Aim high!

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 6, 1-6. 16-18)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“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. But when you give alms, 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.

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. …

“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This is the word of the Lord.

The first word in today’s gospel selection is “beware”. Now, it seems to me that one can pronounce this word in two ways. I can imagine a bully pronouncing it in a threatening way so as to frighten us and subject us to his will. On the other hand, I can imagine a parent or a teacher pronouncing the same word with a tone of love in order to teach us and protect us. How do we imagine Christ pronouncing this word: “Beware”?

There will be those who think that Jesus is always imposing his will upon us in his Father’s name. It would seem that they are right for Jesus told his disciples: “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn 15, 14). For them this would mean: “I command; you obey”. It would also seem that in today’s selection Jesus pronounced a condemnation: “for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven”.

I am positively sure that this is not the case. Jesus is a teacher and a great friend. He does not want to bully us into obedience. He wants to teach us to grow “in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favour” (Lk 2, 52). This is how Jesus grew in the family of Joseph and Mary. This is how he wants us to grow in his family!

As a matter of fact, after pronouncing his rule: “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them”, he explains himself through three practical examples: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. These examples clearly show that his words are not intended as a threat, an intimidation to keep us enslaved. Absolutely! He wants us free, truly free, and so he calls us to aim high in our spiritual life. St. Paul, instructed the people of Corinth: “Strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way ... and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 12, 31. 13, 13). Let us then do things and live our lives not for people to “see us” but for the greater glory of God, for the love of Him.

In his Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, St. Thomas Aquinas explained the words “Amen I say to you, they have received their reward”. He stated: “Here He [Jesus] gives the reason for His teaching. For it is foolishness to lose an eternal reward for human praise; “I am thy reward exceedingly great” (Gen 15, 1)”.

Jesus once said: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5, 20). Here, the word “exceeds” is important, and not only with relation to the scribes and Pharisees, for we are asked to exceed ourselves. Jesus challenges us all: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5, 48). Is it reasonable to ask us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is? Can anybody be this perfect? Yes, it is reasonable for Christ to challenge us to be as perfect as His Father is, because he knows that it is very easy for us to compare ourselves with the person next to us. Remember the parable of the Pharisee comparing himself with the tax-collector at the door of the temple (Lk 18, 9-14). Jesus is simply telling us to aim high, and not to be satisfied with being seen by the others, for the really important thing is how God sees us.

In the Book of Leviticus God asked Moses to tell Israel, his people: “I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11, 44).  St. Paul wrote to Timothy and told him: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim 1, 7). I am reminded how athletes compete with themselves and not with their fellow competitors, for they do not want only to win a prize but to better their own performance. They strive to break their own record. I have a friend who participates as much as possible in marathons. He once told me: “I know that I will never finish a marathon in the first groups of runners, but I want to better my placing each time I participate”, and for this he trains himself.

So, what are we to do?

I remember once, while travelling with some fellow students on a hot day in a crowded minibus, I commented that I would be happy to enter heaven in a crowded hot bus. A professor of theology who was with us answered: “No, I want to enter heaven comfortably”. We laughed, but his lesson was: “If you aim low you will get bad results, if you aim high you will place better”. This is what Jesus is telling us; this is what the New Testament is all about.

That’s it! Jesus does not bully us into obedience. He challenges us to live and behave to the best of our abilities, for he knows that if we settle for little we will get little. St. Paul teaches us: “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work” (2 Cor 9, 6-8).

Let us then ask Jesus, our Lord and Brother, the grace to be very generous in our dealings with Him. We will never be able to exceed His generosity!