Between the Applause

Jesus sends us inward, to our heart, the very place where God dwells in us. It’s here, we are made in the image of God who comes to be in a relation with us.
​More than a warning, Jesus is awakening our hearts so we will embrace a life of faith where a relationship with God is the greatest reward.

---

Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “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. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you

---

When I first saw Les Misérables it was from the Presidential Box at the Kennedy Center - one of the perks that came with my dad’s job at the White House. The few times I was afforded this privilege, I thought about the actors seeing our silhouettes up there and thinking, “Is tonight the night?”

I wonder if they might have performed differently had it been the President, and not me and whoever I was dating at the time?
 
Another perk of my dad’s job was having lunch with him in the dining room of the White House.

Like I had for the Kennedy Center, I would put on a suit just in case the leader of the free world got hungry while I was there. Here’s the thing, I wasn’t a suit and tie kind of guy. I was more me in a leather jacket and combat boots.
 
I dressed up because I thought that was the thing to do. If anything, I wouldn’t embarrass my dad (who never asked me to pretend to be someone I wasn’t). I suspect we all dress-up and pretend, in one fashion or another, hoping to be right or at least noticed.
 
As a newly ordained minister, I wore a clerical collar everywhere I went. I believed it was to let people know they could come to me for spiritual care. It was a bit self-righteous because deep down inside, I knew I wore it so people would notice me. I’m pretty sure God saw right through my intentions. God knows our hearts, knows when we’re acting and pretending.
 
While shaping the character of his disciples to be a kingdom community, Jesus makes this stark warning. Read Matthew 6:1-21 here

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them.” Given the lessons from the last couple of weeks, today’s text should come as a relief. As Amy Richter points out, “If you want to get strange looks, read your Bible in public, pray aloud in a restaurant, or talk about what Jesus means to you to the person next to you while you’re waiting for a bus.”
 
Jesus’s words are a bit ironic don’t you think, seeing that just a few weeks ago we kicked off Lent by smearing ashes on our forehead and going out in public. Right after that we get Jesus telling his disciples to let their “light shine before others.”
 
And in Isaiah doesn’t God explicitly say, “I don’t want you sitting around in sackcloth and ashes looking miserable. I want you to get up and do something good. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. House the homeless. Give to the poor. Change the world. That’s the kind of religious offering I’m looking for.”
 
God clearly wants our faith to be seen. So perhaps, in light of the Academy Awards Show tonight, we should look at this particular section of Matthew’s gospel as if Jesus is saying, “Don’t let our religious practices become an Oscar worthy performance. The world isn’t your stage. It’s God’s.”
 
In other words, don’t play or pander some self-righteous show to reap the praise of others. Instead, “Let your light shine so others can come to see God’s glory.” Our obedience to Christ shouldn’t make good social theater. It should be about building up God’s kingdom here and now.

“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. But 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.

A few years ago, I was critical of a group of evangelical leaders went to the White House and before the cameras, they laid hands and prayed over someone who many argued was the antithesis of everything Jesus stood for. It was a self-righteous, theatrical performance at its best. They went on to justify their shameless pandering touting how it earned them favor with the President.
 
In my self-righteous anger, I called them out by name asking, “Where is Christ in your Christianity?”  At the time it felt like the right thing to do. But where was Christ in my own Christianity, pointing out the faults of others without looking first at myself?
 
Was I any different, speaking out in front of this camera to win the applause and approval of whoever was watching? Self-righteousness is bad theater that’s not only bad to watch, but bad for the Kingdom of God.
 
While praying, fasting, or giving alms are important to our spiritual growth, they can endanger the relationship we have with God if our heart is in the wrong place. Jesus warns us of hypocritical displays of piety and moral rectitude because he knows how easy it is for us to make ourselves the center of attention. 
 
I remember sitting in a church where someone stood up, pulled a bunch of $100 bills from his wallet, and instead of putting them in the offering plate, he waved them around and challenged others to match or beat his gift.
 
Amy Ritcher writes, “The hypocrite acts for others. Some play the role and may not even realize it’s only an act.”
 
It was just a few years ago, a football coach sued the school district to allow him to publicly pray with his team out on the field. I believe deep down in his heart he was just trying to honor God, but the backlash and bad press it caused didn’t do much to promote God’s glory.
 
Jesus wants us to be mindful of the motive behind our fasting and feasting, our praying and giving. Are we doing it for our spiritual growth, to be closer to God? Or to get praise and recognition?

 
Jesus will call his disciples to walk a narrow path, one we will all walk on the pilgrimage of life. On one hand, we must let our light shine in the many ways we show God’s love, mercy and grace to one another.
 
On the other, we must be mindful that our motivation behind our acts isn’t self-rewarding or hypocritical. For Jesus, that’s what perverts discipleship.
 
“Turning our outward gestures into currency for enhancing one’s reputation,” writes Marilyn McCord Adams, “betrays our deepest loyalty by breaking the first and greatest commandment: to love God with all we have.”
 
Between the applause, we must take the time to pause. And following the advice of St. Benedict, we must go inside ourselves and listen with the ear of the heart. It is the heart that Jesus is talking about. This is the secret space where only we can go. Jesus sends us there not to be praised or applauded but to be in divine union with God.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

​Lent is a time we go inward, into the wilderness of our own being, to take inventory of our true selves, our real motives, and intentions.
 
While it’s always good and worthy to do nice things for others, if it’s done while secretly resenting them for it then what good is that gesture? Do we really believe God doesn’t see through the disguise? Before we can go out and let our light shine, we first must connect with the divine light within ourselves where prayer, sacrifice, and charity are first conceived.
 
In his Message translation, Eugene Peterson said like this, “Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”
 
Jesus sends us inward, to our heart, the very place where God dwells in us. It’s here, we are made in the image of God who comes to be in a relation with us. More than a warning, Jesus is awakening our hearts so we will embrace a life of faith where a relationship with God is the greatest reward.
 
This is why Jesus doesn’t want hypocrites. He wants disciples, people who can usher in the Kingdom of God making real relationships, in real time.
 
Jesus doesn’t need more church goers. He needs more church doers. People who truly love God, love others and serve both - even when no one is looking.
 
Jesus doesn’t call actors to stand in the spotlight. He calls you and me to be a new community who will shine so brightly that others can’t help but see God’s glory illuminating.
 
There is no need to make a performance out of it. As Jesus will tell his disciples in the following verses God knows them and knows how valuable they are. God knows you, and your self-worth too. Through life, death and resurrection of Christ, God has paid the greatest price to have a relationship with us.
 
Jesus is our reminder of God’s great love for us. So, let us keep our eye on him. Knowing all that we do, we do in his name for the glory of God. Therefore, let us store this treasure not on earth, but in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.
 

 
Work Cited
Adams, Marilyn McCord. Feasting on the Word Year B, Vol 2 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2010).
Richter, Amy. What Audience? March 5, 2014 (accessed on March 12, 2023)