Does it ever
strike you as a bit incongruous that we mark ourselves publicly with ash in the
shape of a cross on our foreheads when the Gospel lesson from Matthew says to
do all our acts of piety in secret? My
thought is that there had to be several other lessons in the Gospels that would
have allowed the liturgy without condemning the practice. I see by a couple nods that I am not the only
one who has had that thought. We read
that we should not make a show of our fasting and prayer, and then we mark
ourselves. Why? Why would the Church ignore Jesus’ teachings
so blatantly?
I suppose the
real focus in this passage ought to be on the difference between the real
worshipper of God and the true disciple.
Jesus spends some significant time in this passage, but throughout
Matthew’s Gospel, talking about those who make an outward show of righteousness
while their hearts are anything but.
Matthew uses a famous word in this passage. Actually, he uses the word some thirteen of
the seventeen times it is found in the New Testament. The word is hypocrite. I know, today it is an unsavory word. We think of hypocrites as bad people; nobody wants
to be judged a hypocrite. In the Greek
culture, however, the term was used to describe the actors in the plays. Part of the difficulty was that there were so
few “professional” actors. Playwrights
would compose scenes in which only three or four actors might be necessary at a
time. During a break, the same actors
would become a different character. In
particular, actors on the Athenian Broadway would place masks over their faces
to show the audience which character they were portraying. Naturally, the actor was expected to act like
the character on the mask, rather than himself (sorry, ladies, there were no actresses
in these days). Some interpretation by
the actors was expected, but the mask is what helped the audience remember who
the actor was playing at that moment.
Imagine Johnny Depp playing a half dozen characters in Pirates of the
Caribbean. How would we ever tell which
character he was playing at any given moment?
For us, Johnny Depp is Jack Sparrow, not another pirate, nor a British
Marine, nor a civilian. For the Greeks,
this problem was solved by use of the mask.
The mask told the audience who the character was, even if the underlying
acting was bad. So, here is Jesus
comparing the acts of the Pharisees to hypocrites. Why?
Those whom Jesus
condemns in this passage are simply acting.
He speaks specifically of three acts of righteousness which were
incumbent upon those who claimed to worship God. Jesus notes that when giving to the poor,
some would call attention to their giving.
Essentially, the Pharisee/hypocrite would put on a mask and shout “over
here, I am playing a generous to the poor person today!” When praying, the Pharisee/hypocrite would
put on a mask and shout “are not my words spiritual and religious and
flowing? God cannot help but lend an ear
to my voice!” When fasting, the
Pharisee/hypocrites would call attention to their behavior by putting on a mask
that said “look at me and how I suffer for God.
Are you not impressed?” You see,
the hypocrites of whom Jesus spoke were engaged in a performance for an
audience. They hoped that those around
them would be impressed by their generosity, their fancy words, their
willingness to suffer for God and judge them holy.
The problem, of
course, is that God sees into our hearts.
Those who were giving for show, praying for show, and suffering for show
did not impress God. In fact, it angered
Him. God expected His people to live
righteously for real. Righteousness was
not meant to be a mask that was worn at certain times of the year, like
Christmas and Easter today.
Righteousness was supposed to describe His people all the time, in all
their dealings, and most especially in their hearts. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
In many ways, the
human response to God has not changed much, has it? People still like to make a show of being
righteous, but their hearts are far from Him.
Where is your heart? I suppose
that our ashes might serve as a good judge of how people see us. When you head back to work, head out to eat
with your group, head home to your family with ashes on your head today, how
will those in your life react? Will they
nod, not at all surprised that you had ashes imposed this day? Or will they raise an eyebrow in or give
voice to their surprise? You are a Christian?
Brothers and
sisters, Lent is not about judgment or about suffering or about these outward
signs of which we speak. Lent, in truth,
is a reminder that we need to keep our hearts focused on God. But it is an acknowledgment that we need His
grace in order to do just that! Had He
not been willing to die for our sins, and had He not been willing to send us
the Holy Spirit to lead us into righteousness, we would have remained
estranged, at enmity with Him. We would
be like horrible actors, wearing masks, pretending to be righteous while
rotting in our cores. That cross of ash
that I will place on your head in a moment reminds us of that truth. It slips through the veneer of our lives, it
brushes aside the ego of our psyche, it pierces the masks we all wear when
facing the world, and reminds us from whence we came and where we are headed. We came from dust. We will return to dust. The season of Lent reminds us that we should
intentionally take stock of our own spiritual inventory and discern where we
are actors rather than disciples. Better
still, even if we discern that we are more Oscar worthy actors than
cross-bearing disciples, we still stand not yet condemned. Such is His mercy that He would have us
simply repent of the acting and pray for the empowering holiness that is made
possible only through His death and Resurrection, and begin again as His
disciple. Lent truly is a season that
reminds us of pardon and absolution!
Brothers and
sisters, our Lord calls you this day, as He does each and every day of all our
lives, to quit acting, to quit dying, and start living, that your story many not
end in dust, but glory everlasting . . .
Peace,
Brian†
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