Ash Wednesday -- February 13, 2013
Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1 – 6; 16 – 19; 21
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. . . .
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth. . . . Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Lent begins with three core spiritual practices: Almsgiving (sharing with those in need), prayer (a stance of communion with God), and fasting (saying "no" to self and "yes" to God's deepening life). Each of them brings something of merit. They benefit the one practicing the discipline, as well as persons in the world.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 begin with the challenge to stop engaging in spiritual practices – no matter how good and worthy they are – in order to be “admired by others” (6:1). On the back end, this teaching concludes with, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth” (6:19), which is exactly what the admiration of others amounts to.
Jesus invites us to give attention to the interior, to engage in spiritual practices in a way that helps us attend to the inner life. Jesus had little interest in how people looked. He had a lot of interest in the shape of a person’s heart.
As you think about the days ahead, chances are you will take on some expression of your spiritual yearning as a practice or discipline for Lent. That is fine. It is appropriate to the season.
I encourage you, though, not to overlook the interior. I hope you will notice what goes on inside your heart as you move through Lent. When you fast a food or drink, for instance, notice what irritates you. Does something else pop to the surface of your life in place of that food or drink?
When you give to those in need, what is the spirit of your giving?
Are you content when prayer becomes silent, wordless?
Through Lent, attend to your heart’s interior.
Matthew 6:1 – 6; 16 – 19; 21
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. . . .
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth. . . . Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Lent begins with three core spiritual practices: Almsgiving (sharing with those in need), prayer (a stance of communion with God), and fasting (saying "no" to self and "yes" to God's deepening life). Each of them brings something of merit. They benefit the one practicing the discipline, as well as persons in the world.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 begin with the challenge to stop engaging in spiritual practices – no matter how good and worthy they are – in order to be “admired by others” (6:1). On the back end, this teaching concludes with, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth” (6:19), which is exactly what the admiration of others amounts to.
Jesus invites us to give attention to the interior, to engage in spiritual practices in a way that helps us attend to the inner life. Jesus had little interest in how people looked. He had a lot of interest in the shape of a person’s heart.
As you think about the days ahead, chances are you will take on some expression of your spiritual yearning as a practice or discipline for Lent. That is fine. It is appropriate to the season.
I encourage you, though, not to overlook the interior. I hope you will notice what goes on inside your heart as you move through Lent. When you fast a food or drink, for instance, notice what irritates you. Does something else pop to the surface of your life in place of that food or drink?
When you give to those in need, what is the spirit of your giving?
Are you content when prayer becomes silent, wordless?
Through Lent, attend to your heart’s interior.
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