Lent for Dummies

Two weeks ago my parents came to Princeton, and spending time with them I was reminded of how much joy they take in teaching me little life lessons whenever they visit. Lessons like “you really need to cut your hair before you go for that job interview” or “paying your credit card bill in full every month will keep you from overspending,” or my favorite “wash your bed sheets every week.” My parents try to impart this practical wisdom in the most subtle way possible, which, given who my parents are, is not very subtle at all. A few Christmas mornings ago, I received two books from my parents that were pretty obvious attempts to teach me some important life skills that perhaps they’d observed I was lacking: my father bought me the book “personal finance for dummies,” and my mother bought me “cooking for dummies.” While I’m not sure what to make of the fact that my parents think I’m a dummy, I was pleased to find that the books gave some pretty clear instructions on these two topics that were relatively easy to follow.

I was reminded of that Christmas morning by tonight’s gospel reading, because in a way, this chapter from Matthew and the ones on either side of it, form a kind of “Christianity for Dummies” handbook. If you wanted a basic introduction to living the Christian life as Jesus taught it: these are the three chapters to read. It is these three chapters that contain Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where he spoke to his newly gathered disciples to give them their first formal instruction in Christian living. We should remember that these disciples to whom he was speaking were common men. They were fishermen who left their boats and nets the moment Jesus came to them. They followed him immediately without any time to prepare themselves for the journey they were about to start. They didn’t know what they were in for. They hadn’t done the reading. They didn’t even know the title of the course they were going to take.

But when they arrived at the first lecture, the teacher clearly laid out the expectations and assignments. From the Beatitudes, to a recap of the Commandments, to the Lord’s Prayer…it’s all here in Jesus’ first sermon. The part that we read today is the very center of the sermon and consists of a series of seemingly simple instructions about three particular Christian actions: the giving of alms to the poor, prayer, and fasting. The manner of instruction appears to be quite clear: Jesus first explains how the hypocrites do these things, so that we can avoid their example. Then he tells us how we should complete the activity. And finally he tells us why this manner is better than that of the hypocrites. Seems pretty simple. Well it isn’t.

The first problem is that Jesus doesn’t really tell us exactly WHAT to do in each case. My personal finance for dummies book recommends donating about 5% of my annual income each year. That’s a pretty clear instruction. Jesus doesn’t give a number. Jesus doesn’t tell us who to give it to. And Jesus doesn’t tell us why we’re giving it. Instead he tells us HOW to give alms to the poor. Do not give in such a way that you will draw attention to yourself and your giving, but give your alms in secret, says Jesus, so that only God will know.

This notion of concealing your giving may seem contradictory with the Christian tradition of spreading the good news of the Gospel. What better way to spread the good news then by public example: to encourage others to see your piety and follow suit? The problem with publicizing your good works is that you then become like the hypocrites mentioned in the reading. Now, it’s important to understand what the Gospel writer meant using the word hypocrite. Some readers have taken it to mean the Jews, and used this passage incorrectly to compare Christian and Jewish worship. But the Greek word for hypocrites is actually a neutral term that shares is derivation with the term for stage actors. This actually makes sense, for a hypocrite is a person who proclaims to be one thing, but whose actions contradict their statements. This is, of course, the critical challenge for any actor, to convince people using words that they are someone other then themselves.

Actors only speak in order that the audience may hear them. They only move on stage so that they can be perceived by those watching. Their underlying intention in every act they perform is to be noticed and observed. Such is the case with the Hypocrites from whose example Jesus turns us away. THEY give their alms in the synagogues and streets so that they will receive glory from men for their generosity of wealth, rather then rewards from God for their generosity of spirit.

In the second and third sections of the passage, Jesus instructs us how to pray and how to fast. He does not tell us what we should be praying or provide details about the times for the fasting. Instead he instructs us how to pray and fast, in such as way as to avoid the motivations of the hypocrites who long to be seen as pious, thinking that public approval of their deeds will affirm the truth of their spirituality. Jesus steers us away from that course, telling us we should pray alone, in our rooms, with the door shut. We should conceal the outward effects of our fasting by taking care that our appearance does not slip despite our fatigue from lack of food. We should perform our acts of piety in private. And God will see. He will affirm our faith. We will be rewarded by Him.

It is fitting that we receive the warning about the Hypocrites today, as we begin the forty days of Lent. Lent is a season of preparation and of contemplation, a time for personal reflection and stillness. The idea of having the time to be still is pretty foreign to Princeton students; stillness quickly becomes wasted time that should either be used more productively or spent sleeping. But finding a conscious inner stillness is essential for Lent because during Lent we are called to create a space for God to fill in us. Lent is about recognizing our having fallen out of relationship with God in favor of more material connections and working to restore that relationship through prayer. T.S. Eliot writes about this in his poem Four Quartets. His words offer us a place to start in our efforts to reconnect with God. He writes:

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith

But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.

What we are waiting for is God a restored connection to God. But Eliot, himself a converted Anglican, reminds us as today’s Gospel does, that it’s how we wait that matters most. We must avoid hoping or loving the wrong things, the early things. Our Faith is what we’re waiting for, and it will be found through how we wait.

During the next 40 days, many of us will take on a Lenten Discipline. As a child, the selection of the Lenten Discipline used to cause me a lot of anxiety. I wanted to pick the right thing, but I didn’t know for sure what it was. One year I tried to give up spinach for Lent and I bragged about the cleverness of my idea to my siblings. Needless to say my mother put a stop to that idea pretty quickly.

Now, when I have to make this important choice each year, I will return to my handbook “Christianity for Dummies” (also known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount). Like my other two “dummies” books, it gives pretty clear instructions for me to follow. And I will remember that the whole idea of the Lenten discipline is to be less like the hypocrites, not in terms of what you chose, but in terms of how you practice the discipline. If the hypocrites had taken on Lenten Disciplines, we surely would have known, for they would have announced their chosen sacrifices to the world so that others could see that they were true believers. What they would not have realized is that by doing that, regardless of what they had chosen to give up, they would be inhibiting their own spiritual improvement. As Eliot reminds us, our faith is found in how still our prayer can be, not how visible. The purpose of giving something up for Lent is not to cause yourself suffering, but to remind yourself that the pursuit of worldly desires, whether they be financial, emotional, or egotistical, clouds our relationship with God.

As you select your Lenten Discipline, be careful not to pick something because those around you will notice your deprivation, but pick something that will allow you find a moment of stillness in your day, to create a private space in your life…a space for God to fill.

Amen.

Note: When Chris gave this sermon little did he, or anyone, know that God had big plans for him. Chris was ordained a deacon by the Bishop of New Jersey on June 9, 2007 and he was ordained priest on January 12, 2008 by the Bishop of Massachusetts. He is serving at St. Andrew's Church in Wellesley, MA.