Lent

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of the Christian year called Lent. It is a time when we are invited to reflect on life, faith, our humanness, and on the role of God in our lives. A reading from the 6th chapter of the gospel according to Matthew in which Jesus was teaching about the new ways of honoring God, challenged us to consider how we live and how we worship. Three words jumped out at me from these passages and I want to think more about them and about how they affect my life. Hypocrite, Reward and Treasure.
In Greek, the word hypocrite means actor. A hypocrite is one who acts for the benefit of others, who plays a role to be seen and hopefully applauded. To what extent are we hypocrites, to what extent do we play for the crowd in place of genuinely dedicating ourselves to living a life of humble service to God?
Reward. In this passage, Jesus mentions over and over again that God will reward what we do in secret, what we do not as hypocrites, but as genuine people honoring God with our lives. What kind of reward is Jesus speaking about? It’s not entirely clear to me, but I wonder if the reward is the joy of being in communion with God, if the reward is the benefit of being involved in the Kingdom here and now?
Treasure. This is one we all can relate to. The translation of the bible known as The Message asks us to consider that the truth is that our hearts will want to be where our treasure is, and ultimately they will be. Do I treasure God and God’s ways in my heart, or do I treasure stuff and accumulation? What is truly most important to me in life?
Acting, Reward and Treasure: as we journey through this season of Lent and think about our lived lives of faithfulness, I invite you to join me in taking some time and explore how these three words are are part of our lives and our faith.

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