Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
‘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.
‘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.
An Offering from Rob Leacock:
When teaching students about Hinduism, there comes a point
where I bring up the matter of one’s persona.
Being a wayward and incorrigible classicist, I force my students to slog
through the etymology of the word until we arrive at a clear definition: a mask. The mask is that through which (per) the
actor sounds (sona) her part. As both
drama and Hinduism explain, the mask is not who we truly are, but often it is
who we choose to be.
On Ash Wednesday Jesus warns us about practicing our piety
in front of others. We hear Jesus
reminding us about the risks of keeping up appearances based upon the judgment
of the world. The danger is quite
simple: you and I can never measure up to the world’s expectation of us.
Jesus’s warning reminds us that we are afraid to find be who
we really are. In fact, we are afraid
even to find out who we are. We prefer
instead to build up the outward appearance.
Rather than be our vulnerable selves, we labor to be what others expect
and desire us to be. We put on a mask,
we build up a wall to protect ourselves, but really we imprison ourselves. We find ourselves unable truly to know and to
be known, unable even to know ourselves.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, we find Lent a season in which
we might find out a bit more about ourselves, know our truer selves, be and
become whom God created and intended us to be as his beloved. It is as much about our humanity as it is our
human frailty, self-discovery as it is penitential soul-searching.
Prayer
O Lord, who has mercy on all people,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore you,
a heart to delight in you,
to follow and enjoy you, for Christ's sake, Amen
St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore you,
a heart to delight in you,
to follow and enjoy you, for Christ's sake, Amen
St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)
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