Praying
and Fasting
(based on
Matthew 6:1-18)
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my battles
with instructions that come with something that I’ve purchased on how to put it
together. It could be a toy or a
bookshelf or something much more complicated. And over the years, I’ve purchased way too
many “some assembly required” merchandise.
Now, when I see that listed on the item, I usually look for another
product that’s already put together.
Because, at times it has felt like either, the
technical writers are out to get me or that I don’t understand the rudimentary
logic of plain old pictures that are supposed to illustrate the next step. More than once I’ve had to disassemble
something and try a second time to assemble it correctly, all the while feeling
that there was a conspiracy afoot to make my life miserable. More than once I’ve thought, “Why not first
tell me how not to do it, and then tell me how to do it right?”
Well, this is essentially what Jesus does in
the Sermon on the Mount with three great pillars of Judaism—giving to the poor,
prayer and fasting. Clearly these three spiritual disciplines are core
practices for Christ and we should still be practicing them today in our
Christian faith. Jesus wants us to know
how we can get it wrong and then how we can get it right.
Just before our text, in verses 1-4, Jesus has
addressed giving to the poor. He makes
it clear how not to give and then he tells us how we are to give. We are not to make a big show of one’s giving,
doing it publicly so as to be seen. It
would be like making sure you place your check in the offering plate face up so
that the next person or the usher can see how generous you are. That’s how not to give.
The right way to give, though, Jesus says, is
to give privately or in secret, keeping the gift between you and God alone. Those who give the wrong way; the showy,
public way, they already have their reward, Jesus says. People
have noticed them—which is just what they wanted. Those who give the right way; the righteous
way, on the other hand, their rewards are “in secret”, deep within a loving,
growing relationship with their heavenly Father.
Jesus’ concern here is not necessarily how we
do it, but rather our inner motivation for doing something—in other words, where
our heart is. Is our heart invested in
God or is it with ourselves? Is our
heart focused on what God thinks or with what others think of us? Jesus wants our giving to the poor to be
deeply embedded in our relationship with God, not in our pride or our need for
immediate recognition.
Jesus then goes on to address the other two
acts of spiritual discipline—prayer and fasting. In Lent especially, we Christians may perk up
more readily to Jesus’ thoughts on these practices. His comments are structured
just the same way—how not to pray and how to pray, how not to fast and how to
fast.
His focus here is very similar to his teaching
on giving to the poor. The wrong way to put a prayer together, Jesus says, is
to be sure others see and hear you praying in the synagogue or out in the streets—showmanship
again. The wrong way to put a prayer
together, he says, is to think that a prayer’s value is in its length or in its
use of key phrases repeated over and over again, or in its ability to impress
those around you.
So,
what is the right way to pray? Find a quiet
place, a secluded space and there simply speak with God. Let out all of your concerns and worries for
yourself and for others. Don’t be afraid
to be emotional if you need to be. Don’t
be afraid to share your doubts and anger.
Don’t hold back; let God have it all. You won’t get any applause for your prayer, yet
your relationship with God will grow exponentially just as any relationship
flourishes with deep and rich conversation.
Then Jesus goes one step further with the right
way to pray. He says, “Pray like this,”
and gives us “The Lord’s Prayer.” This
is a model prayer, which in no way limits what we may take to the Lord in
prayer. It doesn’t teach us in a
limiting sense what to pray for, but rather models how to pray. “Pray like this
...”
As Jesus prays with us, we hear how he places
our prayer into our relationship with God.
Abba – Father. And we pray with
others as you see all the pronouns are plural – Our Father – Give us this day….).
And we don’t pray to a distant,
unfamiliar god but instead to a listening, loving, protecting, providing
parental God, who has all authority “in heaven” yet who is close at hand. The
first three petitions reveal our humility before God’s name (“hallowed be thy
name”) God’s kingdom (“thy kingdom come”), and God’s will (thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven”).
The model prayer Jesus gives us has no lengthy,
run-on sentences, no long-winded background because God already knows all that,
instead Jesus’ model prayer is made in simple, heartfelt requests. We pray for our everyday needs, for
forgiveness for ourselves and of others, and for strength in temptation and
deliverance from evil.
Jesus goes on to do much the same with the
practice of fasting. It’s one that we
don’t talk enough about. But the wrong
way to fast is to put on a miserable face in public to show how difficult our
fast is and how pious we are. The right
way to fast, as the right way to give and to pray, is to do so privately. Along the way of fasting, Jesus again promises
great rewards, as we give up the material to focus on the spiritual, which is
the main purpose of fasting. It’s not so
much about the misery of giving up something of material substance, but rather
on the focus of gaining something spiritually fulfilling in its place. Those rewards are rooted deep in our
relationship with our heavenly Father.
Jesus practiced prayer and fasting in his time
on earth. He had his favorite secret
places for prayer. One was the Garden of
Gethsemane in Jerusalem. There in blood
and sweat, he took the third petition of the Lord’s Prayer to its deepest
level. He prayed, “Father, if you are
willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, but yours, be done” (Lk 22:42). His prayer and fasting took him to
give up his own will in order to fulfill his Father’s will instead. Ours is meant to do the same. May our season of Lent inspire to find the
right way in giving, prayer and fasting.
AMEN.
Note: This sermon is part of a series from Creative Communications for the Parish. Every now and then I like to take a break from coming up with new sermon material, especially during high holy seasons. There's always so much else going on, as well. I have found Creative Communications for the Parish to be particularly helpful when I have a "block" and can't think of anything new to say. However, I often adapt much of the material to my own style, adding and subtracting illustrations or phrases.
*
taken and adapted from Dean Nadasdy of Creative Communications for the Parish.
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