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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 (Matthew chs. 5 - 7). Last week, we read through chapter 5. On Saturday, we read that Jesus preached: "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 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 tells us: "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." The emphasis here is on our relationship to God, rather than how we impress other people.
"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." A note explains that "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."
"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 notes: "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."
"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 teaches us here that "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."
"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 offers this commentary here: "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. Thus, during seasons of fasting, the hymns of the Orthodox Church call the faithful to wash and anoint their faces. . . . 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." During traditional seasons of fasting, the idea was to fast from sin, such as Jesus has taught earlier in the Sermon on the Mount: such as swearing, loose words said in anger such as insults, needless injury to others, a impulsive divorce for childish or selfish reasons, and all other forms of a kind of rash selfishness (like the cultivation of deliberate lust as a regular habit). This is what "liberation of the spirit from its voluntary enslavement to sinful passions" means. Self-mastery, even self-denial, in this context, means that we're not just slaves to our rash impulses that lead us in the wrong direction.
Hypocrites are the kind of people who wear masks, who are inwardly one thing and outwardly another. (This is like the actors in the ancient theater, who wore masks to convey the character they were playing.) If we think about it, anonymous good works assures us of the notion that our real relationship with how we interact with others in the world is moderated by our relationship to God. It sets our minds in a place where we understand that our real relationship is to God, it gives us a kind of discipline that sets us in the right place. Therefore the teaching against hypocrisy, against work merely for a kind of worldly glory from the "praise of men," becomes a part of this collection of teachings about self-discipline or self-mastery, overcoming our more selfish or self-centered impulses, giving us practices that are designed to free us from selfishness and liberate us into God-likeness -- making choices for a higher good, higher understanding, wisdom and judgment or discernment that is God's gift to us, in that relationship that is above all things. This is what we need to think about when we read these passages and we consider what it is that "self-denial" really means. This is the discipline of a loving parent who won't ignore a child who eats a pile of candy and goes to bed without brushing their teeth: it's a discipline that leads to what is best for us, helps us to be a greater person with better virtues that lead to a better life and way of living. Earlier, in chapter 5, this is the sort of discipline Christ is alluding to when He speaks of plucking out an eye that offends you, the discipline to stop identifying with a truly bad habit that isn't really good for us (such as habitual abusive anger, for instance, or viewing others as mere objects for our use), and attempt to discard it so it doesn't lead us to a place that is much more deeply hard to get out of, an entire life built around such habitual ways of living. Ultimately, everything is about this relationship with God and its primacy in our lives, the number one place where all our lives come from, the thing that determines truly the quality of who we are and the lives we lead. Can we learn such discipline? Can we practice these habits? A gift given in secret, if we think about it, becomes a way to fill ourselves with love, and taste that good life. It's very important to note here that Jesus is particularly addressing religious hypocrisy in each of today's teachings! Let us think about who truly fills us with good things. Fooling others is a good way to fool yourself.
