Ash Wednesday

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 CEB

¹“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

²“Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. ³But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing ⁴so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

⁵“When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. ⁶But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

¹⁶“And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. ¹⁷ When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. ¹⁸hen you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁹“Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. ²⁰Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. ²¹Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Questions

1. Why is the lectionary reading for Ash Wednesday about hiding spiritual practices?
2. What does it mean to “practice your religion in secret”?
3. How do these verses interact with 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven”?

Helpful Information

Like much of the sermon on the mount these verses are about righteousness. The comparison with the religious leaders of Jesus’ times references back to 5:20, providing us with “how” the righteousness of Jesus’ followers is to exceed that of the religious leaders.

In these verses Jesus connects the reward of the action to the motivation. If the motivation of fasting or giving is to be seen as pious then the reward can only come from other people, if the action is to love God then the reward comes from God.

Reflection

Ash Wednesday is historically a day where Christians wear their faith on their sleeves, or more precisely their foreheads. It seems strange that we would use a passage about keeping our religious efforts private on a day with such a public display of religious devotion. In fact, Lent is a season of forty days where we encourage one another in public acts of devotion and speak openly and willingly about how those acts are impacting our lives. But how do we square the practices of Lent with Jesus’ seeming expectation of secrecy in our actions. On might be forgiven for asking how Christians can square the practice of wearing ashes for the whole day or promoting a season of fasting with the words of verse 16.

“And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:16-18

But the logic that sees Jesus’ words as a command to secrecy in all elements of our religious lives misses both the context of these verses and the thrust of Jesus’ message. Just a few verses before this Jesus says, “In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).  How can our good deeds be a light to the world if all of our good deeds are done in complete secrecy? One reason I think many miss this connection is because they have a very limited view of community worship. For so many Western Christians today our faith is an isolated and individual lifestyle, the only communal element is the Sunday morning gathering. Even our Sunday morning worship experience stresses individual participation over the communal elements. For Jesus though many elements of worship, particularly feast and fast days, were communal celebrations. Everyone would have participated in liturgical fasts like the Day of Atonement, and Jews would have celebrated together without question. Jesus is not discussing such community worship in Matthew 6, rather he is discussing individuals who are taking it on themselves to give alms or perform fasts as individuals apart from the liturgical calendar. Further, Jesus is not even prohibiting people from making some public displays rather he is telling us to measure our motivations. We are supposed to ask ourselves why we are participating in these religious activities, are we trying to make a name for ourselves or is the intent to connect to God.

That said, Lent is clearly a time when Christians challenge themselves to dedicate a time to focusing on God through examination, repentance, fasting, and prayer. Further it is a time to engage in these disciplines not simply as individuals but as a community as a part of a liturgical cycle. The words of Jesus in Matthew 6 are then a warning to us to celebrate Lent with true conviction. Far from being a prohibition of the historic Christian practices, Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount seem to be promoting good deeds as a witness to the community of believers and the world around us. The story of Ananias in Acts 5 seems to provide an example of what Jesus meant, the community remembered people like Barnabas who gave for legitimate reasons but condemns those who gave to make a name for themselves. Later in Acts we are told of Peter fasting, this is more than simply a historical detail, it is a witness to us to motivate us to do likewise. The New Testament is full of witnesses to community spiritual practices like those of Lent and they are always seen as good. The reason we read this passage immediately before the season of Lent is to remind ourselves to examine our motives in this season. Today as we enter Lent we need to ask, why am I participating in this sacred season? Why am I joining in the community expressing their faith in Ashes? Why am I thinking of fasting? What is my reason for giving up something? To fit in” to prove I’m spiritual? Or do I participate in the practices of Lent because I feel in these practices I will position my own life and community to be blessed by God?

Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 are not about making spiritual practices a private matter, rather he is concerned with how we approach spiritual practices in our public lives. Are we after the glory, if so the only glory we will have is from those who see us preforming. If our practices are about being righteous then we will be unconcerned with who knows what we are doing, but neither will we shy away from participating with the community of faith in these practices and being a light to help others grow with God. Lent is about joining with our brothers and sisters to fully engage in fasting, prayer, and repentance, so we can embrace more fully the transformation God wants for each of us and our communities.