The Tale of Joe Bob Jackson

Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

“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.

Once there was a man named Joe Bob Jackson.  Most people though, just called him Bubba.  He set out to be the greatest BBQ man in all of Berkshire county.  Determined to achieve this lofty goal he set out gathering all that he needed.  He looked though hundreds of cookbooks, tasted dozens of other people’s Q, he researched the best wood, temperatures, rubs, and sauces.  He visited people with every sort of smoker that had ever been created watching them for hours and hours.  Eventually, deciding on the best way to proceed he had a custom smoker built on the back of a trailer.  It was a work of art!  Black and beautiful with a smokestack stretching up into the sky!  He cooked and tweaked and cooked and tweaked the recipes and formulas until it was perfection.  He paid for marketing gurus and artists to make him a logo and signs and get the word out.  He bought a brand new pickup truck to haul the smoker to every corner of the county.  His name became known from North Adams to Ashley Falls.  He even got the people on the Great Barrington Facebook page (perhaps the most negative and toxic place in all of the Berkshires) to praise his operation!  He had it all!  Well, he nearly had it all.  You see, it turns out he lacked just on thing.  Have you made out the one thing he was missing?  Right.  He didn’t ever actually feed anybody.  He had all the tools, the very best tools!  But having all the tools is not the point of barbecue. 

There are three practices that Christians have traditionally taken up for the season of Lent.  They are… giving alms, prayer, and fasting.  We Christians often mess up these three practices in the same way that our good friend, Bubba Joe Bob Jackson, messed up with his barbecue business.  We focus intensively, obsessively, and exclusively on those TOOLS and forget that the tools themselves are not the point.  They are a only a means to the real and actual purpose of the season of Lent.    

Giving alms, prayer, and fasting are the TOOLS of Lent in the same way that a smoker, recipes, and a logo are the tools of a barbecue business.  For Bubba Joe Bob Jackson, he had spent countless hours, an unbelievable amount of money, and done a ton of real work to perfect his tools.  But in the end, all that time, money and work didn’t matter at all, because all that work, time and money never put even one sandwich into the hands of a real human being hungry for barbecue.  

As we begin this journey today called Lent, keep in mind the lesson of Bubba Joe Bob Jackson who spent countless time, money and effort creating the very best tools anyone has ever put together for a barbecue business and yet never put even one sandwich in another person’s hands.  As you think about picking up the the traditional tools of Lent… giving alms, prayer, and fasting… or as you begin to think about any other Lenten Discipline you might practice in the weeks ahead, continually ask yourself the question, “Am I being just like Bubba?  Am I just playing with the TOOLS of Lent?”  Then, when you’ve asked yourself that question and given yourself a REAL and HONEST answer, remember the lesson of Bubba Joe Bob Jackson… when it comes to both Barbecue and Lent, the point of both is NOT the tools we use.  The point of both Lent and Barbecue is to use the tools we have to connect more deeply with God through our neighbors.  Amen.