Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
Jesus told his disciples to let their light shine before others so that in seeing it the world would glorify their Father in heaven. Here Jesus added that they weren't to perform the deeds specifically for the sake of being seen. Their concern, their motivation was meant to be the glory of the Father rather than their own sense of validation or affirmation.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
His followers were called to be on guard against the temptation to use righteous deeds to build up a prideful religious self-image. The calling of attention to oneself and one's own greatness in the act of giving to others was a sure sign that something had gone wrong. Seeking the praise of others rather than giving alms for the sake of the love of God and of neighbor had the potential to spoil the whole endeavor. Imagine the way in which the recipient of such alms would feel dehumanized and marginalized.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
Our thoughts have their own little trumpets that like to celebrate what we are doing as though it was somehow the product of our own goodness or magnificence. We tend to like to see ourselves as generous benefactors, fixating on our own image rather than on anything resembling an act of genuine love. This is why that is a true that, in a sense, the most important person from whom to hide our almsgiving is ourselves. Concealing it from others is neither here nor there if we can do it without much thought about ourselves and if it precedes from a genuine motivation of love.
When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
We may not actually be bold enough to go to the street corners so that others may see our prayer. But we nevertheless tend to imagine how others would be impressed by our religiosity. We may not even like to stand out from the crowd. But is there not still a hidden need in us to cultivate a certain self-image because we imagine that it is that image that wins approval by others? Do we pray from genuine motivation of love, or is it more a byproduct of what we assume are the expectations of others for people who practice their faith?
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
We are called to a prayer that goes deeper than the superficial aspects of our lives. It must be able to get beyond self-image, beyond what we wish we were, beyond what we think others imagine us to be or think we should be. In order for prayer to be what it is meant to be we must discover in it the truth of our identity as it is rooted, not any these extraneous layers, but in God himself. In this inner chamber of our hearts we finally have the freeing experience of being able to let all of those external voices and motivations fall by the wayside. All that matters in this deepest room is what God himself is saying here and now. Before him all pretense and falsehood must flee.
When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
It is often hard enough for us to fast at all that we feel as though we deserve some sympathy from others. If we are hungry from missing a meal do we let our usual cheer and vigor give way to a grumpy lethargy? If we have chosen to abstain from some legitimate pleasure why is it so very tempting to tell others about it, as though they stand much to gain from our idea or example? Better to give up less, but seek the reward more thoroughly in God alone, than, say, to give up all but bread and water but broadcast to the world.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
Can we endure sacrifices without sacrificing our charity or even our cheerfulness? When we try to find some power within ourselves to do so we tend to fail and fall flat. We look then to such rewards as the world can provide to be our motivation, rewards that can never empower genuine love. Instead let us learn that the secret is the Father who himself in sees in secret. When he alone is our reward it allows us to act without the need for the flimsy and failing rewards that the world affords. We he himself is the goal we find that it is actually his grace that gives us anything to offer in the first place.
Wielding the mantle that had fallen from Elijah,
Elisha struck the water in his turn and said,
“Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?”
When Elisha struck the water it divided and he crossed over.
When God is the goal we actually experience more fully the power that he intends to pour out on our lives. When we step out of the way his own power is free to flow. When it no longer puts our souls at the risk of ruin it is then that God is free to use us to do mighty deeds. It was this laser like focus that allowed Elisha to be powerful and it is a double portion we too can receive.
How great is the goodness, O LORD,
which you have in store for those who fear you,
And which, toward those who take refuge in you,
you show in the sight of the children of men.
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