Gospel:
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
(Jesus
said to his disciples) “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that
people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly
Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I
say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let
your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be
secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you
pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to
you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in
secret will repay you.
“When you
fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so
that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have
received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who
is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
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Reflection:
What does
Jesus teach us today? It’s about humility and modesty, keep your every acts of
piety in secret and don’t trumpet it to the whole wide world including the
world of social meadia for HE knows everything. But the world that we are in
now is influencing us to discard this teaching of Jesus and embrace publicity
and advertising.
Just look
at the many vehicles of publicity in the internet such as facebook, instagram,
twitter and the like. What are they dictating to us? It dictates us to
publicize almost everything that we do, including our acts of piety.
Nothing’s
wrong to embrace these social media flatforms if we use it to advance our advocacies
with humility. Yet it becomes wrong when we use it to proudly show to the whole
wide world the good that we do . Perhaps Jesus is telling us not to worry if
nobody would notice our acts of kindness and piety for HE knows it already.
What is
important is we do everything for Jesus and for the greater good of HIS people.
It doesn’t matter anymore if we would be noticed or not if people would
compliment us or not. What is important is we know that we have a God who knows
everything including our unpublicized acts of humility and piety. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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