Piety

Ash Wednesday, 2/18/15
Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21

Create clean hearts within us, O God. Give us new and right spirits. Forgive our sins and have compassion on us, and help us remember that you are God and we are not. Amen.

Beware of practicing your piety before others!

Sometimes this instruction seems too easy.

Sometimes we interpret this Gospel passage the wrong way.

We hear Jesus say, “do your faithful actions in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” We focus on the part where it says “in secret.”

This works with our lives. It’s uncomfortable for most of us to talk to other people about our faith. It can be scary to think about discussing deep and important matters – like God – with other people.

When we hear this Gospel passage that way, we hear it wrong.

Jesus is not saying that we should keep our faith to ourselves and never share it with others.

Jesus is saying, instead, that we should refrain from using our faith as a status symbol to try to get ourselves ahead in life.

Faith is good, but not as a tool for self-advancement.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus was talking to people who liked to show off in front of others. They liked to pray long prayers and brag about their generosity, and they took pride in their pious actions. Showing off their faithfulness was a way for them to gain respect, and that was really the only reason they did it.

They didn’t pray in order to talk to God, they prayed to show off for one another.

That’s not the right way to pray.

It’s as if the people Jesus was talking to thought that if they could just be holy enough, they would earn God’s favor.

We know that’s not the way it works.

There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s grace.

God’s favor is something we are granted despite our own unworthiness.

So that’s where this teaching comes from.   But in my experience, the problem that the early Christians had is not the same as the problem that we face.

Most of us like our comfortable lives.

We may tell other people about our church, but how often do we really tell them about our faith? Do we ever talk about how God gave us the strength to get through that difficult chapter in our lives? Do we share how we felt compelled to act in a certain way because God was leading us to it? Do we discuss what forgiveness means, or redemption, or salvation?

For most of us, the answer is no, or at least, not often.

For most of us, we may occasionally talk about faith with our family or with our Bible study group, but we don’t tend to share these beliefs with neighbors or coworkers or folks in line at the grocery store.

Most Christians in 21^st-century America are in absolutely no danger of practicing our piety before others.

So Jesus’ warning in this Gospel lesson doesn’t really apply to us.

But there is a different part of the Gospel lesson that is relevant to our lives.

“Don’t be like the hypocrites.”

Whenever you pray, or give, or engage in spiritual practices, do not be like the hypocrites.

The hypocrites are those who say one thing and do another.

They are the people who are totally consumed with image, not with faithfulness.

Hypocrites give to the poor, but only because doing so makes them look good in front of other people.

But you – when you give to the poor – do it because God has given you compassion for your fellow human beings. Give to the poor because Jesus wants you to. Give to the poor because you can’t bear to see a sister or brother suffering.

Don’t give to the poor because someone asked you to, but because you legitimately want to do so.

Hypocrites pray, but only because they think they’re going to get something for themselves in return.

But you – when you pray – do it because it’s the only way to communicate with God – and you have a burning desire to commune with the Holy.

Spend time in prayer listening as well as asking.

Pray to give thanks for what you have received, not just to get something that you want.

Hypocrites fast, and follow other spiritual practices, but only because the people around them expect them to, and their reputation suffers if they don’t.

But you – when you start a spiritual practice – let it change your life. Let it influence your behaviors. Let it deepen your faith.

Don’t let your spiritual practices be a badge of honor to show off in front of the world. Practice spiritual disciplines because you actually enjoy and get something out of them.

My grandmother was one of the most faithful people I have ever known. She had a deep relationship with God and was active in her congregation.

She saw needs in the world and met them – she helped people in nursing homes, assisted the less fortunate, and just generally showed love to everyone she met.

I am sure that my grandmother had a deep personal piety. But believe it or not, I don’t know much about that. I didn’t have those kinds of conversations with Grandma. Mostly, I know how my grandmother influenced the people around her, including her children and her friends.

Someone once asked my grandma why she didn’t wear Christian symbols – jewelry or t-shirts or other things that would proclaim her faith to the world.

Grandma had a wonderful answer.

People should be able to tell that I’m Christian from my actions.

If my actions aren’t communicating my faith to others, then I have no business wearing other Christian symbols to advertise my religion.

Matthew tells us today, “Beware of practicing your piety before others.”

But do be sure you practice it.

         Faithful actions are good for Christians to do.

And then, once you have developed spiritual practices, let them influence the way you live your everyday life.

Don’t brag about your faithfulness – but go ahead and let it be known. Let your actions reflect your faith. Tell people that you believe.

Just don’t be like the hypocrites.

Hypocrites are a primary cause for people to leave the church, or to never join to begin with.

Did you know that? 85% of people who have chosen to stay away from church believe that Christians are hypocritical.

And they’re right. We are.

We pray, but only for our friends – not our enemies, as Jesus told us to do.

We volunteer, but only when we have something to gain.

We visit the sick and the imprisoned, but only when they’re related to us.

Or worse yet, we don’t do any of these things.

We don’t pray at all. We don’t read our Bibles. We don’t give to the poor and we don’t visit people who are lonely.

Or, what seems to be more likely for a crowd who shows up for Ash Wednesday worship… we go to church on a regular basis and we think that is enough.

We pray, but don’t follow our prayers up with actions.

We volunteer to do something at the church, or we toss a couple of dollars in the offering plate, but our faith never really ends up influencing our lives.

Have you ever found yourself in that situation? Do you know what it’s like to claim to be leading a life of faith, but still have that feeling that you could be doing so much more?

Karl Rahner was a brilliant theologian of the 20^th century. Here’s what he has to say about the matter.

“The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim God with their mouths and deny Him with their lifestyles   is what an unbelieving world   finds simply unbelievable.”

Don’t be like the hypocrites. Do live out your spiritual disciplines.

There are a lot of “do’s” and “don’ts” in this Gospel passage.

So where’s the good news today?

On Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent, we begin an intentional time of spiritual growth in preparation for the most meaningful celebrations of the church year during Holy Week.

In Lent we have the opportunity to change ourselves.

We have been hypocritical.

But we know better.

God has promised to forgive us for those times when we’ve been self-centered or hypocritical. That’s the good news. So let’s respond to that by turning our lives to God and trying to do better in the future.

Here is my challenge to you this Lent: Let’s get better about sharing our faith.

Let’s practice our piety in secret and practice our faith in public.

And our heavenly Father, who sees in secret and in public, will reward us.

Amen.