Summary: It is a sign of weak faith, or no faith at all, to trumpet for all the world to see and hear what one claims to be doing for God. Does God not see what we're doing? Does God not know why we're doing it? Do we know why we're doing it? Do we not grasp that God already sees, and knows? What difference does it make if people see us or not, if we're doing it for God? If you are looking to be seen by others, being seen by others is your reward.
And so we arrive once again at Ash Wednesday -- the beginning of the penitential season known as Lent. Our passage for this day is taken from the sixth chapter of Matthew, and it offers us Jesus' view of the proper practice of righteousness, which, really, is what Lent is all about. While we may undertake some self-denial during Lent, the season is really not about self-denial -- at least not for its own sake. Lent is not about proving our devotion to God and Jesus through endurance and tight-lipped denial of pleasures which will only be taken up again once Lent is over (while we count the days till it is over!). Lent is about intentionally centering ourselves on a right relationship with God -- in a word, righteousness.
So what we commonly think of as our "Lenten Fast" should come down to honing our skills in practicing righteousness all the time. We commit to training ourselves in practicing righteousness, so that we might get better at it over the long haul of the church year and of our entire lives.
Here's how, Jesus says. Here he teaches the basics concerning the practice, the living of a life that is completely in a right relationship with God. Here Jesus teaches his followers the primary aspects of the practice of righteousness, and he offers instruction in properly following or carrying out those means for practicing righteousness.
Here he shows his would-be followers -- which, of course, includes us -- the basic steps to a righteous life and what such a life entails. He gives us, if you will, the lowest common denominator of righteousness.
Jesus takes up our assumption that we are looking for a "reward" of some sort; that we are "practicing ... righteousness ... in order to be seen ...," in order to receive some kind of notice or recognition or reward. He is challenging the notion that the practice of righteousness, the seeking of a right relationship with God, is some kind of performance, such that if we perform well, we receive a reward; if we perform poorly or half-heartedly we receive nothing, perhaps other than mockery.
The question is, who are we trying to impress? For whom are we doing this -- God, or people? And there is a related question, which is a bit more complicated: what is the point of all of it? Why strive to impress God? Why strive to impress people? Another wrinkle: it can be argued, based on Jesus' ministry as a whole, that our orientation is wrong if we are seeking any reward at all (more on that as we go along).
Let's focus on the basics: What are we doing, in this, and every, Lenten Season? What is it that we seek? Recognition from people? For what? Our focused and disciplined piety -- is that the reward we seek? Or do we seek a just reward from our Father in Heaven? The two may not necessarily be mutually exclusive. Still: if what we seek is reward and recognition from God, our focus, and the focus of our piety, needs to be upon being seen by God, and God alone.
How?
Here's how
There are three ways to seek notice and reward by God, or by anybody, with our practice of piety: through the giving of alms, through prayer and through fasting.
Before we seriously entertain the practice of any of these, we must be clear about one thing: our practice must be a sincere practice, sincerely directed toward improving our relationship with God. Simply going through the motions is what the Gospel calls hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the Greek word for "actor." If we are just going through the motions, we are "playactors," as Eugene Peterson, in his contemporary English translation of scripture known as The Message, translates that word1 -- indeed, Peterson's translation of Jesus' words portrays the whole act of such "playactors" as exactly that: an act, part of a performance, a show.
If we are serious about making an impression on God, the giving of alms must not be a "show" or a performance. It must be sincere in every way, to the extent that -- as Jesus, with his typical use of hyperbole, portrays it -- you almost don't know yourself that you are doing it: "do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."
Simply put, when we give to someone in need, let it be done out of love, out of a heartfelt sense of what they are going through, and not out of an insecure or egotistical need to impress somebody else -- somebody who is watching, or perhaps to impress ourselves with a pat-yourself-on-the-back sense of our own goodness. Indeed, let it be done not even to impress God, as if making an impression is the sole purpose. Let our giving be solely out of love, out of a passionate desire to relieve human misery. That is what "saves." That is what puts us right with God. That is righteousness.
By the same token, when we pray, what is our purpose? Whom are we trying to impress?
We could step on some toes with this one, and that is not the intent here, but, when we apply this to our day and age, we could easily read the "synagogues" Jesus mentions, in Matthew 6:1-6, as "churches." "Hypocrites," "playactors," Jesus says, just love to stand and pray in "synagogues" -- or, in our circumstances, churches -- and on the street corners. They love to make a big show of praying, both in houses of worship and in public.
When we stand up in church, work ourselves up into an emotional state, lift our hands and wave them at the ceiling, who are we trying to impress? Are we trying to impress ourselves, to convince ourselves of the depth of our fervent piety? Are we trying to impress people who might be watching? As Peterson's Jesus puts it, "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant."2
Now the purpose here is not to question anyone's sincerity in prayer. Not at all! The purpose here is not to forbid any kind of "dance" or physical movement that sincerely acts out heartfelt depth of feeling. If you feel moved to lift your hands to heaven, by all means do it! Shout your praises to the Lord, and don't be shy about it! The purpose here is not to turn us all into drudges with our faces bent to the ground. Rather, the purpose is simply to consider, seriously, what Jesus says about prayer. To whom are we praying? We are praying to God, of course. God already knows what's in our hearts. God already knows what we need before we ask.3
What are we seeking, when we pray?
We are seeking to be heard and seen by God and God alone -- to the extent that, Jesus says, when we pray, we should pray in secret. We are not somehow heard better or more clearly by God if we put on an obvious show. Do we want to show God what God already knows? No, if there is even a hint that that is the case, it would be better to 1) go into your room, 2) shut your door and 3) pray ... in secret, to the only One who needs to hear or see your prayer.
There is that third aspect of the practice of righteousness that Jesus talks about: fasting. It's not something we do too much of in our day -- not seriously, anyway, usually not much beyond giving up chocolate or coffee. It's good under the circumstances at least to consider the fact that Jesus does not say if you fast, but when!
But anyway, our purpose here is not so much to recommend fasting for its own sake, but, again, to consider why we're doing it, if we're doing it.
When you fast, Jesus says, don't put on a long face and make a big show of it. It's a "conversation" between you and God, a transaction of sorts, a penance you are making before God and not to show other people -- or even the church -- how devoted and self-sacrificing you are. As with alms-giving and prayer, it doesn't matter what people think of your piety or lack thereof. That is between you and God.
If "fasting" from chocolate or coffee or wine or whatever risks becoming a rote ritual, we do every year about this time just to be doing it, we might consider asking ourselves, why are we doing this? How is this ritual (is it just a ritual?) practice bringing us closer to a right relationship with God? Are we doing it just to check the box, as it were -- Lent? Fast from chocolate! There! Covered! Or does it help us hear God?
Practicing righteousness consists in giving alms, praying and fasting.
What is the common denominator of this "righteousness" equation? Righteousness is something to be practiced rather than performed. Righteousness is a way of life, a mode of living, that springs forth from out of a love of God and God's creation -- especially of our human brothers and sisters, who bear, as we do, the image of God.
That is the lowest common denominator of righteousness: love. Love of God, love of neighbor -- and practice that does whatever it takes to act out that love in every circumstance. Let's do it -- now, during Lent and always!