The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew, the 6th Chapter
"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Today is the start of the season of Lent and if you take the word of many people on the street, Lent is all about suffering. If you start a conversation with someone about Lent, you will inevitably end up discussing what you are both giving up. Chocolate, meat, coffee and even beer are popular consumables to give up. Facebook and swearing are popular non-food items to give up. But, is giving something up to create self-inflicted suffering really the reason for the season? Suffering is nice… I suppose… if you’re into that sort of thing, but suffering is not really what God is looking for in the season of Lent or in any other season for that matter. The idea that the same God that literally loved us into being wants us to spend the next six weeks suffering is just sort of twisted to me.
Finding ever more creative ways to make yourself suffer seems to be what people often do for Lent. But in today’s gospel, Jesus gives only the briefest nod to the “what” people are doing: Fasting, prayer and giving money to the poor. Instead, Jesus focuses on making sure whatever we’re doing, we’re doing it for the correct reason “WHY.” Prayer, fasting and giving money to the poor were all things that Jesus thought were fine things to do in his time and in fact, they still can be really great things to do even in our time. BUT, the “why” matters! If you are doing them to suffer for suffering’s sake... frankly, that’s a terrible reason!
In this lesson, Jesus is challenging us to live beyond the “what” and instead live out of the “why.” So, why do you give money to the poor? Jesus said that if you give money to the poor to look good to others, then you’ve missed the point. But, if you give money as a way to help yourself refocus on people other than yourself and so justice can be done in the world, then THAT’S a good reason “why”. If you give money so that those who live without, may simply live, that’s a good reason why too and you’ve found yourself a good Lenten discipline.
How about prayer? Prayer is not supposed to be a chore, a duty or a punishment. It also isn’t a magic spell meant to manipulate God. Prayer is a means to bind us together for mutual support and to build a deeper relationship with God. It’s a way to tune into one another’s needs and be reminded again that we aren’t alone... our community is with us and God is with us. Prayer reminds us that we are loved and the universe is larger than just the space between our ears. If you pray to refocus... to orient yourself to God’s love and pass on that love to the people around you... if you pray so that you can better love your neighbor and be quiet and listen for God, then prayer can be an excellent Lenten discipline.
What about fasting? Well, are you doing it to suffer for all the awful things you or the human race has done over the years? If you want to do that you better plan on never eating again because, let’s be honest, the human race has done some REALLY HORRIBLE things over the years! However, if fasting will remind you that the food you are missing is not something to take for granted, but something that comes as a gift from God. That’s not a bad reason. If it will remind you that the unpleasant hungry feeling you have when you fast is something that nearly 1 in 4 kids in Maine experience every day or that there are 200,000 people in Maine that have that feeling not just for the 40 days in Lent but for 365 days each year... then that’s an even better reason. Then, if fasting refocuses you so you not only think about those people but ALSO go out and do something to fill the hungry with good things in our community, then that’s the best reason yet and fasting might be a Lenten discipline for you to adopt.
Can you see what Jesus is doing here? Jesus is doing what God has done throughout scripture. Jesus is trying to get us to stop us obsessing about that person in our mirror and focus instead on our relationships with God and one another. That is what Lent is meant to do. God tells us we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and minds and souls and our neighbors as ourselves. The prophet Micah summarizes all the prophets by reminding us again that God requires nothing of us except to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God and Jesus takes that same theme and reminds us again, here in the Sermon on the Mount, that we are called to be merciful, pure in heart and peacemakers. You see, suffering isn’t the goal of Lent! The REAL goal of Lent is to give us time to pause in our hectic lives, reorient ourselves to better receive God’s love and change our focus from ourselves and our wants, to the people who live all around us and their needs. Giving alms, prayer and fasting are just three of the most ancient ways to do that.
Maybe suffering is what will do that for you. I don’t personally get that, but there are lots of things in this world I don’t get. For me, something like buying soap for St. Mark’s pantry as I shop for groceries for myself works better. For me, tipping my server at a restaurant way over the normal 20% reminds me that while I’m enjoying this special treat of eating out, the person serving me, and the one doing my dishes in the back are working very hard and are not quite making it from paycheck to paycheck. For me, packing food boxes, paying the bill for the car behind me at the drive thru, reading to a kid at a school or posting three things I am thankful for on Facebook for 40 straight days works better for me than any kind of self imposed suffering. Maybe that’s just me, but if you can think of something you think might work better for you than the traditional suffering, then there is still time to change your plans for Lent.
May your Lenten disciplines and journey not bring you meaningless suffering, but may you do the things that will bring your closer to your neighbors and to our loving and compassionate God. May the things you do refocus you on the “other” and in that refocusing, move you closer to the abundant, meaning filled life God created you to live. Amen.
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