Season 3 - Episode 23
To listen to an audio version of this post, visit www.covenantchurch.ca/podcasts/covenant-weekly.
Good morning, Covenant Family.
As summer descends, I start to think about things that don’t concern me through the winter. How might people look at me at the beach? Do my feet look okay in sandals? Will people be okay with me taking some time off for vacation during the summer months? While I know that these are, in many ways, ridiculous thoughts, many of us live with concerns about what others will think of us and how to impress others. This shows in ways such as focusing hard on taking (and re-taking and re-taking again) the pictures that will be shared on social media - or worse…on a dating app! It shows up having to have things “just so” in the house to be comfortable with someone coming over. It may even show up in saying “yes” to things that really shouldn’t be taken on. Believe it or not, the Bible says something about our desire to impress people. But it isn’t focused so much on how we do it physically. The Bible addresses a deeper posturing - a spiritual one. We’ll talk about that briefly as we get back into the Sermon on the Mount in this Covenant Weekly for June 18, 2024.
Matthew 6:16-18
16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
With these words, Jesus is getting back to a theme that he addressed a handful of verses ago. A theme we talked about a couple of months ago - showy religion.
We all want to be liked. There is nothing wrong with a desire to be a part of something - to be included. Certainly, none of us enjoy being excluded, looked down on, or set as an outcast. And, while this manifests itself in how we might dress or pose for pictures or posture ourselves physically, it happens just as much within faith communities in our supposedly spiritual behaviour.
In Jesus’ day, fasting was a common spiritual practice. People would go without food in order to connect with God. This act of deprivation for spiritual development became an act of posturing. It wasn’t enough to do the practice of fasting. People would show they were fasting by how they dressed and acted. They were seeking the affirmation and applause of others for being so “spiritual.”
Jesus decries this and tells them, “If you chase after and receive the reward of human affirmation, that’s all you’ll ever get.” Instead, Jesus implores us to act in such a way that only God knows what we are doing and pursuing. Much like his teaching on giving which is to be done in secret, so is fasting - this physical deprivation with the aim of spiritual deepening.
He affirms, “Your Father…knows what you do in private.” And goes on to say, “Your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” It is interesting to note that this doesn’t say that God our Father asks for us to fast. It says, “When you fast….” Yes, God longs for us to pursue a connection, but this passage is not focused on imploring us to fast. This is primarily an affirmation of God’s attention on us and God’s intent to show love to us. It doesn’t even say that fasting will help us deepen our spiritual life and connection with God. For some, it may. For some, it may not. It says that God sees everything, including our heart and desires and intent, and will reward us.
It is easy to begin to admire people for the public way they express their faith. It is just as easy to create a culture where we seek to publicly express our faith so that we’ll receive affirmation. I know. I lived it for many years of my Christian experience. I had a conversation with my son about this temptation when we saw some Christians engaged in a public expression of faith not long ago.
I invite you to think about your spiritual practices and expressions, whatever they may be for you: singing on Sunday mornings, giving thanks before a meal, having a quiet time of solitude with God, attending church, volunteering, choosing what radio station you listen to, even what you post online. Doing those things - publicly expressing your faith - is not the question. Why do you do those things is the question. This isn’t about privatizing your faith so that no one knows what you believe. It is about receiving the affirmation of a loving Father as enough and about not doing “spiritual things” or expressing our faith with a goal of receiving human affirmation. We may get lots of likes and affirmation from our church friends, but the trade-off isn’t worth it.
After all that, I will tell you that this Sunday, we are expressing our gratitude to the many who serve at Covenant. No one is loved, by God or Covenant, because of what we offer. But neither do we want to overlook the ways people serve. We aren’t doing this because people are longing for affirmation. We are doing this to express our appreciation for each other and how we all contribute to our life together. We are looking forward to this time of expressing gratitude on Sunday with a bit of a special twist!
As you continue through this week, I pray you will be encouraged to know that your heavenly Father sees your pursuit of him. God is already with you embracing you with divine love. No failure to posture yourself can lose that love. And no posturing you could ever do could get God to love you more deeply and perfectly than you are already loved. I pray for each of us, that we will grow in our awareness of that love this week.