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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 where 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 body 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.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer.  He said, "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 where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  By attaching ourselves to treasures on earth, my study Bible says, we cut ourselves off from heavenly treasures.  In this way, people become slaves to earthly things rather than free in Christ.  It says that the heart of discipleship lies in disentangling ourselves from the chains of earthly things, and attaching ourselves to God, the 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 body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness."   My study Bible explains that the mind (in Greek, νοῦς/nous) is the spiritual eye of the soul.  It illuminates the inner person and governs the will.  To keep one's mind wholesome and pure, it says, 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."  As slaves who serve two masters, people seek to maintain an attachment to both earthly and heavenly things.  My study Bible calls this impossible, since both demand full allegiance.  Jesus calls mammon ("riches") a master not because wealth is evil by nature, but because of the control that it has over people.  

 

What does it mean to serve two masters?  We live in a world where we can pursue different passions, ambitions, goals.  In Christ's teaching, there is one great and first commandment:  to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; and there's a second which is like it, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Let's note that the world love is the active principle in both of these two great commandments.  These are, after all, the two commandments which Jesus teaches contain all the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 22:35-40).  And in this context we are invited in to consider Christ's words in today's reading.  He speaks of two masters in order to tell us that for we human beings, this is impossible.  We can't serve two.  We will have to choose what we place first.  Jesus speaks of riches in a way for us to understand what hold our own desires and focus have on us; that is, whatever it is that we place first in life.  This word mammon (μαμωνᾶς/mamonas in the Greek) becomes personified so that we can understand this sort of relationship we establish through such choices.  The word had come to mean riches or wealth in Christ's time, but importantly comes from a root meant to indicate what one puts trust in.  When we consider that the root of the word translated as faith or belief in the Gospels means "trust," then we come to understand the competing realities Jesus is talking about.  We cannot trust in both God and mammon; we have to choose one, because it will determine the value of everything else.  What is our true treasure?  By what do we measure the value of all else?  In this context, also, it's important to see that when we make anything our master short of God -- where that depth of trust belongs -- then we become slaves of that thing.  True freedom is found in the reality which Christ brings to us and offers us.  So wealth, once we make it our ultimate treasure, becomes the thing we slave for; this in turn in our modern age can be seen also in the images of addictions of all kinds, whether that be drugs, or gambling, another person, a cult, or whatever else we give our souls to.  In short, worship -- faith -- only belongs with real confidence in one place.  Jesus literally speaks of treasure, which is another definition for mammon.  What is our true treasure?  What do we place first in substance, power, authority, value?  What do we treasure first?  All else will be subject to that.  He speaks of the eye; how do we see things?  What do we gaze upon to want or desire?  If it's not the light of Christ that fills the eye, then we have darkness -- and how we see determines our whole lives, even the place of the soul and the path it follows in life.  In His explanation of the parable of the Sower, Jesus illustrates the pitfalls of those who cannot produce good fruit by suggesting "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches" as thorns which choke the good word (see Matthew 13:1-23).  Let us understand this is a choice of what we put first, what we cherish.  In our very next reading, Jesus will expand upon this subject, addressing our anxieties over the material things we need in this context.  He will teach, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  Let us choose wisely what and Whom we serve, and all else will be placed in proper relationship.  For this is the very definition of righteousness.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Give us this day our daily bread

 

 "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.  Yesterday we read that Jesus 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."

 

  "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 yesterday's reading and commentary, we expanded upon this verse, and the question of what constitutes vain repetitions. See yesterday's commentary here, in which we included the subject of the Jesus Prayer.  To reiterate from Jesus' talk about prayer from yesterday's reading, let us recall that Jesus speaks against hypocritical prayer.  The true spirit of prayer is an intimate, personal communion with God that leads to the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy blocks out this communion and vision -- my study Bible says that vain repetitions cannot establish this, but both silence and words are necessary.  The use of many words is not condemned of itself.  Rather, words must express this desire for communion with God.  Additionally, neither is repetition itself condemned here but "vain repetition."  Many psalms and prayers and hymns are repeated throughout Church services for 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.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible explains that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity reveals our potential relationship with God.  Christ is the Son of God, and grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ models for us in serving the Father.  My study Bible asks us to note that God is not our Father just because God created us.  He is only Father to those in a saving and personal relationship with Him.  This is a communion that comes by the grace of adoption alone (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  Note that with sonship follows obedience and love of God's will; the prayer Jesus gives us prays fully for God's kingdom to come and God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  

 

"Give us this day our daily bread."  Here is the center of the prayer, and appropriately, it's a unification of heaven and earth.  "Daily," my study Bible explains, is a misleading translation of the Greek.  This word is επιουσιος/epiousios, which literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread, then, doesn't mean simply bread for today, for earthly nourishment.  This is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, and the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread, my study Bible says, is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's prayer, therefore, we're not simply asking for material bread for physical health.  Rather, we as for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  My study Bible emphasizes that this request to be forgiven is plural -- just as the prayer itself is the prayer of community ("Our Father")  -- and this directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts is reference to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35, and also the final verse in today's reading).

 

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God tempts no one to sin, says my study Bible (see James 1:13); temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  My study Bible tells us that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, it notes, but we pray that great temptations; that is, 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 comments that Jesus insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  People who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  This teaching 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.  

 

It may be important to remember, as we read throughout this Sermon on the Mount, that Jesus is speaking to His disciples.  That is, to a group of believers, and in this sense, to His future Church.  All of these teachings are meant for us to apply them within this community, our community of believers.  Throughout history, as Christian faith became associated with countries or nations, that community then extended to all who were a part of it.  But for us in our present day and age, it seems important to remember that the Church was not meant to be an imitation of the world, but to bring about, as Jesus teaches us to pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."   Jesus emphasizes this new covenant that creates its own community by living in accord with that faith, when He says to His disciples at the Last Supper, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  This difference between "the world" and believers in the Church is emphasized by St. Paul when he writes to the Corinthians about discernment within the Church, and outside the Church (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).  In the early Church then, the methods of treating one another, of living the life of faith, distinguished Christians from the societies in which they lived, and this, of course, made a great impact in terms of drawing people to the Church.  This remains entirely essential for us today, to understand that we don't want to drag "worldly" ways of behaving into the Church, but we must think of ourselves as a community with an important mission, and that mission -- as defined here by Christ -- consists in how we live our faith, especially within the community itself and between one another.  Many wise saints have taught us that the Church is not just an institution.  It is meant to be a hospital, a place of healing.  How can we heal from a world filled with things that harm and oppress except by the practice of the kind of love that Christ teaches us, and particularly among one another?  In this prayer given to the Church (which we pray communally to "Our Father" and not simply individually) Jesus lays out what it looks like to prepare a way to bring the Kingdom into the world, and to seek to live the Father's will.  Mutual forgiveness is a part of that, mercy is a part of that.  This is not to say that abuse is tolerated at all -- there are far too many passages in which Jesus warns us starkly about that, and in which St. Paul chastises his flock for such behaviors.  But forgiveness takes particular forms for us, and above all that means that we pray for one another, we don't seek vengeance, but peace between one another as best we can.  For all of this, we have great help, for Christ is always with us, and where Christ is, there are also the Father and the Spirit, and the great communion of saints and angels.  We endeavor, of course, to have peace with all around us.  But let us remember the community of disciples to whom Christ speaks, within which we each are counted. Our daily bread is the bread of the Kingdom with which we seek to be fed, and in which we wish to grow.

 

 

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites

 

 "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 through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday 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.  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."  As we begin chapter 6 of St. Matthew's Gospel, here Jesus begins to present three most basic aspects of spiritual life.  In today's reading, He begins with charitable giving, and will also begin to speak about prayer; in subsequent verses He will also speak of fasting.  These three disciplines, my study Bible says, are related directly to God's righteousness.  The original meaning of "hypocrite," we're told, was "actor."  (The word means "below the mask" with the mask representing an attitude -- as in the masks that ancient actors wore onstage to delineate their character.)   Hypocrite, my study Bible tells us, are play-actors who practice piety for show, who desire to please other people rather than God.  They are those who may wear a mask of compassion but are inwardly heartless.  For such their reward is the applause or glory from men.  To sound a trumpet before oneself was a way of conveying a public message; ironically such public announcements in the Greek-speaking world were called evangelia, meaning "good news" -- a word translated as "gospels."

 

"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.  It says that God will reward good deeds when they are based on pure motives of the heart.  Perhaps we should consider that the word translated as charitable is ἐλεημοσύνη/eleimosini, from the root word meaning "mercy" (ἔλεος/eleos).  So our charitable acts might be defined as the practice of merciful deeds, whatever form that takes.

 

 "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 will add here the next verse (from tomorrow's reading), "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."  My study Bible notes that the hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which it describes as an intimate, personal communion with God that leads to the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy blocks out this communion and this vision.  Vain repetitions cannot establish such communion, because God does not need our "babble."  My study Bible adds, importantly, that to partake of this communion, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore, we pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Moreover, it's noted that Christ does not condemn the use of many words per se, but here teaches instead that words must express the desire for communion with God.  In the following reading for tomorrow, Jesus will give us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father).  It's not repetition itself that is condemned, but 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).  Additionally, true prayer is not telling God what God already knows, and then telling God what to do about it.  Neither is it appearing to be pious in front of others.  My study Bible describes true prayer as first of all humble (go into your room); it is personal (pray to your Father); and it is sincere (do not use vain repetitions).

 

 So what are vain repetitions?  Perhaps they are repeated prayers like magical incantations, and we must distinguish between this kind of repetition and what prayer is and does.  In the Orthodox tradition (which those of other denominations are also using today) is the Jesus Prayer practice.  This itself is the repetition of a very short prayer (sometimes these are called "arrow prayers" in tradition).  The common form of this prayer today is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  But it has historically taken on many forms and can be used in other forms, such as, "Lord have mercy," for example, which so often intersperses our worship services.  In the period of earliest monasticism, psalm verses were repeated, particularly, "Lord make haste to help me; Lord make speed to save me."  (For more on the Jesus Prayer practice see this site, or this one.)  The purpose of such repetition is a focus on prayer which draws us into the presence of God; in fact it is also sometimes called the practice of the presence of God.  In such prayer we draw our thoughts to God, even in the midst of tribulation or difficulty, and other thoughts that wander astray in our minds.  The very purpose of such short, repeated arrow prayers is to redirect our mind to God, and indeed, in the words of the Jesus Prayer, we find that we are inviting Christ in to whatever circumstances are in our lives, or in our hearts.  We simply continue to "recollect" ourselves by the repetition of the prayer, and orient ourselves to proper communion with God.  Again, in this Orthodox prayer tradition, we find writings which teach us of this practice of praying with "the mind in the heart."  That is, the prayer is meant to deepen within us through time and practice, reaching into the places of the heart, so that we are inviting Christ in with our arrow prayers, even to the places we might not always be aware of within ourselves.  This becomes a direct way to invite repentance, for as the prayer deepens, we also encounter our own resistance, and the places where God enters to change our perspective, and "change our minds" -- the literal meaning of repentance.  In this we return also to the depths of the laws of love behind the entire Sermon on the Mount.  As Jesus has just finished focusing on the Law and its deeper interpretation to cover even the things of the heart, such as anger and lust, so we enter into this theme of prayer in the heart.  Moreover, these developments of internal prayer are directly related to Christ's teachings against hypocrisy as well, for they invite us in to discover what we might even be masking from ourselves, so that we may invite Christ and God's grace in so that we are healed.  In this way, let us go forward and pay attention to what He teaches, in our prayers and charitable acts.

 

 

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.  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.  

"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."

 

- Matthew 6:1-16 

 

This week we have been reading through the Sermon on the Mount, in preparation for Lent, which begins next week.  Yesterday 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 hi 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.  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."  Today we begin chapter 6 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents what my study Bible says are the three most basic aspects of spiritual living:  charitable giving; prayer; and fasting.  These three disciples relate directly to God's righteousness, the righteousness of the Kingdom.  The original meaning of "hypocrite" was "actor" (meaning "below the mask," as in the masks worn by actors in the ancient plays).  Hypocrites, my study Bible comments, are play-actors practicing piety for show; those who wish to please other people rather than God.  These are people who wear masks of compassion, but are inwardly heartless.  Their reward is the applause of 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 says 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're based upon 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.  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."   The hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, my study Bible says, which is an intimate and personal communion with God that leads to the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy blocks out this communion and this vision.  Vain repetitions don't establish such communion, as God doesn't need "babble."  To participate in this communion, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore we pray always (Luke 18:1), and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Christ isn't condemning the use of many words per se, my study Bible says, but rather is teaching that words must express the desire for communion with God.  In today's reading, He gives us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father).  It's not repetition itself that is condemned, 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).   True prayer, then, is not telling God what God already knows, and then telling God what to do about it.  Nor is it all about appearing pious before other people.  True prayer is first of all, humble (go into your room).  It is personal (pray to your Father), and also sincere (do not use vain repetitions).

 

 "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."  My study Bible explains that the Father-Son relationships within the Holy Trinity reveals our own potential relationship with God.  Christ, who is the Son of God, grants us this privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" (regardless of human gender) a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  We should also take note that God is not our Father just because we were created by God.  This Fatherhood is for those who are in a saving and personal relationship with God, which is a communion that only comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study Bible explains to us that daily is a misleading translation of a Greek word ἐπιούσιος/epiousios which means literally "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread is therefore something that's not just a request for bread for the present day, for earthly nourishment.  This is a plea regarding the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread is nothing less than Christ Himself. 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  The request to be forgiven here is plural; it is therefore directing us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  Debts refers to spiritual debts.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God does not tempt anyone to sin (James 1:13); rather, temptations are from the evil one. That is, from the devil.  My study Bible describes temptations as that which are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, it notes, but we pray that great temptations -- that is, tests which are 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."  Christ here insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness, my study Bible comments.  Those who do not forgive are not forgiven.  This is a teaching which Jesus repeats in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35), which Jesus concludes with the same teaching. 

"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."  To keep a sad countenance as a show of one's fasting is a kind of external display, but one which Jesus rejects as hypocrisy.  My study Bible comments that, for the one who fasts, the compassion of God outshines the physical discomfort.  Fasting, it says, is for spiritual growth and the glory of God, not done in order to be seen by others around us.  Also, we must keep in mind that fasting is not just about abstinence from food, but it's all about self-denial in any area of life in order to escape being controlled by our passions.  An Orthodox hymn sung on the eve of Great Lent declares, "Let us abstain from passions as we abstain from food."   St. John Chrysostom has written, "What good is it if we abstain from eating birds and fish, but bite and devour our brothers?"

 

There are several aspects of self-denial we might want to focus on as we enter into the Lenten period.  For the Orthodox family of Churches, Lent begins on Monday.  For Western Churches, it begins on Wednesday.   Lent has historically been a period of abstinence and resisting temptation, echoed and patterned after Christ's forty days in the wilderness fasting and resisting the temptations of the devil (see Matthew 4:1-11).  Traditionally Lent was a time of abstinence and withdrawal.  In a sense, fasting is a period in which we refrain from ostentatious meals and time spent in pursuit of ingredients and preparation.  We're given to a kind of period of rest in which we refrain from some normal activities in order to focus more fully on our relationship to God. Thus, we develop the practice of almsgiving at this time, and of more time in prayer and study of our faith.  We both abstain and withdraw.  It's a way to practice the discipline of saying "No" to temptations, and at the same time to become more contemplative in pursuit of our faith and participation in that personal relationship with God that prayer is all about, as my study Bible commented.  We might consider refraining from social media for a time, or even the use of our cell phones, in a modern example of how we might decide to make forms of self-denial for Lent that open up more room for God, clear a space in our lives to focus on faith.  Historical practices of fasting in the Church focus essentially on a vegan diet; that is, one that does not consume animal products.  As Lent in some way reflects our earliest ancestor's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, so this is a time in which we seek to draw closer to God, to pursue restoration of our communion with God, and to make a concerted effort against our own sin, resisting our own passions, for of such consisted our separation from God in the first place.  These practices of discipleship are all meant to help to restore communion with God, and they are given to us by Jesus Christ who is Himself "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2), who made possible our communion with God and adoption as sons (read "heirs") of God.  To understand abstinence in this sense of shoring up faith, seeking to restore communion, and to do the true spiritual battle of resisting our own temptations, is to stand in good stead with Christ's teachings in today's reading.  All of these things are meant to draw us into closer communion with God, more true reliance upon Christ, and to illuminate the ways God would ask us to change, even the temptations we aren't quite aware of in ourselves.  For as disciples we are called to grow, and blessed with the grace of Christ and the Holy Spirit to help us to know that path to a deeper communion -- even union -- with God.  Let us put His teachings into practice, and see where and how, and even the surprising places, they lead us.   Let us also consider the "hidden" nature of the practices Jesus advises, that this is a period where we withdraw from showing off our faith.  He tells us to do our praying, almsgiving and fasting in secret, and seek the reward our Father who is in the secret place, and who sees in secret gives us.  For this, too, is an essential part of growing in that communion, and resisting temptation. 

 

 

 

 

 

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 like 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 (chapters 5 - 7 in St. Matthew's Gospel).  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 where 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 body 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?  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 like 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?"  Here Jesus warns against anxiety -- not against thoughtful planning.  My study Bible asks us to note that our physical well-being is directly dependent upon God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  

"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 explains that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  Those who follow God can be freed from this excessive sense of dependence.

"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."  Here, we note the central theme of Christ's teaching:  the kingdom of God; and God's righteousness, which is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.   My study Bible expands on this, saying that Christ calls us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, and in so doing He directs us to look instead to heaven -- secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.

Jesus' teaching today focus us on worry, on anxiety.  If we look up this word in the Greek (μεριμνάω/merimnao) it means, essentially, to be distracted.  Jesus uses this same word in St. Luke's Gospel, when Martha complains to Him that her sister is not helping her serve the guests, but spending time listening to Jesus teach.   Jesus tells her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41-42).   "Worried" is translated from the same word, while "troubled" is translated from a word that means to be fearful.  If we look more closely then at what Jesus is teaching here, the text implies that we can be overly focused on the wrong things through worry and anxiety.  Merimnao can also imply a mind that is split in some sense -- we become off-kilter, distracted, by things that take up our focus when Christ calls us (particularly in recent readings) to be "single-minded" and stick to our focus on God's kingdom.  This word can even be used in a positive sense, such as when we care for something, or pay attention, or take care.  But if we read these meanings in the text, and follow Christ's teaching as He's given to us so far, we come to see that what He says is that anxiety and worry tend to distract us from where our focus should be, on the kingdom of God.  They give us a "split mind," so to speak, and we are fragmented in different directions.  It's consistent with the teaching in yesterday's reading, in which Jesus says that our "eye" (the lamp of the mind) should be full of light.  Over-distraction with worry is a kind of darkness, that keeps us from focusing on Christ's light.  He suggests to us the remedy:  "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  He's teaching us that God knows what we need, and a life of faith means living in God's care.  But then He teaches us something equally important to remember: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  He's letting us know that He understands that worries are a part of life in the world, but each day will bring its own things to be concerned about -- and that is enough for the day.   Let us note, as is always so striking in this passage, the simple but stunning images Jesus gives us from nature:  the birds of the air whom God cares for, our stature which worry can do nothing to alter, and the lilies of the field, which even Solomon in all his glory could not match for raiment.  Jesus' poetic speech is nowhere finer than here, illustrating the precious things of life that can't be bought for money.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

 

 "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 where 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 body 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.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us the prayer we call the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father:  "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 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 where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  By attaching themselves to treasures on earth, my study Bible says, people cut themselves off from heavenly treasures. This attachment makes people become slaves to earthly things, rather than free in Christ.  My study Bible tells us that the heart of discipleship lies in first disentangling ourselves from the chains of earthly things, and then 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 body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"  My study Bible says that the mind (in Greek, nous/νοῦς) is the spiritual eye of the soul. It illuminates the inner person, and governs the will.  So, to keep one's 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."  As slaves who serve two masters, my study Bible comments, people attempt to maintain an attachment to both earthly and heavenly things.  But this is not possible, because both demand full allegiance.  Here, Jesus calls mammon ("riches") a master not because wealth is evil by nature, but because of the control it has over people.  

If we look up the definition for this word mammon used by Jesus (μαμωνᾶς/mamonas as transliterated in the Greek), we find it is Aramaic, a Semitic term.  According to HELPS Word-Studies it means "the treasure one trusts in."   As such we may easily view what Christ is saying as a kind of competition for our trust, or where we choose to place that trust.  In the Greek of the New Testament, the word that is often translated as "believe" has as its root "to trust."   This is the word, for example, in John 6:29, in which Jesus teaches, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  So Christ asks us to trust in Him -- and if we link this to the teachings and meanings surrounding mammon, then we see a side-by-side choice:  we can put our trust, the full weight of our faith, in riches -- or we have the choice to put that trust in God and rely upon God.  Jesus puts it starkly, in clear terms:  "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."   This is all about how we think, what we put our faith into, where the weight of value rests for us.  Jesus begins, in today's reading, by speaking about the things we treasure, where our treasure is:  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . .but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  What is the heart?  It is the center of who we are; it tells us what we trust, what we love, where we place our values and what we give the most substance.  In the Orthodox tradition, the mind and the heart are closely related, and a true balance when we pray is "with the mind in the heart."  Here Jesus is teaching us to place our values correctly, so that our understanding is based on light, because the way we "see" will determine everything about who we are.  There is a negative corollary to an eye full of light, and that is what is also called in Scripture an "evil eye" (Matthew 20:15).  Actually the word in today's text which is translated as "bad" (in "if your eye is bad") literally means "evil" in Greek (πονηρὸς/poneros).  Most often the evil eye is connected with envy, and we can see how that is linked to where we place our treasure, and what we trust in.  To be full of light in this spiritual sense is to be illuminated with the light of Christ, to see things as He asks us to see them, and to understand as He asks us to understand.  But to do this requires placing our values first on the rock of faith, putting our trust in Him as the One we count on for the ultimate good, the fullest truth -- and perhaps most importantly, our deepest sense of who we are called to be.  Let us serve God in all things, this being the measure of how we live, and what we bring into being.  Our foundation begins with our trust, our treasure, and what and whom we serve.   Let us set our hearts on what is of the greatest value.  Material goods can be gained, worked for, manufactured.  But the treasures in heaven are priceless.