Yesterday in my post I referenced Romans 6 and mentioned the subtitle of part of the Chapter – “Slaves to Righteousness”  – later in the day I read an article saying that Christians can turn people off talking about righteousness.  I’ve heard the same kind of thing said about Christians in pursuit of justice.  I think the truth is better said that some Christians are called to speak, teach and preach about righteousness and others are called to speak, teach and preach about justice and that we can’t really say one pursuit is more attractive to another.  Perhaps, depending on what is currently occurring in a person’s life, they might be inclined to focus more on justice than on righteousness or vice versa.   Perhaps the two subjects are held together by the person or persons who are in the middle of all the action.

Jesus was and still is in the middle of all the action.  While he is not physically here, it is the Holy Spirit, whom he gives without favoritism to us, that get’s the action done.  As Christians we’ve been taught that whatever we do, we should it as if we’re working for the Lord.  Our motivation for pursuing righteousness comes from Jesus himself.

In Matthew’s Gospel, when John questions Jesus’ request to be baptized with water, Jesus responds that it is ‘proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ (Matthew 3:1-5)

Jesus also speaks about righteousness in The Sermon on the Mount saying those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled.  I wrote very briefly about this on pages 69 and 70 in my book “Praying Our Way Through Stress: Drawing Wisdom from the Lord’s Life and Prayer.”

In Matthew 5:20 Jesus speaks about the importance of righteousness in regards to entering the kingdom of heaven.    In that verse he mentions teachers of the law – these were teachers who taught about the rules of worship in the temple and in how the temple should be run.  What Jesus said to his followers was that their righteousness should surpass that of those teachers.  In saying this – he wasn’t condemning the teachers the law, although some people thought so and in fact many of them felt condemned.  I believe Jesus was also calling them to come out of the temple into the world – in the same way he called other people out of their homes and careers.  I believe Jesus was calling people to follow him to call them out of their normal lifestyle.  I believe Jesus wanted people to see the world outside of their comfort zones, to open their hearts and minds to people in different circumstances.  I believe Jesus wanted people to realize that we are all interdependent on one another for mutual support and well-being.

The words righteousness and justice are sometimes used interchangeably in the Scriptures.  We are so used to hearing people say “We want Justice!”  What do people usually mean when they say that?  Are they asking for punishment, judgment or a declaration of innocence?  You see, the righteousness Jesus speaks about is one of innocence, holy innocence.  This is not necessarily the way people in this world speak about or understand justice.  Their cry for justice seems to be more of a cry declaring someone guilty. What would happen if the cry in the streets was for Righteousness?  Maybe people who are crying out for Justice want is to know ‘the Truth.’   But what truth and whose truth?  The world couldn’t understand and didn’t accept The Truth when Jesus was living with them.  He was crucified as he pursued righteousness and justice for us.

The fulfillment of all righteousness began with the Baptism of Water in the river Jordan and continued all the way through Jesus’ life – to the cross, where he asked God to forgive people because they didn’t know what they were doing.  The fulfillment of righteousness continued through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, when he commissioned the disciples to go out and baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit,  and teach them to obey everything he commanded.  Jesus didn’t write or make commandments for the way people worshipped in the temple.  Jesus commanded and taught us to Love God, Love ourselves and Love our neighbors as ourselves.   But let’s not forget that Jesus worshipped in the temple and he taught in the temple and he founded a church.  So don’t abandon worshipping and learning within the church.  We would do well by spending time together in a worship community and working together in the world for the Lord’s sake and in pursuit of fulfilling all righteousness.

Whatever we do, let us do as if we are doing it for the Lord.  As we continue in our Lenten disciplines let’s remember who and why we are doing this for.  And perhaps we can continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We are asked as Christians, to live in this world not for our own sakes, but for the sake of the One who has given us Life and who has given His Life to us, in Jesus.  In John’s Gospel, Chapter 17, Jesus prays that everyone who believes will remain united through the Holy Spirit.  My gut feeling, my personal opinion,  is that perhaps the most holy innocent cries that can be made are those involved with taking care of orphans and widows in their distress and ministering to those in need.  The ministries of feeding and clothing and caring for people in body, mind and spirit may be those that are most pleasing to the Lord.

Lord, Thank you for your willingness to pursue all righteousness and for calling us into relationship with you.  Thank you for the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of sinners. Please give us more of your Holy Spirit, that we might see with your eyes, and seek to do the work that you have given us to do – to Love and serve others in your behalf and power, for the sake of the building up of the kingdom of heaven.  AMEN