Matthew 6:5-18
Today we’re finishing up our walk through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew that’s been a summer project. Next week we switch to the Gospel of Luke and we’ll read familiar stories there into the fall. Today’s reading contains Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer and next week we’ll see Luke’s version of the same prayer so we can compare.
There are a couple of themes in Matthew’s setting of this prayer. One is public piety. In this telling Jesus encourages people to pray but to do so quietly, avoiding public displays in the temple or synagogue and rather just talking with God. The point of prayer isn’t to get recognition from other people but to have a conversation with the power of the universe. The same is true about fasting, which was a common practice in the first century. Think of fasting as being publicly religious or drawing attention to how hard you are working at being spiritual. Folks in Jesus’ day put on clothing made of rough fabric and took ashes from the cooking fires to rub on their faces so everyone could know they were doing something holy. In contrast Jesus suggests they clean up – wash their faces and anoint their hair with oil, which is our equivalent of dressing up for something special. Look like you’re having a celebration rather than making a sacrifice. Jesus is telling us that faith shouldn’t be hard to do – it can be a daily joy.
I’m thinking of this in contrast to the voices in our day calling for the United States to be a Christian country and to restrict the rights of other religions, particular Jews and Moslems. We may not hear much about this, but it’s loud and proud in some circles and growing as a movement. I wonder if stating that Christian is best is a contemporary way of praying publicly and fasting with big show. The Supreme Court just said that coaches could pray prominently after public school games, even though public prayer has been discouraged in non-religious settings for most of our lifetimes. Prayer in schools has never been forbidden, but prayers which highlight one faith over another have been restricted because of the separation of church and state. Standing on the 50 yard line after a game seems to me to be a lot like making a big show in the temple. It’s more about drawing attention to a person than about talking with God. It's something to think about. Our denominations have always been great encouragers of prayer for all of us at the same time we respect the rules which prohibit exclusively Christian prayers in settings open to people of all faiths. We lend our voices to those who protest religious discrimination of any kind and build bridges instead of walls to people who worship differently from ourselves.
The second theme in this scripture is about forgiveness. Jesus asks us to pray for forgiveness of debts (or trespasses or sins) in accordance to the way that we are forgiving. Praying for forgiveness has grown to be a significant part of the Christian tradition. Many worship services include a prayer of confession and confession is a sacrament in the Catholic tradition. For some this forgiveness has become the main point of believing in Jesus – forgiveness of sins is a ticket to heaven for eternity. About the time that our denominations were forming in the Protestant Reformation, the debaters of theology gave it a prominence that continues for us today. They defined sin as doing, saying or thinking something which violated God’s rules and made us deserve punishment. Punishment evolved into “going to hell” and forgiveness became a “get out of jail free” card which promised heaven instead. Some folks went so far as to wait to be baptized until they were dying so that they wouldn’t commit any sins after baptism and risk not being ready for heavenly reward.
Because Jesus is the one who forgives sins and his death has become God’s punishment which he takes instead of us, Christianity stands in a unique place among the major world religions in looking at our responsibility for our actions. Forgiveness is related to what we think about Jesus and not about what we do. When we can’t earn forgiveness, we are somewhat removed from responsibility. No other religion does that to the same extent as ours.
It helps me in thinking about this to remember that Jesus wasn’t a Christian, he was a Jew. His ministry was a Jewish reform movement and it only became Christianity decades after his death. With that in mind I want to share a Facebook quote about forgiveness. (You can tell this thought is touching a chord with people because it’s being widely shared.) It’s a quote from Rabbi Harold Kushner who writes about Judaism to help all people understand better:
In Jewish thought, a sin is not an offense against God, an act of disobedience. A sin is a missed opportunity to act humanly.
In other words “sin” isn’t a violation of divine rules. We see that in the Jewish celebration of the Day of Atonement. First forgiveness is asked of those we may have harmed in the past year. It acknowledges that people argue, hurt one another, are forgetful and tries to make amends. When we patch up relationships with people who matter to us, we not only say we’re sorry for being wrong, we agree to change in the future. We act differently going forward. When Jesus is teaching about forgiveness, he reminds us that it’s a mutual event. We forgive others and are forgiven. Only when it’s not possible to seek reconciliation with others is forgiveness asked of God. God is the last resort for being absolved of sins, after we’ve done our part. I love that the symbol of this day is turning your pockets out and letting any lint fall into running water, which takes it away. It’s a sign of being made new and getting a fresh start.
Kushner tells us that sin is “a missed opportunity to act humanly.” That implies that an opportunity missed can be revisited and become an opportunity taken. We may not always be kind or generous, but when we realize we’ve made a mistake, we can correct it. I like it when doing the best we can counts for something and learning to do better makes a difference. Our current world is broken in many ways – from personal interactions to war and climate disaster. So much needs to be changed as we relate to each other, learn more about correcting past wrongs and build a world of peace, justice and opportunity for everyone. The idea that God believes we can do something about this brokenness gives me hope. It’s a reason to get up in the morning and try again.
This past week I met some new friends who recognized my name as being connected with justice issues in our community. Together we all have made a name for ourselves in caring about how our towns work and being leaders in caring about others. These folks must have thanked me three separate times for what we do. I was surprised and realized that even the small things we do are making a difference. Do we need a forgiveness that’s bigger than those efforts? Of course. But we also need to know that what we can do counts for something. For that we can be grateful.