Title: Authentic Piety
Text: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Thesis: Jesus wants his followers to live into a righteousness that is better than that of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees… Jesus wants us to be better!
Introduction
The Center for Disease Control is reminding us that it is not too late to get vaccinated for the Influenza B Victoria Virus if we have not yet done so and at the same time we are being encouraged to take precautionary measures to guard against contacting infected surfaces and people who may be carrying the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), for which there is no current vaccine. Should we be infected with any cold or flu or COVID-19 we would hope and pray that we have a mild case of it. Sometimes a mild case of it is a good thing!
Chad Walsh wrote an intriguing book entitled Early Christians of the Twenty-First Century. He wrote:
"Millions of Christians live in a sentimental haze of vague piety, with soft organ music trembling in the lovely light from stained-glass windows. Their religion is a pleasant thing of emotional quiver, divorced from the intellect, divorced from the will, and demanding little except lip service to a few harmless platitudes.
He continued, "I suspect that Satan has called off his attempt to convert people to agnosticism. After all, if a person travels far enough away from Christianity, he or she is always in danger of seeing it in perspective and deciding that it is true. It is much safer, from Satan's point of view, to vaccinate a person with a mild case of Christianity so as to protect him from the real disease." (Howard Hendricks, "Faith in Tough Times," Preaching Today, Tape 140)
If Jesus was about anything at all in his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount it is that in his mind, there is no place for a thing called “a Mild Case of Christianity.” A mild case of Christianity is not a good thing! When he spoke of what it means to be a follower of Christ it was never in terms of getting a “touch of the flu.” He laid it out in no uncertain terms, “Unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:20
In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches us how to be better in three specific acts of piety. They are commonly practiced spiritual disciplines that were and are still practiced by people of faith… Jesus clearly assumed that his hearers, as a matter of religious practice, gave to the needy, prayed and fasted.
In this teaching his concern is that we practice our religious piety for the right reason…
I. Sometimes people do the right things for the wrong reasons
In my life and ministry I have observed that the more dramatic and pious we become about our faith, the more likely it is that we are trying to please ourselves and others rather than God. I am reminded of how on more than one occasion a parishioners have introduced motions at business meetings by saying something like this, “My wife and I have prayed about this and we will put up the first $10,000 if you will vote to approve this project.” Jesus couldn't hack sanctimonious displays of religiosity. He preferred those whose humble actions spoke for their faith.
In evangelical circles we call it Pharisaism because the Pharisees were known to make doing good a religious show. The story Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14 is a case in point.
Two men went to the Temple to pray… one man went to connect with God and the other went to put on a performance for the other Temple worshipers.
The Pharisees were doing right the things, good things, but for the wrong reasons. As Jesus tells this parable, he is not comparing the deeds of the two men in the story. He is comparing the attitudes of their heart. One came to the temple to pray while filled with pride. The other came to pray while full of humility.
Jesus never criticizes the Pharisees for their acts of piety. He takes them to task because acts of private devotion had become, for them, nothing more than public displays of religiosity. When our faith only affects the externals, pride is inevitable. To this day, people use things like giving, prayer, and fasting as measuring sticks to compare themselves with others.
However…
II. We can do the right things for the right reasons
In Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18 Jesus teaches us how to do that.
A. First of all, we can practice authentic outward expressions of love.
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 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. Matthew 6:1-4
Giving—whether you are talking money, time, or good deeds —it is about attitude in the New Testament. It's not about the legalistic act. Giving and serving and offering all you have is first about your heart, not what you actually give.
Jesus assumes you are doing righteous things. He says: "When you give…" “When.”
The assumption is that we routinely give in any number of ways to God and others. When you befriend a person who appears to be lonely or sitting alone and attempt to engage them in conversation that is an act of kindness. When you give your tithes and offerings and see there is an additional need you can contribute toward, that is an act of generosity. When you give your grumpy and unlovable old aunt or uncle a phone call or drop by for a visit, you are doing an act of compassion.
I liked how one commentator reminds us that doing these acts of kindness are not all part of some elaborate pyramid scheme in which we do stuff in order to get a lot more stuff back from God. He suggests that we do our good deeds for others and the glory of God period! That’s it!
We give without any sense of self-awareness because Jesus warns us against giving and doing good needs with any selfish motives. He warns against doing good before people, publicly, to be seen. That is called hypocrisy. Hypocrites are people who appear to be doing one thing, but who underneath have other motives. The word "hypocrite" came from the theater, when actors pretended to be other characters. That's okay in acting, but it is forbidden in the Christian life. Publicly, religious people know they ought to give, ought to care, but they also want people to see them, admire them, rate them. They want to do good, but also to get the bonus of other peoples' congratulations…
Years ago Bonnie and I responded to a fund-raising effort on behalf of our denominational seminary and if I remember correctly I believe if we contributed $100 we would get a memorial brick placed in memory of our selves or a loved one. We made a contribution and sometime later when we were in Chicago we visited the seminary and remembered having placed a brick in memory of our son so we found the brick walk and searched and search until we found our brick. It felt good to have remembered our son and to see his name memorialized and so I am a bit torn by the suggestion that to make such a memorial contribution is a forbidden act or hypocritical piety. But I do get what Jesus is saying… when you give a gift it is not an occasion for bell-ringing and attention getting.
After the warning comes advice—Jesus never leaves us without sound, practical help. "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
B. Second, we can practice authentic upward expressions of prayer.
When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. 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. Matthew 6:5-6
The focus is on my relationship with God, not about being seen or heard by others. Jesus told the crowd that, when they prayed, they should remember who they were talking to—their Father. They were to go into a closet and have time alone with God.
Prayer is a second religious practice. Again, Jesus assumes that we are doing it. Nowhere in Matthew 5-7 does Jesus exhort disciples to pray. He assumes it's part of belonging to him.
I played the slots once. I bought gas at a casino north of Watersmeet, MI and earned a roll of slugs or tokens or whatever you call them. I walked across the lot and went in and sat down in front of a slot machine and inserted slug after slug until a whole bunch of quarters came pouring out into the tray… I was $17 rich!
Jesus assumes we know about the rewards. Of course, these are not slot-machine rewards—put prayer in at the top, and God's answer comes out at the bottom. Prayer is about a relationship with God. It's hidden and it's real. And we learn to leave the outcome or the rewarding to God.
Jesus gives us a warning here too. Don't pray publicly to be seen by people. Don't be hypocritical in your prayer.
Hypocrites stand in front of others and enjoy the impression they are making. Jesus utterly opposes those who do so because they love to be known for their lofty and lovely prayers. For "they have received their reward in full." That's all that happens. You think you are getting through to God, but all you are doing is play-acting, pretending before people. They may be impressed. God isn't.
Instead, pray secretly. You have a room. Does it have a door? Then close it and pray, and your Father, who is unseen and who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Do it secretly.
C. Third, we can practice authentic inward expressions of self-denial.
When you fast, don’t make it obvious, as hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. 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. Matthew 6:16-18
Disciplines like fasting are beneficial for spiritual formation. In the Lenten Season we may set aside something we love or something necessary, for a time as a means for saying to God, "You are more important to me than food!"
However the practice of fasting is much more involved that simply depriving oneself of Klondike Bars for Lent. While fasting is indeed beneficial, it is more than a dietary practice for weight loss or good health.
Interestingly, Jesus assumes his listeners also practice fasting as part of their religious piety. And in scripture fasting is almost always associated with what Scott McKnight calls a Sacred Moment like death or sin or fear or threats or needs or sickness. Our response to such a Sacred Moment is a Fast which in time results in life, forgiveness, safety, hope, answers or health.
David wrote, “When they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.” Psalm 35:13-14
In II Samuel 12:22 David spoke of fasting while his child was ill, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live,’…”
The assumption is that spiritual fasting is done for spiritual reasons and that our fasting is accompanied by purposeful prayer and it is done privately.
When you fast, don’t make it obvious, as hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. 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.
Conclusion
Author H. G. Wells was no friend of the church, but sometimes he served us well. Years ago in the New Yorker, he told a story about an Episcopalian clergyman. (He could have told it about a preacher from any denomination.) This Episcopalian bishop was the kind of man who always said pious things to people. When troubled folks came to him, he found that a particularly helpful thing to say, if said in a right tone of voice, was, "Have you prayed about it?" If said in just the right way, it seemed to settle things.
The bishop himself didn't pray much; he had life wrapped up in a neat package. But one day life tumbled in on him and he found himself overwhelmed. It occurred to the bishop that maybe he should take some of his own advice. So, one Saturday afternoon he entered the cathedral, went to the front, and knelt on the crimson rug. Then he folded his hands before the altar (he could not help but think how childlike he was).
Then he began to pray. He said, "O God--" and suddenly there was a voice. It was crisp, businesslike. The voice said, "Well, what is it?"
Next day when the worshipers came to Sunday services, they found the bishop sprawled face down on the crimson carpet. When they turned him over, they discovered he was dead. Lines of horror were etched upon his face. What H. G. Wells was saying in that story is simply this: there are folks who talk a lot about God who would be scared to death if they saw him face to face. (Haddon Robinson, "Good Guys, Bad Guys, and Us Guys," Preaching Today, Tape No. 80)
Jesus wants us to have enough of a relationship with the Lord so as that we don’t have a stroke if we happen to have a close encounter with God!
This morning Jesus is inviting us to be better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees. He is inviting us to have more than a Mild case of Christianity. Jesus is inviting us to be all in and sincerely devout in giving to and for the good of others and the glory of God, praying and the occasional meaningful fast knowing that our Heavenly Father sees everything and that’s all that matters!
