Living Our Faith Unselfconsciously in the Public Eye
- davidwperk
- Sep 23, 2021
- 4 min read
Daily Office Devotional, Thursday, September 23, 2021
Proper 20, the week of the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
6:1‘Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Thecla of Iconium. (See below.)
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 984)
AM Psalm [83] or 34; PM Psalm 85, 86
2 Kings 9:1-16; 1 Cor. 6:12-20; Matt. 6:1-6,16-18
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
6:1‘Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2‘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. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 ‘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. 6But 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.
16 ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
David's Reflections
In this Gospel reading, Jesus addresses the dilemma of practicing our faith before others. He mentions three of the most common practices of the pious in his day—public prayer, giving to the poor, and fasting—all normally practiced in public in his day. Jesus calls on his contemporaries to move these three practices into the private area—to do them in secret and in that way avoid the temptation to hypocrisy involved in performing these actions for the benefit derived from getting the attention of others.
We often express our spirituality and our commitment in the public arena where others observe our behavior. Of necessity, we worship, teach, witness, and serve in the public eye, even though our service is directed primarily to God and to the benefit of others. Can we worship and serve without allowing human attention to divert us from our primary motivations, as Jesus says, "in order to be seen by them."? Or do we find ourselves courting or desiring people’s attention and their respect for our spirituality? To the extent that such happens, our outer actions and our inner state of being come into conflict; that is a form of hypocrisy.
Emotional and spiritual honesty require us to admit that our reasons for worship, spiritual development, witness, and service always may contain some admixture of self-serving. What we can do is ask God's grace to heighten our awareness of that admixture and to give us the spiritual vigor to love Godself and others more intensely and consistently. That love will help keep our motives more fully free of admixture.
If we find ourselves so vulnerable to the temptation of desiring attention for our acts of devotion, we can heed Jesus’ instruction to make them totally private and secret. Then, there would be no temptation to hypocrisy. We would be totally focused on God and the well being of those we were seeking to assist with secret acts of mercy.
Collect of the Day, Proper 20. the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 234)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Thecla of Iconium (died ca 70 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Thecla of Iconium
God of liberating power, who called Thecla to proclaim the gospel and did not permit any obstacle or peril to inhibit her: Empower courageous evangelists among us, that men and women everywhere may know the freedom that you offer us in Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for the Presence of Christ
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen. (BCP, 124)
In the Evening
O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen. (BCP, 833)
A Collect for Mission
O God of all the nations of the earth: Remember the multitudes who have been created in your image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that, by the prayers and labors of your holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship you as you have been revealed in your Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 257)
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