Reflection on Sermon for Matthew 6:1-4 and Matthew 14:13-21

 

Matthew 6:1-4 (NRSVue)

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness 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. ³ But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^[a]

 

Reflection

“You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16).  That is what Jesus told the disciples after a long day spent healing a crowd of hungry people who brought to Jesus the sick and the suffering.  The sun was going down and the disciples suggested that the people be sent away before nightfall so that they could scrounge up something to eat for themselves.  But Jesus stopped them dead in their tracks and told them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16).

Surely, Jesus knew that all the food they had was five loaves of bread and two fish.  Surely, Jesus knew that the disciples could in no way feed a crown of 5000 men plus women and children.  Yet the lack of food does not change what followers of Jesus Christ are expected to do.  The lack of food does not change the fact that followers of Jesus Christ do not send people away who are in need.  That is not how a solution to the problem is found for those serving in the kingdom of heaven.  Followers of Jesus Christ are loving and generous, just as their savior is loving and generous.

Giving is a fundamental discipline of Lent.  During Lent we learn that followers of Christ love like Jesus and they give like Jesus.  And how did Jesus give?

“He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full” (Matthew 14:19-20).

First, Jesus let the crowds sit with him.  He did not send them away, even though they had such a meager meal.  Giving means connecting first.  Whether or not you are able to help, at least you are able to sit down and connect.  Those who give like Jesus, first love and connect like Jesus.

So, when you are faced with a crowd of thousands, all needing supper, what do you do?  You know what you should do, but what you should do and what you can do are two very different things.  I should give away my millions to help the less fortunate, the only problem is that my bank account seems to lack those millions.  Even if the disciple’s hearts were in the right place, they just did not have the food.

I am not certain that Jesus did either.  It is not like he pulled out a huge Santa bag and started handing out the bread and fish.  But what he did do was this: “he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the crowds” (Matthew 14:18).  I do not know if Jesus knew how all of this was going to turn out or not, but what I do know is that he prayed.  He looked up to his Father in heaven and he trusted that his Father in heaven would provide in some way.  How could God not provide? God is love.

So, giving is first about connecting with others who are in need.  And then, it is about connecting with God who provides.  Only then will we be able to help pass the bread to the crowds.  Giving is about connecting with others and connecting with God.  It is about loving others and loving God.

I think that is why Jesus suggests that we do it in secret.  If giving to others starts to become a spiritual problem for us, we do it in secret.  Sometimes, giving becomes about getting your name on the plaque or receiving the “thank you” that makes it “all feel worth it.”  But, giving is not about “me.”  Giving is not about making me “feel good” or making me “feel fulfilled.”  If it becomes about loving me rather than about loving God and loving others, Jesus says, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4).

After-all the followers of Jesus Christ are no better than those crowds who seek healing and food.  We all open our hands to receive what the Lord provides.  We can only give because the Lord has first given to us.  As Martin Luther famously said on his deathbed: “We are beggars.  This is true.”