Text Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Theme All Alone

Subject Jesus’ teaching on alms giving, prayer and fasting

Occasion Ash Wednesday (Thursday due to snow) – 2/7/08 – Zion – Iowa City

Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them (6:1a)

What’s your motive?

Who dressed you?

Did somebody tell you to walk like that?

Who taught you how to eat?

I’ve been watching you;

It’s time we had a talk

This kind of scrutiny could make us very anxious

The inflection might make a difference – compliment rather than critique

The context might make a difference –

drama class rather the cafeteria

Best is to live in a caring environment:

like the body of Christ

Where people accept us

Yet it is the caring environment at its best

that slices thru our artificial ways and contrived piety

that appreciates and affirms our genuine selfless ways

And I dare to say, standing in the midst of this fine Christian community,

we mature to genuine, faithful and selfless lives thru time we spend

all alone with God

Grace to you and peace from our living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Three verses from the Gospel reading have my attention

your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Mt 6: 4)

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. (Mt 6: 6)

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. (Mt 6: 18)

Each of these actions,

giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting

is the reward – no need to expect more

You know heaven isn’t a reward for our faithfulness

Heaven is a gift from God thru Christ’s faithfulness

So trust me that these acts are what faithful people do

So we’ve been doing them

They are traditionally called “the Lenten disciplines”

Best: they become the way we live

So this evening

I’m not talking about these actions/disciplines

I’m not talking about any reward

Rather I turn your attention to your Father who sees in secret

This doesn’t mean that God sees in the dark

Rather, that we each have a secret relationship with God

our most precious relationship

How we privately come into God’s presence

Or how we are aware of God being present with us

I know that many of us multi-task nearly everything

And that we do multi-task even our prayer life

Driving or walking or biking or swimming or jogging – we offer prayer

Doing dishes at the kitchen sink – we offer prayer

Good that we do that

Like in any of our relationships

we can walk and talk or work and talk

So too with God

But Jesus is teaching here that because God sees in secret

That God is with us always

even when we’re all alone

Then good to find or make times

when we can be all alone with God

Over the years I’ve been asked to help a lot of people in relationships

There are lots of dimensions to a relationship

Social, economic, and physical dimensions come quickly to mind

The spiritual dimension (faith relationship) doesn’t surface very often

This isn’t because people aren’t spiritual

Our prayer life, our personal spiritual life, is likely the most precious dimension of our lives

We don’t share it easily

Doing pre-marriage work these days is a lot different than when I was ordained

One thing hasn’t changed

People can share nearly every aspect of their life with another – and do

But not how it is when they are all alone with God

This is too intimate

Yes, do try to pray with the people nearest to you

Don’t press; just invite

But even when the intimacy of faith is shared with others

Still we need time when we are all alone with God

Jesus wants us to have it – all alone with our Father who sees in secret

Give to the poor but don’t call attention to yourself

So some time all alone to sort out the details before you do it

Fast but don’t call attention to yourself

Jesus even offers suggestions as to how to “put on a happy face”

The prayer time all alone is central to this teaching

go into your room … shut the door … pray (6:6a)

This is private time

About 1000 years ago Bernard of Clairvaux brought a vigorous change to monastic life

He’d observed that so many of the monks so often during worship

were offering prayer aloud

that there was no silence

“How we can hear God if there is no silence,” he wondered

As Abbot of the monastery at Clairvaux, he reinstated silence as a significant aspect of the faithful life

Since we know that when we pray,

we are communicating with God,

so then half the time, at least, is silent

The voice of God gets equal time

I heard a lecture about meditation a number of years ago

The speaker observed that generally

when people from the western world meditate,

they fall asleep

when people from the eastern world meditate,

they expect something to happen

If when we are all alone, we fall asleep

That’s probably what we need to do

How remarkable it is when we are all alone with God

And we anticipate or expect revelation