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"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 reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which began at the beginning of chapter 5 of Mark's Gospel. We have read The Beatitudes; Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven; Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven; I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' Yesterday, we read Jesus teaching, "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." My study bible explains that, "In this chapter, Jesus calls us to practice three basic aspects of spiritual discipline, or righteousness: (1) charitable giving (vv. 1-4), (2) prayer (vv. 5-15), and (3) fasting (vv. 16-18). These three disciplines relate directly to uprightness in the sight of God."
"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." My study bible tells us, "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." Some manuscripts omit "openly," but the basic understanding and commandments included here remain the same. Regarding the word hypocrite, a note tells us: "The original meaning of the word 'hypocrite' was 'actor.' Hypocrites are play-actors practicing theatrical piety. They put on their show in synagogues and in the streets to please men, not God. Wearing masks of compassion, inwardly they are heartless. Their reward is the applause of men -- nothing more."
"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." My study bible says, "The hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which involves an intimate, personal relationship with God and leads to the vision of His glory (1 Cor. 2:9). Hypocrisy blocks out both the relationship and the vision. . . . When we pray, we do not lecture God or make demands, but we are (1) humble (go into your room, v. 6), (2) personal and intimate with Him (pray to your Father), and (3) sincere." In tomorrow's reading, the lectionary will include the verses regarding "vain repetitions" in prayer.
"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." My study bible says that, "Keeping a sad countenance while fasting, so that everyone can see how one is suffering, is mere external display. Jesus rejects such hypocrisy. For the one who fasts, the compassion of God outshines physical discomfort: joy overshadows sorrow. . . . And fasting is not merely abstaining from eating. Physical fasting works together with spiritual fasting, or self-denial: it is a liberation of the spirit from its voluntary enslavement to sinful passions. Fasting is for the glory of God, not to impress people around us." Fasting is meant to be making time for God, a time when we relax our struggle for the best food, the great effort we put into our favorite delicacies or dishes, and focus on God and what God wishes from us, including practicing charity for example, and fasting from sin in the sense that Jesus teaches in this entire Sermon.
Jesus focuses on three central pillars of worship and religious practice for individuals: charitable giving, prayer, and fasting. But there is an important common thread running through all, and that is His condemnation of hypocrisy in religious practice. None of these things are to be done for the "praise" or "glory of men." A hypocrite is an actor who, in the ancient theater, was under a mask; it was someone wearing a particular "attitude" when underneath the real person was in fact someone quite different and separate from the action or attitude viewed by others. So the thread that is common to all of the Sermon on the Mount continues here: Jesus is focusing on our inner selves, on the things that really make us who we are, and He asks us to focus there as well. By drawing us in to a more intimate relationship with the Father, He's also asking us to "get real" -- it is a similar teaching to what we will read in a few verses further on in chapter 6: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Jesus wants us to get sincerely to the place of the heart, and the ways in which we do that is through an intimate relationship with God the Father. Over and over again, He encourages us to think about what is really essential, and how we cultivate this relationship first in life. He counterbalances it with the "praise of men" or "glory of men" -- which is the thing that can get us into a whole lot of trouble in life, and take us away from the state of the heart, where we and God's love truly dwell. In the Old Testament, it's very common to hear images of infidelity, harlotry, in chasing after other gods. Here, we can apply Jesus' teachings on true intimacy with God to something very much like a marriage. What belongs in private, with the One we truly love? Is it really just for show to others? How do we nurture and care for the state of that relationship? There is One who knows our hearts better than all others, One who may direct our hearts, and heal them and cleanse them. That's the One we work to please, the One who really and truly loves us with a love that teaches us what love is, and the proper way to practice it each in our own lives. There's a deeper practice here that gets to core of all of Jesus' teachings, and that is about the state of the heart, and our most intimate relationship -- in that secret place -- where we live with God and make our peace with God, and nurture that relationship. It is a message that runs through the whole of the Sermon on the Mount, in His careful teachings that we must be aware of what goes on in our hearts, in our inner person, and finally in this secret place with our Father. Tomorrow's reading will include the prayer He teaches that we should pray to Our Father.
