1 “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Todays readings are extracted from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The entire sermon of Jesus takes up Chapters 5-7 of Matthews Gospel so we are only getting a small portion of it but the context of what Jesus has to say is simple enough when understood correctly.
First of all Jesus tells his audience to beware of practicing your piety, so religious acts like prayer for example, in order to be seen by others. We must be careful here, many take what Jesus’ has to say as a reason to have no public acts at all and that any are contradictions of Jesus but he is very specific here and explains why, as he does with the later instructions.
Your intent behind your acts of piety are important. God is incredibly just, so just in fact, that he gives everyone their rewards that they desire. If you do public acts of holiness because you want to be perceived as being pious by others, God will grant that but that is all you will receive. The adulation of others and no reward in Heaven. If you do pious acts in public but your intent has nothing to do with public appreciation and is focused on the Father in heaven then you will be rewarded.
If public acts of piety were actually condemned, then Jesus would be contradicting himself when he sends out the apostles to be his martyrs, his witnesses. What they are doing are public acts of piety, preaching the Good News and they are rewarded richly in heaven for it. So the point is absolutely the intent of the heart.
2 “Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
An act of piety common today as well as in Jesus’ time is giving alms. Donating money. In the same way as the general rule of piety, you mustn’t do it for public approval. Jesus also says “when”, this strongly implies an obligation. So you will give alms not “if you give alms” and you must not do it so you are praised by men. Your intent must be pure.
He says to “sound no trumpet before you” although this can be taken as metaphorical language about announcing your act to others publicly for their praise it could also have a rather literal meaning. In Herod’s Temple Complex in the Court of Women, where any Jew was allowed to enter, there were thirteen trumpet-shaped chests known as shofarot. These were where Temple donations were collected and the wealthy would create a very loud noise with all the shekels they poured into it, letting everyone known just how rich and pious that they thought they were. The substantial meaning is still present, don’t alert people to your alms giving but the origin of the phrasing is likely referencing how people did that in Jesus’ culture. Synagogues maybe had similar smaller versions of these trumpet-like chests for collections.
Jesus says to not let your left hand no what your right hand is doing when you give alms. This is impossible obviously but its likely a Hebraism, a phrase that implies a level of extreme secrecy. All of this is to make sure you give alms with the right intention, if you give in secret, your Father in Heaven will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when 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.
Jesus again uses the term “when” when talking about prayer, letting us know that this is absolutely something he expects us to do. Like the previous instructions he explains the Father’s justice. When the hypocrites pray (hypocrite meaning actor in their context) they do it to be seen by men, they receive exactly that reward but no other. No eternal rewards if you seek out men’s approval. It does not mean you cannot pray among others, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount will teach his audience the Lord’s Prayer that the earliest Church members all prayed in common and still does today. It is again, down to the intent behind your prayer. If you pray in secret, you will be rewarded by the Father in Heaven in secret.
16 “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Now another act of piety, with the “when” being used. Fasting. Jesus’ expects us to fast but when we do it we must not do it for the attention of others. Jesus then describes some of the behaviours that he must have noticed in his own time. People making them selves look like they’re fasting, doesn’t mean they are not actually doing it. They probably are but they’re doing whilst making it obvious to others so they are praised by them. What is meant to be an act of piety focused toward God becomes an act of self idolatry. Anoint your head with oil, wash your face, look fresh and good and happy about what you are doing. Again, do this without seeking the approval of others and you will be rewarded by the Father in Heaven. This does not mean that people can’t find out, your fasting doesn’t suddenly get cancelled out if someone notices somehow. It is all about the intent of your heart in what you are doing. God knows and you know, you can lie to yourself but you can’t lie to him. You know if you’re breaking these rules.
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