Your Father who sees in secret, who is in the secret place

"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."

- Matthew 6:1-6

We are reading the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel. We began with The Beatitudes (Part 1), and then went on to You are the salt of the earth - You are the light of the world, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift, and You have heard that it was said to those of old . . . . In yesterday's reading, Jesus expanded on the Laws regarding justice and righteousness: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" and "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." In the fulfillment of the aim of the Law, Jesus teaches us not to resist an evil person, to practice love. He says to do good to our enemies, to "pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven . . . 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." In chapter 6, we move on to spiritual disciplines: charitable giving, prayer, and fasting. Emphasizing the inner life, as He has done so far with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues here in the vein of how we may or may not work for appearances. It is a kind of exchange: do we work for worldly glory, or the honor that comes from God? When we forgo the first, we move into a place of deeper relatedness with God, and God's rewards or blessedness.

"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." A note in my study bible says, "God is not impressed with what other people think of us, or even with our own opinion of ourselves. He sees who we really are, and He knows our motives as well as our deeds. Everything will be judged, and our good deeds will be rewarded openly." The original meaning of the word hypocrite in the Greek is actor -- that is, a person who is using an assumed character, feigning to be someone they are not, wearing a mask. So, Jesus' real desire here is for a kind of authenticity, an honesty and a deepening of our true character. And, if we think about it, this has been the aim of the Sermon on the Mount and its emphasis all along. What is the purpose of spiritual discipline? Is it so that we are lost in a range of activity designed to show ourselves off for praise of others, and our image in the eyes of others? Where does the depth of relationship to God come into it, in secret where others don't know about it? This is the new practice He emphasizes. And, we note, God will reward openly -- but it is still not for the judgment of others.

"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." My study bible notes: "The hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which involves an intimate, personal relationship with God and leads to the vision of His glory. Hypocrisy blocks out both the relationship and the vision." Again, we see a kind of exchange happening here: what do we value most -- are we there for show in the sight of others? Then we have our reward already.

"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." Again, the exchange: we exchange a worldly perspective for an inner, private one, an intimate one. We go into our room, shut the door and pray to our Father who is in the secret place, and who sees in secret. One exchange for another, a very public kingdom, for a very private, hidden, secret one, an inner one. It's an interesting word that Jesus uses here in the Greek for "room." This word for room is like a storehouse, a secret storage-chamber where one might keep valuables or one's treasure. (In the development of modern Greek, this is the word now used for cash register.) But clearly, Jesus is speaking here of the place of the heart, what we value most, where we really live, who we are. A little further along in this chapter, Jesus will teach, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" and "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." This is a depth of hidden relationship, with what is real within us, who we truly are -- and possibly what we also honestly feel we lack in this place. There may even be things we treasure that we will be taught to let go of for our own good, and replace with something better for us.

So, to develop an intimate personal relationship with Our Father is what we are commanded to do. This is Christ's emphasis in all things: when we give alms and help to others, when we do good to others, it is with this in mind. It's not for show, not to impress others nor to make a big splash, neither is it necessarily to make us feel good about our achievements in terms of how it reflects upon us in the public eye. Instead, it's to cultivate that private, secret relationship that is within us in the place of the heart, with Our Father who sees in secret. And when we pray, here is the great thing: where we go in that secret chamber, in that depth of what we truly treasure and what we find there -- and even what we may not find, that we turn to Our Father. This is the depth of relationship and dialogue in that most intimate of places where we are truly ourselves, where we are known and loved, where we may come to know and love God more deeply, and where we are drawn toward a deeper sense of who we need to be in God's image for us. So, how do you cultivate that depth of relationship, and find that secret, hidden place with your Father who sees in secret? In tomorrow's reading, we will be given the Lord's Prayer, and taught further. But for today, let us remember the hidden, secret place, the chamber of our heart where we store our treasure, the ways in which God knows us and can be truly intimate with us. He is "our Father" and the depth of His love is within us, in that secret place where He can be with us in our most intimate understanding of who we are, and who He calls us to be.