Meditations & Reflections on The Holy Gospel readings of Pre-Lent Sunday Matthew 6:1-18

“your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly”.

The man who truly love God, desires at all time to please God’s heart…. indeed he wants to do all that pleases God….the most pleasing to God is for man to grow in grace and faith before God….this growth requires the grace of God and man’s labour and seriousness in his love to God. This labour which is required from man is his means of attaining God’s grace and train one’s self and purify him to transcend beyond the physical body into the spiritual heavens….one of the most important gifts for the Christian man is Charity, Prayers and Fasting … Even Though prayers is a direct relationship with God but as one of our elder saints said “prayers is soaring with two wings of charity and fasting. In charity one shows his love to his fellow man and his honesty in interpreting God’s commandments…and in fasting one declares his aspirations to overcome the body’s needs and his longing for spiritual transcendence. There are those who neglect the labour for grace satisfying one’s self with a strong relationship with God in fulfilling the commandments of love and honesty thus losing the two wings (of charity and fasting) which would enable him to grow and soar in his relationship with God….and others concentrate on the ways of grace only and it might become a goal in its self-leading to self-righteousness, thinking that own righteousness will lead him to the heavenly kingdom! Forgetting that it is only a help and without the Grace of God it becomes useless and it becomes a burden on the body (fasting & charity( without any spiritual benefits. But what makes ( this means (fasting & charity) lose its power and effectiveness?... The most dangerous reason is the appearance of a ritualistic worship….in this façade one can forget the main aim of worship…and worship loses its most important aim that is loving God and worship becomes only to be praised by people and to be noticed and respected by others and the glory of men!

+ Let your charitable deeds be hidden +++

Hidden is the man’s heart and outward show is the physical body…. worshiping and prayers without displaying it on show comes from the heart, from the inner self and the outward worship is the physical worship (of the body) ….just moves and appearances of worship without the presence of the Grace of God in the inner self.. God asked the Israelites to offer five offerings; they are Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1) and this is burned offering which a sweet aroma is pleasing to the Father (God)…. and in this offering one is offered by man before God for credence and a general offering for the atonement of all the people…which is continually burning on the altar night and day

Then the Grain Offering (Leviticus 2) and this also is a sweet aroma before the Father and represents Christ Himself and this offering is burned on the altar and only the priests can partake or eat from it. And the Sin and Unrighteousness offering (Leviticus 4) which is for the atonement of sins of ignorance and forgetfulness and finally the Peace Offering (Leviticus 3) which is the only offering all partake in it, and is divided among the congregation, the altar, the priests and even the priest’s family and the offeror and what remains is given to the poor. All partake in the offering, each according to his need within his own house before God. In this offering specifically, God acts as the host and the one who is offering it and all are His guests; all partaking of the offering. A symbol to Eucharist Offering without blood which God gives us….and it is permitted to all to partake of it but he who partake of being unworthy; receives the curse of God…(a symbol of communion of the Eucharist) and the Bible says “But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, while he is unclean, that person shall be cut off from his people” (Leviticus 7:20). And the time came where the Lord has scolded the Israelites on being unserious in the preparation of the offering being clean and pure, and their interest only in the appearances and outward looks! They have converted the Lord’s feasts to occasions for fun and, evil and sin…” I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savour your sacred assemblies” (Amos 5:21).

To celebrate the various occasions is natural for man and to rejoice with others this is also natural…even fulfilling the Biblical commandment “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15), But it should be in manner suitable for God’s children and do so in a manner not suitable is wrong. My beloved…how do you celebrate the various church celebrations?? How do you celebrate occasions such as baptism and weddings?? What do offer to God on these occasions?? To rejoice is a must; but to break God’s commandment and saddens God’s heart, then this is the unacceptable worship which God despises. How many occasions for spiritual rejoice (we act inappropriately), then how do you except God to hear your pleadings and to bless the baptised child and make him or her grow in God’s grace and care while you are aggrieving God with your action! How do you expect God to bless a wedded couple? And them the blessing of the wedding of Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11) and you have made it an occasion for drinking, getting drunk and lewd dancing, thus tey starting their married life with breaking God’s commandments…. where is the blessing then??

If you are sad and suffering for the departure of a loved one and asking for condolences and solace from God and the repose of the departed person, the you invite your friends and relatives to condole you and instead spend this time in gossiping and e tearing other? Where is the solace you ask then??

And there are charitable deed which is rejected by God…. such as the imposed deeds, conditional deeds and displayed deeds.

The Imposed Deeds; which the charitable deeds one offers without pleasure or joy and how many charity is offered to imitate other or for fear of being not accepted or rejected and to please others, but not from the heart it is unacceptable charity.

The Conditional Deeds; which is offered with a condition or a caveat… where one is asking for reward, making the deed conditional upon receiving specific ask or reward or asking for leadership or positions etc, Although the person does not declare himself or herself publicly but still it is an unacceptable deed hence the person has laid the ground rules and received his reward.

The Displayed Deeds; this is the deeds of boasting and honour… it is the deeds of the Pharisee who throws the coins from high to make a sound and all can hear it! How much charity offered by man for the self-glorification and even if one does not declare his or her name, still a charity for the glory of men and not for the glory of God.

+ Pray to your Father in secret.

The Pharisee stood to pray and compared himself to the tax collector, he prayed and thanked God that he is better than the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14), while the tax collector stood beating his chest feeling the burden of his sins and how undeserving he is, his heart is praying in tears and not just his lips…his tears spoke and not his self-righteousness and for this he went to his home forgiven and the Pharisee did not. Even Pharaoh had asked Moses and Aaron to pray for him (Exodus 8:28) …he wanted to give the appearance of praying to please others and not to please God. Also, Simon the sorcerer had asked Peter and John to pray for him (Acts 8: 9-24), but his heart was intent on his personal gains (Acts 8).

Many who pray for their needs or will but not God’s will, it is a prayer not from the heart which pleases God, but from the physical needs to please the worldly needs.

Many prayers are not acceptable to God…. like the prayer of the lips (but not the heart)…the prayers of the void world people and the prayers of a harsh heart and the prayer of the uttering the lips…simply to please others. Those who attend prayer gathering because it is a habit or an occasion where all will go to church…. And prayer for decorative show…those who go not to pray but to display one’s self and be admired by others and receive their praise.

The Prayers of the void world… it is the external motions of prayer where numbers count, the quantity not the quality…how many time we kneel the body but not the heart…what is important is the length of the prayer and not it’s depth…the tune and beautiful music but not it’s spiritual meaning.

And the prayers of the hard and problematic heart; this is the hateful prayers, of the angry and squabbling person, prayer to curse others…this is a prayer detested by God.

+ Do not outwardly show that you are fasting…

Jezebel wanted to destroy Naboth the Jezreelite (1Kings 21) so she asked for a fastand seated Naboth in front and got 2 false witnesses that Naboth had blasphemed against God and the king and he deserved death and was stoned to death… Jezebel wore the fasting tatters to commit a murder and made other fast to bear false witness (1Kings 21)…it is an inacceptable fast.

When fasting becomes simply a practice or a physical exercise or when fasting becomes simply a mean to punish the body without any spiritual benefits or practices to benefit spiritual and grow in faith, then fasting become an outward show of fasting without any meaning and the fast loses its meaning and benefit.

When fasting becomes just a substitute type of food, and how do we excel in making good foods to satisfy ourselves with this alternative type of food…then it does not become a fast (but simply a change of diet), but a fast which is not accompanied with depriving the body so that the spirit can feel full the fast loses its meaning.

The fast which become a mere tradition or an occasion… so we fast because others fast…or we fast so others do not criticise us, then it is a fast without being inwardly prepared, without the heart fasting as the body is fasting then the fast becomes only a physical hindrance without any need.

The fast which only affecting the stomach become a physical exercise, but when the fast is extended to one’s feeling, senses and thoughts it becomes a spiritual fast. + anoint your head… with the oil of grace and adore yourself with good deeds…then your fast becomes a blessing to your body and spirit. Wash your face …wash your eyes from the evil visions…wash your ears from lowly talk…wash your mouth from the gossip of others and bad words (cursing)…wash your teeth from devouring others and wash your lips from slothful speech. And your Heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Amen).