Bible Talks - Sunday Night Church
The problem with religion
Sunday, 06 August 2006
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Bible Talk Text
1. Playing to God
I wonder if the names Anthony Hayes and Noni Hazlehurst ring a bell? If they don't, what about Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett?
Anthony and Noni respectively won this years AFI awards for best supporting actor and actress in the movies ‘Look both ways’ and ‘Little Fish. Hugo and Cate, were best lead actor and actress in ‘Little Fish’.
But, whether you've heard of them or not, these prestigious awards: The AFI’s and even the Ocsars with their glamour, the red carpet; millions watching all round the world – are strange events. Because in the end, what we're doing is rewarding someone for pretending to be someone they're not. And the better you are at pretending, the more likely you'll get the award.
But there's another kind of pretending that Jesus says has very few rewards.
Another kind of acting that goes on every day. . Israel is full of it, and Jesus wants to show us in this section of the Sermon on the Mount that it's a sort of acting God's not impressed with at all.
Now, remember, the sermon on the mount is a fast paced, accelerated learning experience for the disciples. Jesus is using this opportunity to point to the people around them – especially the respectable, middle class Pharisees – and say ‘as citixens of my Kingdom, you need to be different to them. Not just a little bit different, but stand-out, in your face different, because Jesus’ Kingdom is built on very different principles to those being lived out by many of the most religious people of their day.
So in this section, Jesus again targets the Pharisees, who he says are playacting.
The word hypocrite originally meant exactly that - actor. Stageplayer. And the sort of hypocrites Jesus is talking about here are people who act as though they're righteous. Who want to put on an outward display of being religious, when on the inside they're all wrong. We looked at that last week if you recall.
Andif you hadn’t picked it up yet, Jesus hates religion when it creates hypocrisy like that. Which is why being religious is such a dangerous thing. Because the things we think of as being religious things, the outside things we can see people doing - they're such an easy trap. And it's so easy to be playacting. And to forget that God's more interested in what's in our hearts.
Again, here Jesus gives some examples: Three religious things you did if you were a Jew. Three Jewish religious acts that they'd turned into hypocrisy.
Giving to the poor. Praying. And fasting. And every time, Jesus says exactly the same thing. Don't do it to be seen by men. Don't do it for show. Because God's looking straight at your heart.
There's a good summary of the passage in the very first verse. Here's what he says. "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."
Now I want you to notice carefully what he's not saying. He doesn't say "Don't do your acts of righteousness." He says "Don't do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them." Don't put on a show. Don't playact for an audience. Because he says "you've got a very simple choice." The praise of men. Or the praise of God. It's one or the other - and you can't take both.
Remember the topic verse for the whole sermon? 5:16: “ …let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV) We aren’t in this for praise of men. We are to be different and do the things we do in order to help people praise God.
2. Giving to the Poor
Well, let's have a look at example number 1. We've seen the principle. Let's see how it works out in practice.
Have you noticed whenever money is being raised by all sorts of groups, they've learned a simple lesson: make the donors very public. So, if they run a telethon, if they read people's names out on the air, they give more money. Especially if you've got a celebrity reading the names. Celebrities and large companies love to make donations to charities when they know the TV cameras and the media are around. How do they give? With big “dummy cheques” with their name in big letters beside the amount. Or by having a building or part of a building named after you or your company. But you don’t to be a celebrity or big business. Turn to someone next to you and brainstorm ways that people seek the praise of other people when they give money to good causes…
Look what Jesus says in v2ff: "So when you give to the needy, don't announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving is in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
I don't know if they really did that. Incredible picture, isn't it? Out on the street, this attention seeking Pharisee in his flowing robes, and he's got his helper tagging along with a trumpet. And they find this poor beggar by the side of the road. And out comes the Pharisees wallet. And as it comes out there's a fanfare on the trumpet. And a drum roll as he hands over the ten dollar note with a flourish. Making absolutely sure that everyone can see.
But if there's no audience, there's no giving. And the hungry bloke on the street can just stay hungry.
Jesus says, there's only one audience that counts. And that's God, who sees what you do in secret. Who sees who you are backstage, where the masks come off.
Of course even in the church these days, hypocrites are alive and well. In spite of what Jesus says here, there are people who just haven't listened. And there are still Christians who give so people will see what they're doing. And be impressed. It’s easy for us do the same thing, isn’t it? And if you give in to the hope that other people are going to notice how generous you are, or how Godly you are, or how wonderful you are, then Jesus says... you're a play-actor. You can line up for your Oscar. And if it's the praise of men you want, then you can have it. That's easy. It's yours. Only don't expect any praise from God. Because you've had all the reward you're going to get.
So how should the disciples of Jesus give? If you're going to be one of these people he's on about who's hungry and thirsty for righteousness, how are you going to tame the tendency to play to the audience? Well, number 1, the generosity should be real. From the heart. Absolutely sincere, not just for show. So to play it safe, Jesus says something here that is the principle in all three of his illustrations in this section. The principle is: let Secrecy Safeguard your Sincerity. Do not act in a way that you are seen to be being generous, praying or fasting Be discrete, he says. Instead of fussing about it, instead of carrying on about it, making a show of it - do it without a second thought. Jesus says, don't even tell yourself about it! Don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
3. Prayer
Well, what about prayer? Because Jesus goes on to say even with prayer, exactly the same thing can happen. An important distinction here is that, while we are perhaps more used to thinking about prayer as a personal and private thing, that isn’t what is being addressed here. Here, the issue of public praying is under scrutiny. The issue that your carefully crafted precisely pronounced prayers end up being prayers to the audience... instead of prayers to God. And the audience might well love it. The Pharisees were great at it. Try to outdo the guy who prayed last week. By going for longer. Using bigger words. Sounding more pious.
But if you're inclined that way, take a good look what Jesus says in vs5-6. "And when you pray, he says, "don't be like the hypocrites - for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Now I don't think Jesus is saying you can't pray with other people. I don't think he's saying you can't pray together in church. Because if you look at what he goes on to say next, you can. He says we pray to our Father. Not just my Father. Praying together is important. But he is saying, don't pray to be seen by men. Don't pray to the audience. Pray to God.
Philip Jensen tells a story of when he was a teenager in a youth group (a long time ago!). In church on A Sunday night, the minister would finish the sermon by praying. In those everyone would kneel to pray. And there was one leader of that group who got into the habit of staying on his knees a bit longer than everyone else. Everyone else would have started the next hymn, and he would still be on his knees praying. And more people started copying him. Including a young Philip Jensen. But it was a nonsense! Philip wasn’t spending that time actually praying, he was doing it was others were and it looked good!
And I have to tell you, I've been to prayer meetings and church meetings where exactly the same sort of thing happens.. People who most of the time speak quite normally, when you get them praying it's full of holy words in a special holy tone of voice that in the end God's not impressed with at all. And you get them started, off they go. On and on and on. As if God weighs prayers are weighed by the hour. Or else if God doesn't, at least the audience does.
Which is the point. Hypocrites pray to the audience. And always have done. Hypocrites pray so people will think well of them.
To which Jesus says, pray to your father in heaven. And forget about anyone else. And so the most beautiful prayer in God's ears may well be the shortest prayer. The most stumbling prayer. The most humbling prayer. Of them all.
And so you can see in v7-15 Jesus spells out how we shouldn't pray. And how we should pray. And he gives us a pattern. A pattern for prayer. A very short prayer. That gets right to the point.
Interesting if you look at v9. Jesus doesn't say, this is what you should pray. As if it's something you've got to repeat word for word. The exact words aren't the issue. Rather this is a model.
A model for all our prayers. A model that's brief. A model that reminds us who we're praying to. A model for the disciples that focuses first and foremost of the great mission of Jesus... to bring about God's kingdom in the midst of a fallen world.
You've probably heard it a thousand times. But run your eye through it from v9-13.
V9. It's a prayer first of all for these Israelites to pray. A humble prayer. That's going to challenge the state of their hearts. Keep in mind, the whole Sermon on the Mount, it's all about calling God’s people be what they should be. To be different. To be hungry and thirsty for righteousness. To be merciful and gracious, like the Lord their God.
So Jesus says, pray like this. It's simple. Our Father in heaven... may your name be honoured. That's what the word hallowed means.
V10, he says, pray for God's kingdom to come. As we read on and see Jesus crowned as the king of God's kingdom at the cross, and raised to rule in earth and heaven. As the gospel of the kingdom is proclaimed to all the nations. Jesus says pray for that.
I wonder if we do? I mean, I wonder how the balance is between praying for the growing of the kingdom, and praying for our needs.
V11, Jesus says pray for God's will to be done. And then for our daily needs. Our daily bread; day by day. And v12, a prayer for forgiveness. Which again is the big idea of the whole of the sermon on the mount. The whole message of Jesus to Israel. That the people of God need to turn back to God and be who they should be. And there are hard words here. He's said already back at the start of the sermon on the Mount... blessed are the merciful, and v12 reminds us of that.
And yet Israel and the Pharisees are so harsh. So religiously judgemental. So quick to condemn. He says, that's not how you turn back to God heart and soul. Pray for God's forgiveness. And make sure you're showing forgiveness to others as well. "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Israel needs a change of heart. The disciples need a change of heart. If they're going to be the people of God, they need to be forgiving people. And Israel haven't been. Which means they need to repent. If they're going to be the people of God, they should be hungry and thirsty for righteousness. And they haven't been. Which means they need to repent. Or else they'll have no place in the kingdom. And it will be handed over to others. Who are hungry for that. Who aren't full of religious pretensions and hypocrisy.
4. Fasting
Well let's move on. The final section, and Jesus is talking about fasting. For the Jews, fasting was a ritual. It was one of the great marks of the Jew. The Old Testament told Israel to fast once a year. But the interesting thing about the Pharisees, is they'd turned a command to fast once a year, into a command to do it once a week. And the Pharisees, they were prepared to put up with a few tummy-grumbles for the sake of the great show they could put on. You can read what they do in v16. Jesus says "When you fast, don't look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting." They rub on the dirt, they screw up their faces, they moan with the agony - because there's nothing they want more than for someone to say to them, "What's wrong? You look terrible." And then they get to blow their own trumpet for an hour about the fact they haven't eaten a thing since lunchtime.
And Jesus says the same thing he said before. If the praise of men is what you want, you can have it. But that's all you'll get. He says "I tell you the truth, they've got their reward in full." An impressed audience, a reputation for being holy. But if they think God's impressed - they're wrong.
Read from v17. Here's how they should have been doing it. And Jesus is an expert. Having just fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. But when you fast, says Jesus, put oil on your head and wash your face. Splash on some after shave and comb your hair. Look fresh, look bright, so that it won't be obvious to men that you're fasting, but only to your father, who is unseen... and it's the third time he says these words... and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Something to carefully think about next time the 40 hour famine comes around…
Conclusion
Can you see what Jesus is doing? He's chosen three things that were basic to the life of a Jewish believer; three religious activities; and he's shown three times how they've been wasting their time because of the state of their hearts.
A great job of acting out giving and praying and fasting. While on the inside they've got unmerciful, unforgiving hearts. Just looking for the praise of men.
I don't have to tell you, do I, it's quite easy for us to do the right action for the wrong motive as well. In fact, it's not just possible. It's very easy. And Jesus certainly isn't saying there's anything wrong with Giving. Or Praying. Or fasting. But he is saying that the thing God's interested in isn't so much the religious act. As in who you are when nobody's looking.
The whole point of the sermon on the Mount, is that Jesus is saying here's what real righteousness looks like. And on the outside, it might not look like much at all. Because all your praying and your giving and and the like, they might be done totally in secret. Secrecy Safeguards Sincerity.
For us as Christians, maybe there's a whole range of new ways we try to do things to impress one another with our spirituality. Think about it. And be honest. Can you think of any areas in your Christian life where you do things to impress other people... so that other people will notice? It's a trap. So let me ask you, how many of the things you do, would you still do if nobody knew about it? Nobody at all?
It's a good test, isn't it? Because then you know it's between you and God. And it's genuine, from the heart.
It comes back to what Jesus said back in v1. We need to make sure our acts of righteousness - the way we serve Jesus - aren't just done for the crowd. That they're not done for the praises of men. But for God. Because what we should be longing for is his approval. His praise. Because – hopefully - we're hungry and thirsty for righteousness... in the way that the Israel simply wasn't.
