Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom

 

 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  

 

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

 

- Luke 12:32-48 

 

Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

 

  "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  My study Bible comments that do not fear is a recurring theme in this discourse.  It is important to take it in the context of what Christ has just said as well (see yesterday's reading, above).  Little flock is a reference to all believers.  My study Bible explains that they are "little" in two ways.  First, they are insignificant in the eyes of the world.  Second, they are small in number when compared to the earthly and heavenly creation.  

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them."   My study Bible explains that this is a call for vigilance.  Note how it echoes the imagery of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins found at Matthew 25:1-13.  Let your waist be girded is an image of a person ready for work (traditional long garments would be pulled up and girded about the waist for labor or other physical effort).  As Jesus uses the expression here, it is a teaching to be ready at all times for virtuous action.  To keep lamps burning is to have spiritual discernment, another suggestion of alacrity and readiness.  Note the emphasis on watchfulness.  The idea of a master who will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them is an image of the graciousness of God, which echoes the action of Christ girding Himself and washing the feet of the disciples at the Last Supper (John 13:1-17).  See also the parable at Matthew 24:45-51.  My study Bible adds that the mark of a true disciple is vigilance in performing the work and exemplifying the virtue of the master.  

"Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into."  The second and third watch spread from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., which my study Bible says is interpreted as hours of heightened temptation.  Therefore, the servants are most blessed who remain faithful during the night.    

"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  My study Bible notes here that it is not the place of anyone to try to predict the time of the return of the Son of Man, but rather to remain faithful and to be ready at every hour.  

Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers."  My study Bible explains that the previous parable (verses 35-40) is to all people, while the parable that begins here (and continues in the two verses that follow) is to the apostles and their successors, the ones who will become rulers and teachers of the Church.  It notes that the exhortations here to principles of virtue, and the warnings against corruption, apply specifically to those who are entrusted with spiritual leadership.  

"And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."   The judgment of the teachers of the Church will be strict (James 3:1).  My study Bible says that the many stripes given to those who are willfully and knowingly disobedient symbolize condemnation.  The few stripes are for those who are disobedient out of ignorance, and indicate chastisement or correction. 

Jesus speaks again in the light of His movement toward the Cross, preparing His disciples for what is to come.  We know about the Kingdom and its central importance.  But here Jesus begins to deal with the issues of the world into which they will go "as lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:3).  To become a good disciple of Christ is about being prepared for the return of the Master, and being a good servant.  Even if the rest of the world is chasing accumulation for its own sake, His disciples are to think about what it means to be rich toward God.  Our focus on acts of mercy or compassion sets us in a different kind of a place;  "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."   If our heart is with Christ, then our focus is on more than what we accumulate only for ourselves, but on what we give also (and let us keep in mind that acts of giving include all kinds of kindnesses and compassion, even in a prayer for another who may be unaware of it).  When Christ says, "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning," He prepares those who would become His disciples not for a life of leisure but for one of work -- of alertness, of being ready to follow commands and serve, to know what we are to be about.  We make ourselves prepared for His return.  Moreover, the privileged among the world of disciples, those who are made stewards, hold an even greater responsibility for serving, and will pay the steeper price for forgetting who they are in this life of service.   For even Christ will tell them that "I am among you as the One who serves" (see Luke 22:26-27).  Forgetfulness means that those who are appointed within the Church as stewards and servants to care for the "little flock" will lose their places, appointed  their "portion with the unbelievers."  Lest we forget, this is one of many times that Christ reminds us that the more we have spiritually, the greater the responsibility we bear for that understanding.  Spiritual knowledge is powerful; our abuse of what we're given renders us in a worse place than those who may do the same but who were not aware of God's will.  This is the way of the Cross, where understanding makes us prepared for living a different way of life from the world, and one in which we serve a Kingdom of love, in which compassion is currency, and service is greatness.  To know what God asks of us is to find ourselves in the love of Christ.  To fail to find that way of love is to lose even who we are.  The way of the Cross means responsibility, not forgetfulness.   "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." Let us consider what it means to live this blessed way of life and to cherish it in this world.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

"But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  Those you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.  And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

- Luke 11:37-52

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus preached, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light." 

And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."  Jesus is marveled at by the Pharisee because He has not performed a ceremonial washing before dinner.  In response Jesus speaks about the inner life of a person, and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who were known for their piety and strictness in observance of not just the Law, but also the many traditions they had built up around it.  But severity can lead to what is called "legalism," whereby the letter of the law may be observed, but a deeper sense of God's mercy ignored.  My study bible says that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding God as well.  Therefore, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).  To give alms of such things as you have is to live simply with humility before God and the practice of charity -- then all things are clean to such a person.

"But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  Those you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  To practice tithing of these small things (all manner of herbs) and to ignore the weightier matters of justice and the love of God is to fail to hit the mark of the fullness of the Law.  Woe, according to my study bible, is a term indicating a complete and devastating destruction (6:24-26; see Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).  Jesus goes on to condemn the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who glory in their own superiority and social standing before others.  Jesus rather compares them to hidden graves, full of death unseen and of which others are unaware.

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."  This lawyer understands the implications of what Jesus is saying, and Jesus does not back down from His criticism.  The lawyer impose burdens upon others, but do not help them bear those burdens.  Again, the criticism is of a lack of compassion for others, and of self-righteousness that substitutes for true righteousness.

"Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation."  The prophets are those who have repeatedly come throughout the history of Jewish spirituality, to call the leaders and the people to repentance, to turn back to God.  Jesus' criticism of the leadership is in the style of a prophet, although He is Son who is sent to us to call us all back to God.  Here Jesus accuses these men, part of the religious leadership, of being the true children of their fathers in the sense that it was their fathers who responded to the prophets by killing them.  Cyril of Alexandria comments that they are indeed preparing the tomb of Christ Himself.   Zechariah, according to some Church Fathers, was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22).  Others say this is a reference to the father of St. John the Baptist, who according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple.

"Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.  And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.  According to patristic commentary, the key of knowledge is Christ Himself, who is the "key" to the understanding of Old Testament Scripture, in the light of His ministry, Person, and teachings.  The response of the scribes and Pharisees is simply to seek to find ways to accuse Christ.

Jesus speaks to the hypocrisy of the leadership  My study bible also addresses this subject in the context of the Church today.  I use the Orthodox Study Bible in my commentary, and it notes that these warnings given by Christ to the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers are not simply important for all Christians regarding their own practices and traditions, but that they are especially important to Orthodox Christians.  The Church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing, sacred vessels, holy rites, and following the tradition handed down by the fathers.  It notes, "These practices can be expressions of deep faith, lead a person to deeper commitment to God, and safeguard our life in Christ, or they can be observed without ever taking them to heart and lead to condemnation."  The practices of hypocrisy and legalism are with us as much as they ever were.  We even, in the context of today's social media culture, see a great deal of socially acceptable images of compassion done for show, while other matters of "justice and the love of God" go undone for those under the radar of popular media attention.  Indeed, the love of God itself is neglected as it may be unfashionable.  It is important that we understand our human fallibility in this respect, and in particular that it is only a true sense of humility about ourselves that will allow us to live as Christ teaches.  If everyone sees you support a fashionable cause, it doesn't mean the justice God wants you to see has been addressed.  "Good deeds" are not those things that are added up on a calculator to prove you're better than others, particularly if they are in service to a sense of social superiority.  There we are squarely back in the territory of the men whom Christ addresses, who crave the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Perhaps what is most important here is something that is easy to miss, and that is Christ's true sense of urgency and desire to save these men.  He not condemn them simply to condemn or to exercise judgment.  He is rather trying to save them from judgment.  His rebukes are made from love (Revelation 3:19).  Christ's cries of "woe" are warnings of what is to come without repentance, and they follow in His preaching in yesterday's reading (above).  He is the Son who is sent to call all back to God, just as the prophets and apostles were sent by the wisdom of God.  What is important is that although circumstances may have changed throughout history, these words still apply to us, no matter what our nominal faith may be, whatever it is we put our faith into.  Without compassion and mercy, we have missed the mark.  If our actions are done simply to be seen by others, we have missed the mark.  Let us consider His words:  all things are clean to those who give alms of the things they have.  Even a prayer in secret for one whom others may overlook is such an almsgiving, an offer of forgiveness made to God, a kindness given as shared love of God.  Of these capacities we all may share in abundance, but we must cultivate the humility to do so.

Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning

 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

- Luke 12:32-48

Yesterday we read that one from the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  In this discourse, Jesus will return repeatedly to these words, "Do not fear."  We must contrast this with a teaching also recently given by Jesus (in Thursday's reading), and that was to fear God's power of Judgment (see Luke 12:4-5).  We contrast the two by noting Jesus' emphasis against anxiety, and repeated encouragement to trust in God to know what is good for His flock, and God's desire ("good pleasure") to given them the kingdom.  All believers are included in this little flock.  My study bible says that they are little in two ways:  (1) they are insignificant in the eyes of the world, and (2) they are small in number when compared to earthly and heavenly creation.  We note once again the emphasis on a kind of exchange:  giving earthly alms, practicing love and charity and mercy, fills us with an inalienable and indestructible treasure.   Where our treasure is, there our heart goes also.   That is, the full center of who we are.

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."    This call for vigilance on the part of His followers echoes the imagery of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).  Let your waist be girded refers to preparation for virtuous action, a kind of readiness for immediate action.  Your lamps burning means spiritual discernment must always be in operation.  Taken together they refer to readiness to carry out commands of the Master and constant vigilance for full preparation.  The second and third watch is between 9:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., which my study bible says is interpreted as hours of heightened temptation.  The servants are most blessed who remain faithful during the night.  Christ has already taught that there is only one thing to fear, and that is the judgment of God.  Here the unpredictable return of the Master, the Son of Man, is what is emphasized.  We are simply to remain faithful and be ready at every hour. 

Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers."  Peter asks an important question.  Jesus' response, to speak of the faithful and wise steward, is to give a parable that does indeed speak to the apostles and their successors, those who will be rulers and teachers of the Church.  They are the stewards of the Church.  A good steward is one who is always aware of the Master's commands, and cares for the entire household with its full good in mind, especially careful to be in relationship with the servants for such an end and goal.  But a steward who runs the Master's household as if it is only for his own lording over, for his power, to exploit the people and things of the household, will face the harshest penalty.  To those who are corrupt the Master will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

"And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."  Here is a statement about judgment.  Those who know and to whom has been given much will be fully responsible for violating the wisdom, power, and knowledge they've been given.  (See James 3:1.)  The many stripes symbolize condemnation to those who are willfully and knowingly disobedient.  The few stripes, says my study bible, are for those disobedient out of ignorance and indicate chastisement or correction.

The call to vigilance is a very serious one.  How do we take our faith?  Particularly to those who "know," who have been given much, the strictness of Jesus is very deliberate.  The more that has been given, the greater the responsibility.  He especially emphasizes the temptations of power and authority.  Those are temptations to exploit, to mistreat, to use the Church as if it were personal property, to understand authority not as something held in stewardship and service to the fullness of the Church, but rather to be used as personal extension of oneself.  Greatness, Jesus will repeatedly teach, is found in humility.  True greatness is found in the one who would be servant or slave to all.  When He speaks of keeping the waist girded (that is, a way of tying up outer garments so one is ready for action) and lamps burning, He's speaking about the constant readiness and vigilance in keeping His word and following His commands.  So much emphasis has been put on almsgiving and the interior life  in this sermon that it is also unmistakably addressing temptations to all forms of greed and selfishness.  That is, the inner life -- particularly of those who will be His stewards in His Church -- must never be neglected.  In such a state, the temptations to power will be far greater.  Exploitation and corruption will always be temptations; Jesus demands much more of His stewards than of the rest.  The goals of the practice of charity, then, become much deeper goals of inward humility before God.  They become a shoring up of strength in service.  The constant vigilance of prayer and spiritual work means a greater fight against the temptations that lurk in the dark, unless one's lamp is always kept burning so that we may truly see what we are about.  All of this works together for a life within His grace, and it is particularly so for those who would be in leadership or who are graced with the teachings He has to give.  The penalties are harsher for those who know better and fail in this mission of loyalty and love and care for the little flock.  Christ asks of us a kind of strength and courage which teach us what stewardship really is.  In the Church, we're led to understand that stewardship isn't only about the Church, but of all the world and everything in it that is God's creation, every living thing, every creature.  It is all a great gift, and none of it truly belongs to us.  It is in our care.  To be a good steward is to remember His commands at all times, to be ready to take action against our own temptations and to shine a light on our own weaknesses, so that we may truly serve Him best and be prepared for His return.  He wants to find us watching -- alert and awake, constantly mindful of all that we are to be about.

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered

 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of the all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

- Luke 11:37-52

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus was speaking, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?"  The Pharisee is thinking about ceremonial washing, an observation of oral tradition (not violation of the law of Moses).  But Jesus speaks to the hypocrisy of strict observance of these built up customs as if they were in fact the fulfillment of the Law in and of themselves - and as if they were the only necessary focus.  To be holy in God's sight one must not neglect the "inside" also created by God.

"But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."  How does one build up the inside?  Giving alms, the practice of charity, is one way of building up an internal cleanliness, so that then everything is clean.   We can see this in the practice of Christ's mercy, when He touches a leper to heal.  (See Titus 1:15.) 

"But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."   All of these things are an indication of emphasis on the external, on only things done to be seen.  To tithe herbs but to bypass the justice and love of God is to do what is tiny and to bypass what is of the essence and truly great.  To love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces is to crave the admiration of others as one's focus.  But they neglect the love of God which defines and centers everything else.  In this way they are like unseen graves; their inner death and emptiness is unseen and unknown, the worth of the soul forgotten.  Jesus does not condemn religious practice designed to shore up faith and center us on the love of God and neighbor.  What He condemns is the use of built-up traditions in such a way that obscures the focus on the heart and the love of God and allows for its neglect.  Woe is a term that indicates complete and devastating destruction, says my study bible (6:24-26; see Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of the all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."   It is possible to be zealous for the law and to neglect the weightier matters of love of God and true justice.  My study bible says that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding Him as well.  Thus leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1). 

 Christ calls hypocrites those whose emphasis is so fully on the outside that they neglect the "inside" -- the inner part of a person.  This inner part is also understood as the heart of a person.  That is, that which unites all that we are:  mind and spirit and soul.  Jesus says that to clean this inside renders all clean; the body is not left out of this understanding.  Jesus addressed this in yesterday's reading, when He said, "The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light."  This lamp of the body is the spiritual eye; that is, the mind, that with which we perceive and view life.  In effect, He's telling these men that they don't allow the light to come into that eye and to make all things clean.  True purity or cleanliness of the heart leads to an understanding of what is truly clean or pure.  A wholly external emphasis on rules compiled via oral tradition renders these men hypocrites.  They neglect the weightier matters of justice and mercy in favor of how they are reflected back to themselves in the eyes of others, their peers and contemporaries.  This is what Jesus means when He tells them that they "love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces."   What is really important here is not a separation between external and internal.  In fact, this is what Jesus is condemning as hypocritical.  (The word hypocrite in the Greek originally means "actor."  In the ancient plays such as those contemporary with Jesus' time, actors wore masks to denote their characters.  Hypocrite literally means "under the mask.")   What Jesus is offering is the authenticity of a heart devoted to loving God and neighbor, and in the fullness of life this means that externally acts are also clean.  This is a true salvation of all of life, not a separation of interior and exterior.  Hence, St. Paul writes in a letter to Titus:  "All things are clean to the clean" (Titus 1:15).  My study bible emphasizes the danger to Christians as well in that when we have beautiful ritual and practices, all those traditions designed to shore up the love of God and neighbor, we also run the risk of putting all the emphasis on the external and neglecting the very thing the practices are meant to help.  Prayer must be the place we go to find God and the love of God in our hearts, which leads us to true purity and righteousness.  That is, to right-relatedness to the world and all beings and things in it.  It is not about being seen by others.  Alms-giving, charity, the practice of mercy becomes treasure in heaven when it comes from a pure heart.  Hence, Jesus will teach that we go into our inner chamber -- alone with God our Father "who is in the secret place" and "who sees in secret," and He will reward openly.  That word for inner chamber indicates an inner room in a house for the storage of valuables, and it truly works through all meanings implied, including to teach us that we need to pray undisturbed whatever else we do -- and emphasizes Jesus' teachings about the treasures of the heart as well (see Matthew 6:6, 21).   All emphasis here goes back to the love of God, the true love of God in the heart that enlightens everything else.  What He implies in today's reading is that these men are like those who killed the prophets sent by God (their "fathers").  That is, the prophets were sent to remind the people of the love and this commitment to God they lack -- and were killed for doing so.  It starts with the heart, and none of us are immune from the temptation to external emphasis, to hypocrisy.  Those in leadership, especially, deprive others when they fail to be true to this kind of purity and integrity.  Let us remember God's love.

Do 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.

~~~

"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.

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

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

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

- Matthew 6:1-6

We are reading the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel. We began with The Beatitudes (Part 1), and then went on to You are the salt of the earth - You are the light of the world, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift, and You have heard that it was said to those of old . . . . In yesterday's reading, Jesus expanded on the Laws regarding justice and righteousness: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" and "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." In the fulfillment of the aim of the Law, Jesus teaches us not to resist an evil person, to practice love. He says to do good to our enemies, to "pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven . . . Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

"Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven." In chapter 6, we move on to spiritual disciplines: charitable giving, prayer, and fasting. Emphasizing the inner life, as He has done so far with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues here in the vein of how we may or may not work for appearances. It is a kind of exchange: do we work for worldly glory, or the honor that comes from God? When we forgo the first, we move into a place of deeper relatedness with God, and God's rewards or blessedness.

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

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward." My study bible notes: "The hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which involves an intimate, personal relationship with God and leads to the vision of His glory. Hypocrisy blocks out both the relationship and the vision." Again, we see a kind of exchange happening here: what do we value most -- are we there for show in the sight of others? Then we have our reward already.

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

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