Matthew 6Beware of your ego. That’s the caution I hear in these verses. Jesus is also talking about piety—fasting, praying, giving. But the key message surrounding all of them is “check your motives” and “check your ego.” Stay in your lane. Do what is faithful for who you are and don’t worry about who is seeing you or what they are doing.
You see Jesus is saying all of the acts of piety (or means of grace as Methodists would call them) are important. He doesn’t actually raise any questions about any of them but rather encourages his disciples to question their motives. Are they acting out of faithfulness? Or are they
merely wanting to be seen as faithful?
Jesus says:
When you fast
When you pray
When you give
These things are assumed. They are a given. None of them say IF. It’s not if you fast if you pray if you give. It’s always when.
Jesus clearly believes in each of these faithful practices. And yet, he also seems to be clear that even in doing the right things, there can be wrong-headedness. Apparently, even in doing the things that directly connect us to God, we can get in the way.
So, why is it, or how is it that we stumble on our way to God?
Maybe simply because we’re human and we’re fallible?
Or maybe because we believe being close to God is a great thing and people who accomplish it are great, and we want to be great, but when we fall short, we become ok with people just thinking we’re great, and then we worry more about being seen as great, than on actually developing our relationship with God. (Honestly, how many of us have ever been complimented and thought “if they only knew the truth”? A lot of us struggle with an imposter complex, especially when it comes to faith…what if people find out we aren’t as devout as they think? So, we just keep looking devout rather than being vulnerable and revealing our truth….)
Or maybe it’s because getting close to God inherently requires also dealing with other people. I know, we like to think we can get close to God no matter what the state of things with others, I’ll just go into nature and commune with God. Not that there’s anything wrong with nature, or connecting with God there, but much of our faith journey relates directly to our relationships. We can’t just avoid people. I mean, a giver can’t give if there’s not a recipient. And praying only really matters as it relates to the well-being of others or the community. Even when we pray for ourselves---our need to be better…to be patient, or loving, or generous or kind….all of those things are revealed in our relationships with other people. Because really, how hard is it to be patient or humble if there’s no one to be patient with or humble toward?
We’re bound up in relationships—both those from our past that have affected us even if we haven’t maintained them, and those of our present—those we choose, and those we don’t, those we like, and those we don’t. People are everywhere! And people are flawed. Right? All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all get it wrong. We’re all opinionated and quirky. We’re all far from perfect. And we’re all thrown in together to figure out how to do life together and do it faithfully. There are bound to be a few problems.
Jesus sees that. He understands it. And, he doesn’t see it as an excuse for bad behavior. We are called to faithfulness—to the means of grace—fasting, praying, giving, serving—and we are called to use those means as a way to draw close to God and others.
This might seem like a non-sequitur, but I promise I’ll do my best to bring it back around. =). I work out most mornings with Cat Harner and her business called strolling like a mother. I’ve done her super early class for over a year and a half. And when she started that 5:45 class, we were the only ones who went. She was the trainer, I was there growing and working out and I just did what she put on the board and tried to push myself to be stronger for myself and not compare myself against her as the trainer. But with time, the class has grown. We’re often 4-6 women working out before the sun comes up. And, I have to catch myself being driven by my ego. I sometimes get caught up thinking about who is lifting heavier weights, or who runs faster, or who is progressing through the workout faster. This competitive spirit comes out and it’s not healthy or helpful. Sure, it’s ok to be inspired or driven by how others are doing. But I can also be a little judgy in my head. Of them, or myself. So, I have to think, “Debbie, you do you.” It’s my workout. My body. My strength. My stamina. My flexibility. And comparing myself against everyone else isn’t really the point.
Similarly, we can get that way with our faith life. We start out doing something…praying, or reading the Bible, giving an offering, helping those in need. We do it because it’s part of being a disciple and we’re following the instructions of Jesus. And, along the way, we’re likely to witness other disciples. And if we’re not careful, our ego can get in the way. We start comparing ourselves to others…how well or how long they pray, how much they give, how often they study the Bible…we start judging our faithfulness against theirs. But much like my workouts, comparing ourselves isn’t always healthy or helpful. Sure, the example of others can inspire us to try harder and take the next step. But if we become overly focused on them, we lose sight of our own growth and setting our own goals. Maybe, in this passage, Jesus is reminding us all, “You do you.” Focus on where you are and how you want to grow, what’s your next faithful step. Sure, you can look to others for an example, for inspiration, for a model of faithfulness, but remember, you aren’t them. You didn’t start where they started. You haven’t faced the same obstacles. You haven’t incurred the same injuries. And you aren’t called to arrive at the same place. Your journey is your own. Stick with what’s best for you right now. You do you. And I’ll do me. And if we’re faithfully following God and living as Jesus called us, I expect we’ll all be stronger and more faithful tomorrow, and the next day and the next day.
Communion
As we gather for holy communion, I would invite us to start by giving thanks and praising God—for Jesus, for forgiveness, for second chances and new beginnings, for community and connection, and for the power of the Holy Spirit, which binds us together despite the distances between us.
Let us sing and praise God.
Verse 3 (“Let us praise God together”)
Whenever we share in communion we remember Jesus’ time in the upper room with his disciples. We remember that the bread and the juice were part of the bigger Passover meal. The bread represented the Passover lamb…the sacrifice that saved the Israelites, and Jesus took that bread, gave thanks to God, blessed it, and shared it with his disciples saying “This is my body which is broken for you. Take and eat and do this in remembrance of me.” And so today, wherever we are, we take our bread and give thanks to God, break it and share in the body of Christ.
Let us sing a blessing over our bread.
Verse 1 (“let us break bread together”)
And then we come to the cup, for Jesus and the disciples, the final cup of the Passover meal was the cup of hope, the cup of promise and Jesus said, “This is the cup of the NEW covenant, my blood poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Take and drink and do this in remembrance of me.” So we take our cup, we give thanks to God, and remember the new covenant—the one formed through Jesus and the blood of his sacrifice and we drink and remember.
Let us sing a blessing over the cup.
Verse 2 (“let us drink wine together”)
Invitation to partake
Let us pray: God of covenant and communion, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, for the ways he connects us to you and each other, and for the gifts of grace we receive through Holy Communion. Join us together as the body of Christ that we would be for the world the hands and feet of Christ. Fill us with the fruit of the Spirit and help us to be your light in the world. In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, one God now and forever we pray. Amen.