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 alms giving 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 motivates you to do
good? For example in giving to the poor, what motivates you to help them? In
giving to the poor Jesus has a major requirement that you should follow. Do it
in secret without anyone knowing about it.
Why in secret? This is
for the reason that secrecy is the language of Jesus secrecy is also a close
relative of humility which Jesus embodies to the hilt.
The teaching of Jesus on
alms giving is totally opposed to the teachings of this world which
unfortunately many of us follow. This world teaches us to publicize and to
broadcast whatever good that we do. It teaches us to post in facebook and other platforms in the internet our
acts of kindness. So that those who know us may see it and consequently they
will have a good impression about us.
Why publicise? Perhaps
this is brought about by our hunger for recognition. And there’s no wrong about
it for we simply want to be recognized. But Jesus is challenging us not
to go after recognition and to not publicize what we do.
Jesus is challenging us
to silently fade away after we have done good to anyone. Could we measure up to
this challenge of Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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