Why do You speak to them in parables?

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 

 

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed, 

 Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; . . . 

 

- Matthew 13:1–16 

 

We have presently been reading in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know the by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.  Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.    Today's lectionary reading jumps from chapter 7, in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount, to chapter 13, in which Jesus is now surrounded by great multitudes who come to hear Him.  Over the course of the next few days, the lectionary readings prepare us for Ascension Day, which is Thursday in the West and the Armenian Apostolic Church, and a week later for the Eastern Orthodox.  On Friday, the day following the celebration of Christ's Ascension, we will resume the lectionary sequence in chapter 7 once again.  Here we are to note by this stage of Christ's ministry, His fame has reached a point that He must preach from a boat while great multitudes are gathered on the shore.  These are not just disciples, as in the Sermon on the Mount, but likely also the curious and those who come because of His reputation for healing as well.  

 

 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  My study Bible comments that, in the Old Testament, metaphors of sowing and harvesting are common (Psalm 126:5, Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Joel 3:12-14).  These were a part of daily life, experienced by all people.  Here, Christ reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower in the earth, who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  

 

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible teaches that the mysteries of the kingdom are not simply obscure concepts or religious truths only for the elite, and  at the same time, neither is the understanding of Christ's parables merely an intellectual process.  Even the disciples find the message hard to understand.  While Jesus taught the same message to all, it notes, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  

 

 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; . . . "  Here Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes, this prophecy of Isaiah doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, and reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  What is meant by He has blinded, my study Bible explains, is that God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  They didn't become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness.  

 

At this point in His ministry, Jesus begins speaking in parables.  His reasoning is clear:  He wants to reach those who truly desire to hear and to see the things of which He speaks, the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and not merely astonishing "earthly" miracles and healings or things which might fall into the category of magic (in people's perception) or unusual power.   He's here to bring His gospel into the world, not simply to practice astonishing feats to gather the curious or those who will follow Him in fear or other motivations which distract from real discipleship and faith.  So the parables form a kind of opening to those who are drawn to Him from the heart.  That is, from hearts that have not grown dull.  When Jesus quotes Isaiah, and speaks about ears that are hard of hearing, and eyes they have closed, He's speaking of spiritual eyes and ears, the attention of the soul and the heart -- that is the real depth of a person. To understand with their hearts and turn, is to repent.  That is, to turn toward Christ, "so that I should heal them."  If we understand these words in the context in which Christ has spoken them, we understand that this is the way He chooses to frame salvation, and the whole of the institution of the Church, as a kind of hospital in which we receive real healing, with Christ as Physician.  In Matthew 9:11-13, Jesus directly refers to Himself as divine Physician.  He says to the complaining Pharisees, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."  This call Jesus speaks of is the call to turn toward Him, to practice repentance in the sense that all repentance is a turning toward Christ, to God.  In this understanding, the whole of the Incarnation and its purpose is for healing, to help us to turn toward God, to become more like God, in whose image and likeness we are created, our true nature.  St. Athanasius of Alexandria writes, "God became man so that man might become god" (On the Incarnation, 54:3).  This was written just prior to the Council of Nicea which formed our earliest Christian Creed, and in which St. Athanasius played such a decisive part.  Because of Christ's Incarnation, we may become more like God, growing in our true nature even toward an eternal union with God, and in this sense, everlasting life (John 3:16).  And with St. Athanasius and his guiding light, we come toward Christ's Ascension, which will be celebrated on Thursday in Western Church (and the Armenian Apostolic Church) and the Eastern Churches the following Thursday.  For in Christ's Ascension, He takes His humanity into heaven, showing us that our own human nature is capable through grace of doing the same.  This process of grace in us is called theosis, or divinization, and it is what our true salvation is all about, how Christ our Physician heals us through a lifetime process in which we constantly turn to Him throughout our lives.  He is the Sower who sows the seeds of salvation for us in His gospel, and as He teaches in this chapter of parables, these grow and shape and produce fruit, and  transform everything, so that even the angels can dwell with us and we are prepared to dwell with Him.  For without these mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, such healing doesn't exist.

 

 

 

 

Enter by the narrow gate

 

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 

 

 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know the by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 

 

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  

 

- Matthew 7:13–21 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 

  "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  My study Bible comments that the description of the two ways was widespread in Judaism (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:18-19, 12:28, 15:21; Sirach 15:17), and also in early Christian writings, such as the Didache and Barnabas (esp. chapter 18).  St. Luke's version (Luke 13:24-30) has a more eschatological focus, referring to the end of the age.  My study Bible says that because we wrestle against sins and human weaknesses as well as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12), to enter the Kingdom is the more difficult way.  

 

  "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them."  My study Bible notes that because they can easily deceive others, those who put on a show of virtue or religion are more dangerous than those who are evil outright.  So, therefore, we need to be all the more cautious among those who are outwardly virtuous.  We are to observe their fruits.  Note the continuity of the gospel;  Jesus here uses the same words as taught by St. John the Baptist when preaching repentance in preparation for the coming of the Lord:  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

 

 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  Here Jesus begins a testimony to His own deity.  He calls Himself Lord.  My study Bible says that this name refers to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testament.  Moreover, He speaks of the will of My Father in heaven, which He fully knows and shares.  In the verse that follows (verse 22), He refers to the final judgment; perfect judgment is only possible for God.

 

  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  In these words, Jesus lays out the true test of what it means to be His disciple, to call oneself a Christian.  He often speaks of our faith as creating family.  In chapter 12 of St. Matthew's Gospel, we read that Jesus is told that His mother and brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Jesus replies, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers? And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:46-50).  We are understood to be children of God by adoption, as He is eternally-begotten Son.  But here He gives us the thorough grounding in what it means to be His brother or sister or mother, our requirement for belonging in this Kingdom, and there are no shortcuts.  There is one way to enter.  In today's reading, Jesus makes this very clear.  He tells us, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  "The way" is His way (as in "I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6).  Indeed, the early Christian movement was called the Way.  Lest we confine the "way" to a method, we need to understand this word in Greek.  It is ὁδὸς/odos, meaning "road" or "path" (in modern Greek it's commonly used to mean "street").  This path, we tread not simply by mental understanding or belief, but by doing something, by living our faith, embodying it throughout our life.  This is what it means to bear good fruit.  This path of faith, this road, is doing the will of Christ's Father in heaven.  He is the way because, as He has put it, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).  He is that narrow gate that the devil, the evil one, does not want us to find or follow, and tries to obscure.  On its surface the language here sounds extremely restrictive.  But in effect, it's quite personal.  We each have the way we are called, and as contradictory as it may seem, in that path is our true freedom, the way we find who we are called to be and to become.  But this is why we're not to judge, and only God can be the true judge.  As Christians, we're to understand that the devil will throw in our path obstacles to this faith.  We'll have hurdles to overcome, sometimes requiring discipline, separation from things we think we love or can't do without.  Sometimes, like an addict in recovery, we might need to change the company we keep in order to find and stay on that path and limit our obstacles on it.  But He is also the Light, the beam of light we both need to follow, and which shows us the way, His Way.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has laid out His gospel for us, given us the righteousness of the Kingdom, and its blessings, given us an idea of what it is to dwell in this Kingdom and what it means for us.  He's laid out a kind of roadmap, in which we know we must pay attention to what is ours to focus on, find His way, practice our faith in prayers and almsgiving and fasting not to be seen by others, but knowing we are seen by our Father who sees in secret and is in the secret place.  Let us hold fast to what He teaches on this journey, including His warnings to be alert for false prophets, for we're responsible for the fruits we bear.

 

 

 

 

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

 

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. 

 

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 

- Matthew 7:1-12 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 

  "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study Bible comments here that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the same things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  We have failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin also.  To pass judgment is to assume God's authority.  Moreover, my study Bible points out that the second part of this verse is found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38, each used in a different context, as Christ clearly repeated this message many times.  This repetition teaches us something about the significance of the principle He names here.

 

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Here is an elaboration on the warning against judgment, and a teaching on our own blindness to our flaws and what that does to us.  We are to look to ourselves to correct our own errors and mistaken thinking and practices before we can ever help others.  For Christ's teaching on mutual correction in the Church, see Matthew 18:15-35.  Let us remember also that Jesus is preaching to those who are His disciples, and who will in turn become teachers and authorities in His Church.

 

 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."   Dogs and swine, my study Bible explains, refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but this would also include Jews who do not practice virtue.  According to patristic teaching, "dogs" are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while "swine" are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, including Christ's teachings (Matthew 13:46) and the great sacraments.  These holy things are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant, not to protect the holy things themselves, for Christ needs no protection.  On the contrary, we protect the faithless people from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  Additionally, this extends the warning about judgment to protection from those who would respond with hostility to what is intended as helpful correction given through grace ("removing the speck in another's eye") such as Christ gives to His disciples.  

 

 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study Bible tells us that in the Greek, the verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives:  "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  Note the synergy here:  our effort is commanded, but not ever apart from the immediate help of God.  We ask in prayer; seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will.  Human beings are called evil not to condemn all of us, but rather to contrast the imperfect goodness in people (in other words, our goodness is also mixed with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see Matthew 19:16-17).  If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, my study Bible explains, all the more will God work perfect good.  

 

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  This verse is known as the Golden Rule.   Jesus' expresses that it fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets; my study Bible remarks that it is also a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (see Jesus' statement of the two greatest commandments, found at Matthew 22:37-40).  This Golden Rule is a first step in spiritual growth, according to my study Bible.  There is also a negative form of the Golden Rule which was already well known in Judaism ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you").  But Christ's fulfillment of the Law and Prophets renders this into a positive statement:  this is the action that begins to draw us toward God.  

 

Jesus teaches, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  We may be tempted to think of these words, taken apart from the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, as indicating material blessings to be given by God in exchange for our good behavior.  But to keep asking, and keep seeking and keep knocking in this context is to seek the blessings of discipleship, the blessedness of the Kingdom, the reality of what it is to be an adopted "son" of your Father who is in heaven.  The good things Jesus preaches about are the fruits of discipleship, the spiritual gifts meant for those who love God, and seek to do God's will.  Jesus begins today's reading by teaching, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."   These are words that teach us, as followers of Christ, to pay attention to what we are to be about -- not to what everyone else is supposed to be doing.  In the final verses we find in St. John's Gospel, there is a story that is illustrative of this same principle.  Jesus comes, in one of His resurrectional appearances, to St. Peter.  In a striking dialogue, meant to be taken as a restoration of St. Peter to his place as apostle after his three-time denial of Christ (Matthew 26:69-75), Jesus asks St. Peter three times, "Do you love Me?"  Each time Peter answers positively, and Jesus indicates that his work going forward is to feed His lambs (John 21:15-19).  This moving scene is tremendous in and of itself.  But -- perhaps just because it's St. Peter -- that's not all there is to the story.  Peter then turns, see the apostle St. John (the author of the Gospel) following, and asks Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus' response bears out His teaching in today's reading.  He tells St. Peter, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me" (John 21:20-22).  If it is even so for one as great as St. Peter, the first among equals of the apostles, consider how it is so for us that our job is to look to ourselves, our place as disciples, the "plank" in our own eye that needs removal, our own flaws, and our own ways we're called to follow Christ.  If we think about it carefully, casting pearls before swine or giving what is holy to dogs is also outside of our purview, not staying in our own lane, so to speak, nor remembering what it is we are supposed to be about.  Moreover, the grace and mercy we are capable of expressing will be measured back to us.  Let us remember that Jesus is speaking to those who would be His disciples, and that this sermon's theme is the righteousness of the Kingdom.  Beginning with the Beatitudes, He teaches us about blessings that seem to stand the values of the world on their heads, and here the promises and teachings are all about how we grow in discipleship, and the good things bestowed by our Father.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you

 

 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  

 

"So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  

 

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 

- Matthew 6:25-34 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and were thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole boy will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the  other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."

 

  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"  My study Bible explains that Jesus is warning here against anxiety, not against thoughtful planning.  Our physical well-being is directly dependent upon God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  It says that excess anxiety over earthly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.  

 

 "So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"  Jesus demonstrates here the natural beauty with which God has created the world, and clothed even the lilies and grass of the field.  Do we presume that God does not care about these things?  

 

 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  My study Bible comments that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  

 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."   The kingdom of God is the central theme of Christ's teaching, and God's righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount. My study Bible states that, calling us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to look to heaven, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.  

 

 So much of what we worry about seems to be directed by demands that do not come from within us, but come from what seems to be going on around us.  Do we need to have an updated home?  Do we need to wear clothes  that resemble what's admired or popular?  How much will people think of us when we don't impress them, or gain their approval through the things we have, wear, the car we drive, etc.?  That is a first consideration when we begin to approach the questions which are raised for us in today's reading.  It's important to consider the beauty that Jesus spells out in His teaching.  God does not neglect beauty, nor even admiration.  Jesus points out for us the charm and delight of the birds.  How are they cared for?  Do they store up the grain they find for the next season?  How do they flourish and survive?  And regarding clothing, Jesus speaks of the real splendor of the simplest things we can find in nature, even the lilies and grasses that grow wild.  It seems to me to be a quite literal statement that even Solomon wasn't arrayed in the glory of these flowers and plants that nature produces for us.  Our own ideas of beauty stem from the beauty of the natural world around us, the colors of the sunset, magnificence of mountains, the brilliance we see in flowers or the coloring of birds, the trees that give inspiration, the natural grace and life of the animals we observe.  The world is filled with the creative beauty of God, so why do we consider that God doesn't care about food or drink or clothing?  What Jesus is saying is that when we look around at the creation of God, its beauty should inspire us to consider our Creator, and what it says about God.  Do we think that God doesn't care about us?  Clearly God has provided for the birds and other animals.  Do we think even the beauty of our clothing doesn't matter?  But we see extraordinary natural beauty all around us, so what does that tell us about God?  Jesus is telling us, therefore, to look to our Creator first before all the rest of the cares and anxieties and urgent stressful demands that seem to plague us all the time.  And He also tells us exactly how we should look to our Creator first:  He says we must seek God's kingdom and His righteousness in the very first place in our lives, as our top priority.  In Christ's Incarnation, it is made manifest God's love for us and for God's creation (John 3:16).  The Incarnation is for us, so that we may become like Him and live with Him, even an abundant, eternal life; and this Incarnation is for the whole of the world, all of creation (both seen and unseen).  Christ's ministry presents us with the overwhelming conviction of the value of human beings, even those who will carry His kingdom in this world.  With that astonishing, invincible love, do we think God does not care what we will eat or drink or the clothing we'll wear?  So let us seek God first, trusting in God, and putting into perspective the nature of our relationship to creation and to our world.  For it is in righteouness that we find right relationship to all of it, including our material needs and lives.  Christ's final words in today's reading give us a right attitude to cultivate for our well-being:  "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  This last word, trouble, is in the Greek κακία/kakia, meaning evil or bad, wickedness, even depravity.   Whatever troubles and difficulties we have, let us not compound them, for the things on our plate today are enough for us.  Let us put our trust and efforts first in God's kingdom and our pursuit of God's righteousness, and what we need will be added unto that. 

 

 

 

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon

 

 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and were thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

"The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole boy will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the  other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."

 

- Matthew 6:19–24 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  On Monday, our readings focused on Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding three basic practices of our faith: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.  Embedded in those teachings were Jesus' specific gift to us of the prayer we know as The Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father.  Yesterday we read that section of the sermon.  Jesus taught:  "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For  they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  

 

 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and were thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  My study Bible comments here that by attaching themselves to treasures on earth, people cut themselves off from heavenly treasures.  It says they become slaves to earthly things rather than free in Christ.  The heart of discipleship is found first of all disentangling ourselves from the chains of earthly things, and secondly by attaching ourselves to God, who is our true treasure.  

 

 "The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole boy will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"  According to my study Bible, the mind (νοῦς/nous in Greek) is the spiritual eye of the soul.  It illuminates the inner person, and governs our will.  It adds that keeping the mind wholesome and pure is fundamental to the Christian life. 

 

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the  other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."  If we are slaves serving two masters, then we attempt to maintain an attachment to both earthly and heavenly things.  My study Bible comments that this is impossible, as both demand full allegiance.   Here, it says, Jesus calls mammon ("riches") a master not because wealth is evil by nature, but because of the control it has over people.  

 

 Jesus' teaching regarding the inability to serve two masters bears more scrutiny to understand Him better.  In today's age of multi-tasking we might find it a little hard to understand.  But Christ's understanding is of the working of the heart and the soul, not simply the intellectual processes that distract us.  Moreover, we might further take a look at this word "mammon," which has a deeper meaning than simply material riches.   According to Strong's definitions, it comes from a Chaldee/Aramaic word that implies wealth as personified, the wealth in which one places confidence or trust.  This should recall to readers in the United States a motto which is printed on all U.S. currency:  "In God We Trust."  While this is, in fact, the official motto of the country, printed on our currency it implies a familiarity with this teaching by Christ.  It suggests to us in our contemporary period that while we enjoy incredible prosperity and wealth in our country as a whole, our confidence belongs somewhere else.  Our real confidence rests in real power, and there is no greater power nor authority than God.  To trust in riches in the context of Christ's teaching implies this confidence and faith placed in material things, without regard for a higher power or spiritual reality.  It's a reminder of St. Paul's teaching, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10).  This teaching is popularly misquoted, failing to distinguish between money as subject and the actual subject of this statement, which is "the love of money."  This love implies a kind of loyalty, a depth of trust; in effect, at is to make an idol of money.  (The word in Greek translated as "love of money" - φιλαργυρία/philargyria -- literally means "friend of silver," as the most common forms of currency were in weights of silver.)  We can look at the story of the rich young ruler to take another look at this problem of the love of wealth (Matthew 19:16-22).  A young man comes to Christ, asking what he must do to attain eternal life.  He tells Christ that he has followed all the commandments from his youth.  He likely comes from one of the wealthy ruling families in the temple, perhaps from what was considered a type of aristocracy of Jerusalem.  In this sense, then, his wealth would be connected to family identity and inherited position.  But St. Mark tells us that Jesus loved him (Mark 10:21), and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  The young man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Jesus does not tell this man to sell his possessions and give to the poor simply out of a sense of social justice, conscience, or other politically or socially compelling reason.  He doesn't say that his wealth is evil.  He does not tell this man to do so because he is in some sense "bad."  But it was his attachment to that wealth that was a hindrance to his following Christ, to fully loving God with all his heart and soul and mind and strength (Matthew 22:37-39).  We do not know exactly what type of stumbling block it provided; perhaps through family obligation.  St. John Chrysostom teaches that the command to sell all of his wealth was the first and easiest; and that it is far more difficult to follow all of Christ's commands for one's life.  But nonetheless the sacrifices any of us would be called to make in discipleship are different and specific for each person, and this was necessary for that particular young man.  Jesus encourages us all to detachment, to the understanding that our love of God must come first before all things, for we cannot serve two masters.  Let us understand ourselves as we are created to be.  We will always have such a choice, for this question of serving one master or another is a fitting and pertinent description of our nature, whether or not we want to accept it.  We will always have to choose one first, and cultivate detachment from the other.  Of course "mammon" or "riches" can come in all kinds of forms.  But it's always a question of what our ultimate love is, and where we are headed.  What do we treasure most?  Where is our true good in life?  Everything depends upon how we see -- with eyes guided by the light of Christ, or the darkness of idolatry?  

 

 

 

Our Father in heaven

 

 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.  In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

 

- Matthew 6:7–15 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).   In yesterday's reading, Jesus began speaking of practices which strengthen and express our faith, and how we should conduct ourselves through these practices.  Jesus spoke of three spiritual practices we need for our faith:  almsgiving (charitable deeds), prayer, and fasting.  He taught, "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.  And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. . . . Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

  "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."  Today's reading appears in the Gospel between Christ's words on prayer and those on fasting found in yesterday's reading, above.  We're given this as a separate reading as it includes what is known as the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father.  Here Jesus has begun speaking against hypocrisy in faith practices, and in particular, in prayer.  And continues by speaking against vain repetitions.  Hypocrisy blocks a true personal communion with God in prayer, and neither can vain repetitions establish such a communion.  My study Bible comments that God doesn't need our "babble."  To partake of this communion, it notes, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore, we pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Moreover, my study Bible notes that Christ does not condemn the use of many words per se, but is rather teaching us that words must express a true desire for communion with God.  In the following verses, Jesus teaches us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer).  So, it's not repetition itself that is condemned here, but rather vain repetition.  Many psalms, prayers, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).  

 

 "In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name."  My study Bible remarks that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our potential relationship with God.  Christ is the Son of God, and He grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," each Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  My study Bible asks us to note that God is not our Father simply because God is our Creator.  God is only Father to those in a saving and personal relationship with God.  This is a communion coming only by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

 

 "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  The whole of the Sermon on the Mount is meant to be teaching us about the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.  Here the prayer Christ gives us shows us our loyalty, and the true desire for God's kingdom to become manifest in our world, as part of our lives.  In St. Matthew's 12th chapter, Jesus will comment, "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (see Matthew 12:47-50).  How do we know what God's will is?  At the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:7-9).  So, we follow the teachings He has given us.

 

"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study Bible comments that "daily" here is a misleading translation of a very particular Greek word.  This word is ἐπιούσιος/epiousios. It seems to have been coined specifically for the Gospels.  It literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  So, the expression daily bread isn't meant simply to ask for today's food or bread, for earthly nourishment.  This indicates, as my study Bible puts it, the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  Of course, this living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  The Eucharist embodies this concept in sacrament as instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper.  In Christ's prayer, then, we're not just asking for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (see John 6:27-58).  

 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  My study Bible remarks that this request to be forgiven is plural, and directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  This term debts is a reference to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  

 

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen."  My study Bible comments that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13); temptations come from the evil one, the devil.  It says that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh, such as lust and anger, which Jesus has spoken of in the Sermon on the Mount as leading to sin (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, my study Bible notes, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

 

 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  My study Bible notes that Jesus insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a foundation or precondition of God's forgiveness.  It says that those who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  This is a teaching which is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35), which concludes with the same teaching.  To not forgive others is to willfully flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.   

 

Forgiveness always seems to be a tricky question.  In a commentary by Fr. Stephen De Young on the Sermon on the Mount, he indicated that the teachings in this Sermon are difficult for all of us.  In the final verse in chapter 5, Jesus taught, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (see this reading and commentary).  Clearly, perfection -- and the perfection of our Father in heaven at that! -- is a tall order.  But we are meant to grow throughout our lives in our faith.  This is a bar we seek to continually be approaching throughout our lives.  It's not one where we press a button and are automatically at the goal of the fullness of faith and union with God.  The constant practice of repentance is understood as a constant movement toward God's light in its fullness.  This is a lifelong learning and growth, with plenty of setbacks and stumbling for all of us to learn from and through which to grow in faith and reliance upon our Lord.  So, when we approach forgiveness as Jesus teaches us, it can be daunting.  It's important to understand that the word for "forgive" in Greek means "let go."  It's similar to a bank letting go of a debt, erasing it off the books.  So, in this sense, we can understand Jesus' commands for forgiveness as an extension of His teachings calling on us to refrain from practicing vengeance earlier in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-48).  When we are willing to "let go" of a debt, we can let it go to God.  This seems to have the effect of clearing the decks, so to speak.  If we're not focused on retribution, we're free to ask God and pray for the proper way to move forward within a difficult situation or circumstance.  What if the other person continues in hostile behavior?  What if they never apologize?  What if a situation can't be easily rectified or remedied?  All of these questions can be brought to God in prayer -- without seeking tit for tat or "an eye for an eye."  This is one tremendous advantage of forgiveness; it gives us clearer sight, and hopefully a clearer head as well through which to approach a problem.  It also helps to prevent us from landing in deeper trouble than we otherwise might.  Christ's words and teachings are clear, that whatever it is others might be doing, He wants us not to engage in the same evils, but to "keep our noses clean," so to speak.  This is because we are His, we are His followers, His children, His disciples, and that must not just count for something, but be distinguished by the ways in which we conduct our lives and seek to please God first before any other demands or pressures we might feel.  Again, learning to be Christ's disciples is a lifelong process.  We are meant to grow in our faith.  But in the process, as my study Bible indicates, we become sons of God by adoption, we grow as people, and we find we are capable of so much more strength in following His commands than we expect.  As Jesus has said, "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).  If one keeps up acquaintance with popular science and psychology, we read frequently about the importance of neuroplasticity of the brain.  This describes the capacity of our brains even physically to change, adapt, and repair injury.  It's an important concept in the study of dementia, and other diseases of the brain.  But if our popular and significant science focuses on this plasticity of brain in physical and psychological terms, imagine what is therefore possible for us in soul and spirit with God's help.  What Jesus is teaching us about growth in discipleship is only confirmed through modern science and the understanding of change and adaptability of the brain on physiological terms.  So let us proceed with all the tools available for us through our faith -- through prayer, Scripture, the practices of the Church, worship, and our constant transformation through a sense of lifelong repentance.  That is, a lifelong process of turning toward God, finding God's light for us leading the way to our own transformation as God's children by adoption.  For this is where and how the Light of our Lord leads us and teaches us to process and live our lives.   Let us practice what He teaches us in faith, seeking always the deeper communion with Our Father in heaven.  Lest we be tempted to believe that forgiveness means that we tolerate any and all things, consider that Christ brought into this world a spiritual battle against the one He called "the father of lies" and "a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44).  Jesus' teachings for us are, in effect, the ways to wage spiritual battle, to combat evil at its source.  Let us become the true children of God our Father.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly

 

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 

 

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

*  *  * 

 

 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

- Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18 

 

 We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).   In our readings for last week, Jesus' teachings focused on what it meant to "exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees."  On Saturday we read that Jesus taught: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.  You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

 

  "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven."  As we begin reading chapter 6, the Sermon on the Mount turns toward teachings about the three most basic aspects of spiritual living.  These are charitable giving, prayer, and fasting.  My study Bible comments that these three disciplines relate directly to God's righteousness.  

 

"Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  Here the original meaning of the word "hypocrite" is significant.  In the ancient plays, actors wore masks indicating the particular disposition of the character they were playing.  "Hypocrite" refers to acting behind a mask, outwardly indicating one thing but hiding a true disposition (In Greek, hypo- is beneath or below; kritos derives from a verb meaning expressing an attitude or judgment.)  My study Bible explains that hypocrites are play-actors practicing piety for show, desiring to please other human beings rather than God.  It says that, wearing masks of compassion, inwardly they are heartless.  Their reward is the applause of men (meaning other people) and nothing more.  

 

"But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."  My study Bible comments that God is not impressed with what others think of us, nor by what we think of ourselves.  God will reward good deeds when they are based on pure motives of the heart. 

 

 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."  Here My study Bible notes that the hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which is an intimate, personal communion with God that leads the the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy effectively blocks out this communion and this vision.  True prayer isn't simply telling God what God already knows and then telling God what to do about it.  Neither is it appearing pious in front of others.  True prayer is humble (go into your room), personal (pray to your Father), and sincere.

 

One thing becomes very clear in today's reading, Jesus makes a great difference between what we do to be seen by others, and what we do in private.  The mask of a hypocrite allows a person to express one thing while hiding an internal reality, perhaps even from themselves.  Just as Jesus taught in the previous chapter that we are to go beyond the words of the Law in identifying causes of sin -- such as the anger or insult that leads to murder, or the lust that leads to adultery --  here He goes to the heart of the hypocrisy that prevents us from truly establishing a depth of relationship with God that we need, and the integrity He teaches us.  First He teaches, "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven."  Here there is a direct correlation between avoiding public display and receiving a reward from our Father in heaven.  Jesus is asking us to distinguish participation in the kingdom of heaven from participation in a worldly way, discerning between the rewards of God and the rewards of a life lived for worldly gain and approval.  Jesus takes this principle into prayer also.  He says, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."  We notice the repetition of the word "secret" -- to pray He advises to go into an inner room and shut the door, praying to our Father "who is in the secret place" and "who sees in secret."  Here is a hint about the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus elsewhere teaches "does not come with observation" but is within us (see Luke 17:20-21).  This teaching is linked to Christ's teaching regarding swearing oaths, found in Friday's reading, when He taught us to "let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.'"  They have in common an emphasis on personal integrity and purity (Matthew 5:8).  That is, a heart that is the same from the inside to the out, where the outer action is consistent with an internal devotion to God.   The word for "room" here is ταμεῖόν/tameion; it indicates an inner room not seen from outside, a secure room for valuables, a treasure room.  In modern Greek, this word is currently used to mean a cash register.  So Jesus indicates a kind of image of inner treasure in this secret place, with our Father who sees in secret.  As He preaches through the Sermon on the Mount, we find this progressive emphasis on the heart, the truth of the inner life and our devotion to God, connected to a growing purity within the self and ongoing repentance through faith as we're led, and the depth of relationship possible only in this way with our Father who sees in secret.  From anger and lust, to a depth of internal connection with our Father, we seek the purity of heart by which Jesus says we will see God.  Jesus gives us the structure of our souls and psyches, how faith works, and teaches that it is hypocrisy which will deny all of that to us, and will counter the depth of relationship possible with God.  So the question we ask ourselves is what we will seek -- the glory from men or the glory from God?  We may note the consistency of the Gospels on this topic, as St. John tells us sadly, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).  In today's world, due to developments in technology, we are more saturated with imagery than ever.  We can watch endless streams of television shows and films at any time and with the immediate touch of a button; we chat on open screen with thousands, even millions, of people.  Life is more focused than ever before on appearance before others through these means, even pleasing a crowd that may notoriously turn on anyone, where behind a different kind of a mask, insults and threats may proliferate.  These are great temptations for all kinds of sins and errors which Jesus names in the Sermon on the Mount, particularly anger and lust to name just two we've reviewed.  The language of excess is far more aggressive than letting our "Yes" be "Yes" and our "No" be "No."  The pressure to participate in life that seeks approval of image is more subtle, myriad, and perhaps insidious than ever.  But all the more caution to be given -- and wisdom to be cherished -- through Christ's words.  Let us find His way to the inner room, spending time with our Father who is in the secret place, and who sees in secret, and cultivating the inner life of the Kingdom we so deeply need, and avoiding the temptation to lose it.  Clearly Jesus teaches that our Father will work openly in our lives as well.