Scripture
Matthew 6:1-15 (from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount)
Common English Bible
 
Be careful that you don't practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
 
Whenever you give to the poor, don't blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that's the only reward they'll get. 3 But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
 
When you pray, don't be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that's the only reward they'll get. But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
When you pray, don't pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they'll be heard. Don't be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray like this:
 
Our Father who is in heaven, uphold the holiness of your name. Bring in your kingdom so that your will is done on earth as it's done in heaven. Give us the bread we need for today. Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, just as we also forgive those who have wronged us. And don't lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
 
If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don't forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

Meditation
Living Lent - LeeAnn Inman
 
My childhood church celebrated only three high, holy days: Christmas, Easter, and Mothers' Day. We skipped from Palm Sunday to Easter, but barely acknowledged the seasons of the Christian year. I learned about Lent when one of my best friends in elementary school, Joy Monahan, took me to St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church for a mid-week service during the season leading up to Holy Week. It was a cathedral, elegantly ornate in comparison with the simple architecture of our old Methodist sanctuary.
 
I was fascinated by the metal alms box built into the narthex wall. Joy's mom, explaining that the money dropped in this box was for the poor, gave us each a nickel to put in the narrow slot in the top of the box. It wasn't even Sunday! I loved the clinking sound the coins made as they hit the bottom of the tin container. The next week, I brought pennies from my piggy bank and dropped them in, one-by-one, while people coming in for the service noted my noisy offering with approval. I was so proud of myself!
 
I then noticed the old woman coming behind me, who quietly folded a twenty-dollar bill, stuffing it through the slot. The bill had much more value than my coins, but when dropped in the box, there was no noticeable noise. It was a feather falling from the sky, and no one turned around to look. No one recognized the gift. Only God could hear it, I thought.
 
In God's economy, reward has a different equation than the world's logic. Every time we give more of ourselves away, every time we do not ask for a reward, we find that a piece of our own broken lives has been restored. (I thank Pastor Maryetta Anschutz for her thoughtful words on God's economy in her commentary).
 
Much like God's economy of giving, The Lord's Prayer turns our lives inside out. It reminds us that the Christian life is about "we" and "us," not "me" and "I." It teaches that, as much as we ask God to give to us, we must be willing to give to God and one another in return. The hard truth is that the Lord's Prayer is just a starting place in addressing our mess.
 
At the heart of all his teachings to give, fast, pray, and not hoard the things of this life, Jesus offers one universal truth: The world says, prepare for the worst. Secure your borders. Hoard your money and hide it under the bed. Avoid the stranger. Take care of your own and one day they will take care of you. Jesus says, prepare for the best. Live expansive lives. Give generously. Engage the stranger. Care for the needy. As country music singer George Strait reminds us, "The hearse doesn't come with a luggage rack." So, Lent is not about feeling holy, but about lifelong commitments that help us hold on to the things that will sustain and restore us, the "life that really is life."
Reflection
The danger in Lent is that we go through the motions of spiritual discipline without learning how to live Lent. The danger is that we do everything "right" but never ask ourselves how "right" behavior changes how we live our lives. We act one way, but we never ask ourselves: Do we give to get? Do we pray because we are supposed to or because it gives us hope? Do we believe that God is listening?
 
It is a dangerous thing, to lead a holy life, to ask the same questions of ourselves that Jesus asks of his disciples. In these prayerful moments of utter truth and honesty, be assured that, like the feather falling or the paper bill in the cathedral, in the humble act of an old woman or our quiet prayer when no one else can hear, God does in fact hear us. That is good news!
Prayer
Use the Common English Bible version of the Lord's Prayer (above, purple italic type) to pray in the silence of your room. Listen for God's presence in the prayer.

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