St. Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit –
Maybe some of you thought it strange that we
did the imposition of ashes and then heard this Gospel reading from Jesus: “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the
hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by
others… but when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your
fasting may not be seen by others.” Many people have used this verse as a
reason to not use ashes. And it is all right to not use ashes, because our Lord
never commanded that we use them. But neither did He forbid us from using them.
And anyway, that’s not what this verse is about. Quite the opposite.
In fact this passage from the
Sermon on the Mount confirms what the ashes are meant to teach us: That we are
sinners. That we are not righteous. And that we are consumed by our desire for
earthly treasure that will not last. We are dust and to dust we shall return. The
ashes are meant to teach us. They are not a sacrament or a blessing or an
absolution. They are merely a symbol. But they are meant to preach to us. They
are like a little sermon rubbed on our foreheads. You heard the short sermon
when the ashes were applied: “Remember you
are dust and to dust you shall return.” But you also hear the little sermon
whenever you glance around at your fellow Christians. You look around and you
see little black crosses on your friends or family members that say to you: We
are a dying people. But we are also a people for whom Christ died. This little
sermon is even being preached to me as I look out at you. It’s a good reminder
for a pastor, to see that he is a dying man and that he is preaching to a dying
people. But also a reminder that Christ died for him and for these people. And
that the Word of God the pastor is supposed to preach is the only way for these
dying people to have life. The little black crosses are preaching a good
sermon.
These crosses of ash are not
contradicting Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
If Jesus’ statements about fasting are
applied to the ashes because now your fasting is made public, for people to
see, then you would also have to apply the same rule to the parts on giving to
the needy and prayer. That means you can’t give to the needy in public. No one
can ever know that you collected cans for the food pantry. And you can’t go
serve at the soup kitchen because people will see you. And we can’t pass the
offering plates because then our giving would be public and showy. Same thing
for prayer. You can’t pray with other Christians. Obviously we’ve been doing
church wrong for two thousand years because we all pray together. And even
Jesus made a mistake because He told us to pray “Our Father…” which of course
is plural, so it implies you pray this with other Christians. Of course, this
is not the point Jesus is making. All these things may be done publically. In
fact, Christians should pray together. And the ashes are not a sign that you
are fasting. Who could know if you are or not? As I said, the ashes are a
little sermon – to yourself and to those around you.
So what is the point Jesus is
making here in Matthew 6? The point is that giving to the needy, prayer, and
fasting can’t prove or show to others that you are a good Christian. It’s true
that Christians give to the poor, Christians pray, and Christians give stuff
up. But these things don’t make you a Christian. And you can’t tell who is a
true Christian and who isn’t based on whether they give offerings, pray, or
fast. Here’s the main point Jesus is making: Stop being like the hypocrites. Because
let’s face it – we are – we can be hypocrites.
I think we can all admit to
giving to charity for less than charitable reasons. Serving because people will
see it and thank us. Or being mad when our service gets overlooked and we
aren’t acknowledged. I think we can all admit to praying or going to church,
because on some level we know that it’s good to be seen praying or at church. We
want the recognition. This is what hypocrites want. They want praise from men.
This is their greatest earthly treasure. Jesus said the hypocrites give to the
poor and pray and fast so that they may be seen by others and praised. And He
said they have already received their reward. There’s nothing in heaven waiting
for them because they have their reward on earth: the acceptance, the
admiration and respect and gratitude of men. So stop being like hypocrites. Repent.
We are dust and to dust we shall return. And yet our hearts still cling to this
dusty earth and its dusty treasures, even though it will all come to nothing in
the end. Repent.
On the other hand, Christ, who
had everything, the Son of God Himself, He
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped and held onto
jealously, but He made Himself nothing,
He made Himself dust, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found as a man
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. He fasted and gave
up everything that was His by right. And He gave it all to us poor sinners. He
traded His righteousness for our sins. He gave up His righteousness for us and
died. Therefore God the Father has highly
exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father. And though you are dust, you are dust loved by Jesus and dust
made alive by His holy blood, and your dust will come back from the dust and
live with Him in His glory.
Let us return now to Jesus’
Sermon. What’s so good about fasting anyway? It doesn’t make you a Christian or
a holier person. But our Lord does seem to think that Christians fast. He said,
“When you fast…” The good of fasting,
and prayer, and giving to the needy, is that they all point to the last portion
of our Gospel reading: “Where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Fasting, or giving something
up, shows where your heart has been, what your true treasure was, what you were
trusting in or enjoying more than your Lord.
Fasting is meant to give up
earthly things, and turn your heart to heavenly treasure: to God’s Word, to His
sacraments, and to His absolution. You’re not giving up something for God. It
doesn’t do anything for Him. But giving up something can be for your own good. By
giving things up we can focus more on our heavenly reward. By doing less with earthly
things, we can do more with heavenly things. And giving up something can also
be for your neighbor’s good. Ideally, fasting should lead to giving to the
needy. If you’re not eating as much, you can give food to the poor. In a
country that wastes so much food, it might seem strange to think this way. But
maybe our overindulgence needs to be checked. Why lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and
steal? Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. And it’s not hard to find
these heavenly treasures. They’re all right there in your Lord’s Word and
sacraments.
So let us fast and turn our
hearts from earth to heaven. Let us give to those who need it, putting the
goods of this earth to good use. And let us do all of it with prayer, trusting
that Our Father sees us and gives the reward of heavenly treasure because of
His Son our Savior.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus –
