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. 

 

 

 

 

 

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one."

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  

 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

 

- Luke 11:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that it happened as they went that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to 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."   

 

  Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  My study Bible comments that "teach us to pray" is an expression of a universal longing to be in communion with God.  

"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 comments that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation to us of our own potential relationship with God.  Christ is the Son of God, but grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption.  As a "son of God," then (and therefore heir), each Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  This relationship for us comes not because God is our Creator, but because of a communion that comes by grace of faith and adoption (John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16). 

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  My study Bible comments that "daily" is a mistranslation of the Greek word that appears both here in Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer and also Matthew's (Matthew 6:11), and seems to have been coined solely for use in this prayer.  This word is ἐπιούσιον/epiousion.  It literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  So, daily bread indicates not simply bread for today, for our earthly nourishment; it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, my study Bible says, for the nourishment of our immortal soul, for true life.  This living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, we're not asking only for material bread for physical health, but, as my study Bible puts it, for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  This request to be forgiven is plural (and the prayer is communal; we pray to "Our Father").  So, my study Bible says, it directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  To be indebted refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God tempts no one to sin, says my study Bible, citing James 1:13.  It says that temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  Moreover, no one lives without encountering temptations.  But here we pray that great temptation, or tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13) should not come to us.  

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."   My study Bible explains that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  Midnight is interpreted in patristic tradition as both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our only source of grace, provides all that we need.

 

 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.    If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  In Greek, my study Bible points out, these verbs rendered ask, seek, and knock imply a continuous action.  They are better translated, "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life.  They symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  

One theme that comes up repeatedly in Jesus' teaching is this theme of persistence.  He asks those who would be His followers frequently for persistence:  persistence in faith, persistence in following His commands, and as here, persistence in prayer.  These themes grow stronger as He goes toward His Passion, and prepares His followers for the times to come when He's no longer with them as the human Jesus.  In Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus first sends out the apostles on their initial journey, He speaks of the persecutions that are to come, and says, "Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:21-22).  This topic of endurance echoes Christ's words about persistence.  When He tells the parable of the Sower, He explains the seed falling on stony places this way:  "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles." (Matthew 13:1-23).  Again, the emphasis is on endurance, persistence, patience.  When Jesus warns the disciples about the end times to come, He says of His return that "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matthew 24:36).  He says, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect," and adds the parable of the Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant:  "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods" (see Matthew 24:36-51).  The emphasis is all on persistence and endurance, and being consistent in following the Master's commands, being prepared for His return "at an hour you do not expect."  In today's reading, we're told that Christ's words mean "keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking."  In the Sermon on the Mount, these words come in the context of discipleship and the growth of holiness and discernment (see Matthew 7, verses 7-8 and context).  If we are true disciples then, this will be our constant action, our drive, our faithful endurance in following Him, His teachings, the practices such as prayer that we are given, and the persistence in living our faith.  Let us keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, for it is the Lord's good pleasure to help us grow in our faith, and continue in His light and love, in the life He offers to us.