6:1 "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen
by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
6:2 "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
6:3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing,
6:4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you.
6:5 "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to
stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by
others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your
Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
6:16 "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they
disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they
have received their reward.
6:17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
6:18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in
secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
consume and where thieves break in and steal;
6:20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
This passage is so fitting. In the one hand, we the leaders were charged with leading
the people in corporate repentance (from Joel 2's "blowing the trumpet" and
"gathering congregation"). In the other hand, here we see the problem of public
piety.
I was reading Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline" recently. I
learned a lot about the balance needed for personal piety there. The keyword here is
"to be seen by others." As leaders, I strive to walk the talk, to lead by
example, but that would be wrong too, if it was done "to be seen by others."
There is so much perils in following God in public life. The only way is to
consistently following him in private, and the the private strength will permeat the
public.
The devotion to God through the practice of secret is easily forgotten. Often we want
to brag about the good things we do (as example), and hide the bad deeds as secret. But
sometimes we may have taken the concept too far. I remember a mentee asked me, "You
don't pray much huh?" And my excuse was that Jesus wanted us to shut the doors and
won't let people know that we were praying. I was so wrong. It's not the activities or
techniques, it's the motive of the heart.
Father God, who see in secret. Please expose our hidden motives when we follow you just
because of we want to be an example to others. Help us to follow you from the secret place
of our heart.
Coho, Midway City.
In this passage Matthew sets forth a vision of genuine righteousness illustrated by
three basic acts of Jewish devotion: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus does not
denounce these acts--in the New Testament they are signs of singular devotion to God.
Rather, he criticizes those who perform them in order to have a sense of self-satisfaction
or to gain public approval. Care for the poor, intense prayer, and fasting with a joyous
countenance are signs of loving dedication to God.
Discerning the heart and quality of a watermelon is not an easy task. Near the
supermarket melon display, one hears self-proclaimed experts analyze anything from the
depth of the melon's stripes, to its shape, to the everpopular quality of its
"thunk" when snapped by the thumb and index finger. On the other hand, one also
overhears those less confident--but perhaps more truthful--who observe, "You never
really know the heart of a melon until you slice it open."
The task of the Ash Wednesday preacher is not unlike discerning the heart of a melon.
The outward signs of a penitent heart are not easily discerned; they are even less easily
described or proclaimed.
Ash Wednesday scripture lifts up the tension that accompanies the Lenten discipline of
discerning and rending the heart, "Blow the trumpet," says Joel. "Sanctify
the fast."
Matthew, on the other hand, exhorts, "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a
trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets." Piety
practiced before others in order to be seen is condemned. "In secret" is the
operative word for piety.
Yet, if "in secret" is the operative word of Matthew, "in public"
is that of Isaiah. "Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a
trumpet!" Fasting? Of course! Not as a private, pious deed; but rather, fasting as a
public witness. Free the oppressed; feed the hungry; house the homeless; clothe the naked.
The Lenten heart is both condemned and extolled by its public acts, and difficulty of
discernment might soon become despair until we are reminded of the psalmist's words.
Indeed, it is God who creates clean hearts; it is God who renews our spirits; it is God
who gifts us with saving help; it is God who opens our lips and fills our words and deeds
with rightful praise.
Twila Schock and Bill Swanson
I'm moving in the direction of "eternal values." Ash Wednesday does not call
for new insights, but a reminder of eternal values - the things that will last.
This year, we will say, "Remember you are dust..." Funny thing is, I was dust
last year, and the year before. That I am dust is an eternal value. Issues may change, but
some things remain the same. Ash Wednesday and Lent remind us of the latter.
Treasures on earth change - rust, corruption, theft (v. 19).
Eternal treasures do not (v. 20)
How do I know what I am treasuring? Where is your heart? (v. 21) What do you love? What
do you talk about? What do you think about when you're not thinking about anything in
particular? Are they things that will last, or things that are dust?
JG in WI
The Lenten heart. I like that! Thanks, Twila and Bill! Sounds like a sermon series to
me!
Yes, I was just thinking along those same lines: there's this sort of cognitive
dissonance that just seems to start with Ash Wednesday and then continue until it's
finally resolved. Practice your piety in secret - and yet, walk around with a cross of
ashes on your forehead!
I'd been thinking specifically of this cognitive dissonance, though, and thinking how
we can be pious above pious. Or practice piety beyond piety to the point where it no
longer is holy but pharisaically legal.
Oh, and if anyone wants a real-life illustration: my former parsonage had this funny
little room in it. We couldn't for the life of us decide what it was for!!! It was too
small to be a bedroom, or even a craft or sewing room. It was the size of a nice walk-in
closet, but without any indication of a place to hang or store anything. It was maybe 4
1/2 - 5 feet across and maybe 7 feet deep. It later occured to me that it was a prayer
closet. It was something of an older parsonage - designed in the style of 1930's, but
built in the early 50's. I don't know when "prayer closets" were popular,
architecturally, but evidently church members thought it'd be good to put one in the
parsonage.
Anyways, we had an 8 yr old and a baby, so it became a Barbie room for us to keep the
baby from swallowing all those little sharp high heeled Barbie shoes and other
accessories.
Sally in GA
Dr. Phil McGraw often asks, "What's your payoff?" I think the question at the
fore in this passage is "Why?" Why do you do the pious things you do? Why do you
give to the poor, or fast, or pray, or ...? If it is for recognition here, the payoff is
short lived. If it is for the glory of God, done in secret, the payoff is a fuller reward.
So we do what we do because we have been reconciled to God through Christ.
Steve in NC
Steve in NC
If our deeds are motivated by love for the other, then we glorify God.
JKS
I just got through reading a post on the OT page for this coming Sunday about how we
tend to turn ritual into routine.
I wonder if Jesus' admonition is about routine - feeling good by checking off
"piety" on our "to do" list without really investing in the ritual.
Maybe wearing a little ashen cross on the forehead while hearing Jesus' admonition will
help us sit with this discomfort for a day.
Something I did with youth and have done with adults is cut bracelets out of burlap. I
put self-stick Velcro circles on the wrists and invite the congregation to put it on,
during the "invitation to the Lenten discipline."
Ash Wednesday is about scratchiness, things that grate, or don't sit right. The
dissonance in our lives unresolved until we find resolution in Christ.
Sally in GA
another thought: I've been aware of being "caught" by a parishioner while I
was praying. It's embarassing. Why? It seems it would be even MORE embarassing if my
congregation DIDN'T catch me praying now and then! Same thing has happened in restaurants:
the wait person will stop by when we're praying and it's awkward.
Seems we can be too private, doesn't it?
Sally
