The Gospel selection from today’s readings contains one of the trickiest Bible passages for me to comment on in my own style. See, the usual way I approach these meditations is to consider my own life, see how my own history reflects on what’s being discussed, and offer personal anecdotes that illuminate or respond to those readings.
But today’s selection from Matthew puts a crimp in that method. It’s all about how we’re not supposed to do good deeds and then trumpet loudly about them; the “reward” we would get in that situation is the earthly response we would get to such bragging, rather than the glory and praise our actions would offer to God. So, there are two possible types of anecdotes I could offer. One is the straightforward, “So, this one time I donated a kidney to someone who needed it, and I never told anyone about!” type of story. Of course, I’m sure you can see the problem with that; to tell the story about how I did something good without expectation of praise or reward, I’d have to say that I did something praiseworthy . . . which is against the point presented in Matthew. (And, no, I’ve never donated a kidney.)
Conversely, if I tell a story about how I did something praiseworthy, and was a jerk in trying to get folks to acknowledge my praiseworthiness, but now I’ve seen the error of my ways . . . well, I’m kind of doing the same thing, right? I mean, if the “good deed” is that I realize I shouldn’t be a jerk anymore, and I recount how I learned that lesson, then I’m trumpeting my “good deed,” right?
(These are the kind of mental hurdles one encounters when one has a degree in English.)
Still, there’s a tricky word in Jesus’ lesson today. It avoids a shortcut that one might use to get around the difficulties of his teachings. It touches directly on the difficulty I have with this writing, and it’s vital to our understanding of the faith.
If I have a hard time writing about this Sacred Scripture, what would be the easiest course of action for me? The answer should be obvious: Don’t do it. Easy-peasy! I could more straightforwardly fulfill my weekly mandate by writing about Elijah’s whirlwind (mentioned in the first reading), or the Responsorial Psalm: “Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.” That one’s easy to write about!
Indeed, inaction sometimes is appropriate. Jesus teaches elsewhere that if we’re doing wrong, we need to do what we can to not do wrong. (A good example is Matthew 5:29-30: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”) Clearly, the right course of action is to be inactive and not do the bad thing.
But when it comes to fulfilling the words of Christ, inaction isn’t really an option. You could read the Ten Commandments and walk away with the idea that the best course of action in life is to not do anything. If you don’t worship other gods, don’t work on the Sabbath, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet, and don’t disrespect your parents, you’re golden, right?
Of course, the teachings of Jesus make clear that this is not supposed to be our takeaway for living a moral life. When we do our weekly communal confession, we often decry what we have done wrong (covered nicely by the Commandments) and what we have failed to do. Ignoring children in need, turning away orphans and widows, closing your ears to the hungry and naked, not bothering to comfort those incarcerated . . . all of these go against what Christ told us we should be doing.
So, what’s the sneaky word in today’s Gospel selection?
“When.”
- “When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing . . .”
- “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites . . .”
- “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites . . .”
See, by far the easiest way to not look gloomy when you fast is to not fast. But look at how much faith our Lord and Savior has in you! He just assumes you will do these things! Otherwise, he would have said if: If you give alms, if you pray, if you fast. But, no; he said when. He takes it as a given that you would want to take action that would bring you closer to God, and he gives insight into the best way to do that.
Throughout life, we’re all going to face moments where we aren’t certain what the right course of action is. But almost invariably, the wrong course of action is to take no action. The parable of the servant who buried his master’s talents (from Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27) provides an excellent illustration of this lesson.
The comfortable thing, the non-confrontational thing, the inactive thing . . . these are very often not the Christly thing. Jesus had it within his power at any time to avoid his death on a cross. In fact, the easiest course of action didn’t require any Godly powers or miracles; he just had to stop teaching the truth. But he didn’t; he stayed true to himself, and his Father’s commands and plans, even though it was a difficult path to follow.
I don’t know if this article ended up being worthwhile. As plagued with self-doubt as I am, I worry that it involves too much self-reflection and noodling to be of interest to many people. But I’m still glad I wrote it, because it’s made me notice an aspect of these readings I don’t think I’ve noticed before . . . and it spurred me to act, even though my more fearful instincts were urging me otherwise. Hopefully this same Spirit of action will reach out from today’s readings and inspire you as well.
Today’s readings: 2 Kgs 2:1,6-14; Ps 31:20,21,24; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
