that the sentence ends with "for they will be filled".  That's filled, as in satisfied.  Hungry?  Eat, and be satisfied.  Thirsty?  Drink, and be satisfied.  But there's more to it.  Two words in the middle.  Words I left out.  "For righteousness".  Oops.  That's not about food.  This begs a question.  Exactly what does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Here's a clue:

Mt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

But even now, do we really understand what hunger and thirst for righteousness means?  It could be a whole lot more than you think.  Maybe even more than you're ready to hear?  

Just on the off chance you still don't recognize where that quote comes from, it's Jesus, from Matthew's Gospel.  There are various ways people tend to view what those words mean.  But the truth is, it doesn't matter what we'd like them to mean.  What matters is what Jesus meant when He said these words.

As was the case, with Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, The AI summary below was very difficult to get.  It seems the concepts of spiritual hunger and thirst versus physical hunger and thirst are so opposed that it had trouble coming up with a summary.  Finally, on the fourth attempt, with way more direction than any previous instance, it came up with something useful. (I really don't like writing about what I wrote, so I'm using this approach.)

One view of hunger and thirst for righteousness

The first commentary opened up by my software package says this:

In keeping with the preceding, the fourth beatitude names the literally hungry and thirsty, i.e., the downtrodden and oppressed, who especially hunger and thirst after the justice associated with the coming of God’s eschatological rule. There is, then, no significant difference between the Matthean and Lukan versions of the beatitude, despite the additional words καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, “and thirst for justice,” in Matthew. That δικαιοσύνη here means “justice” rather than “personal righteousness” is clear from the context.  ¹Hagner, D. A. (1993). Matthew 1–13 (Vol. 33A, p. 93). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

I know - it's got some big words and some Greek that isn't explained all that completely.  So let me try to add some insight to it.

In keeping with the preceding

This means in keeping with the preceding Beatitudes.  If you've studied the previous Beatitudes from this site, you'll soon see that I agree this one is in line with the previous three.  However, you'll also see that I look at all four of them differently. 

There's the obvious interpretation - being hungry for food and drink. 

Here's another.  As the author implies, Luke's telling of the beatitudes tends to be on more of a social justice level than Matthew's.  Luke actually has two verses dealing with the topic of being hungry - or not.

Lk 6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Lk 6:25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.