Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 6"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Verse 2"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. Verse 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, Verse 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Verse 5"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. Verse 6But 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.
Verse 16"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. Verse 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, Verse 18so that 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.
Verse 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; Verse 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. Verse 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Devotion
On Ash Wednesday, we start our Lenten journey from darkness to light, from ashes to resurrection. The sign of the cross on our foreheads is a public reminder that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.
In Matthew 6, Jesus is concerned more with what we do in private than in public. Jesus says, “Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” When we give alms, pray privately, and fast privately, these marks of discipleship shine brighter in the darkness than in the light. He doesn’t want us to shine our own light on our almsgiving, or our times of prayer, or embellish our fasting for others to see. Instead, seek to do these things “in secret,” with sincerity, humility, and positivity. As we give to others, pray for others, and utilize our spiritual exercise of fasting, remember that “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Prayer
Gracious God, help us to give, pray, and fast on our journey through Lent. Shift our motivations from selfish gain to selfless giving. Amen.
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