Scripture: Matthew 6:1-21; Joel 2:1-2; Matthew 28:19 Series: Lent
True faith is practiced in secret before God rather than performed for others, and Lent’s penitence and humility free us from the lies we tell ourselves.
Illustrations: loudest-in-the-room, texas-town-church-membership
Ash Wednesday
March 5
Joel 2:1-2
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains, a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.
Joel 2:1-2
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6
Christianity is both public and private, but often in ways that run against common perception. If you talk to non-Christians in America in 2025 and ask them what they think about Christians, the first answers are probably having to do with politicians who talk about their faith in public or who claim the mantle of Christianity in public. This is what people see. People see and hear the loudest in the room. In the Bible, Jesus never tells his students to be the loudest in the room. Jesus says, Go, therefore, and make disciples, make students, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” “To baptize someone is to lead them to the point of incredible self-abnegation that they seek to cover themselves in the blood of Jesus. This is a radical act of humility. It is literally otherworldly. You are entering a kingdom not of this world.
In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has words for those who are the loudest in the room. And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others.
In the places where the world is calling us to be loud, Jesus tells us to be quiet Practice your faith in the quiet of your secret place. The secret place could be a space in your house. It is often also an interpreted as your soul: the interior life. Practice there. It is the place that no one else can see. There are so many ways to justify face based on the expectations of others, but those don’t have anything to do with Jesus. 70 years ago, if you moved to a town in Texas, you joined a church. Whether you were close to God or not, you joined a church. Everything was closed on Sundays. There was nothing else to do. People would look at you funny. The world today is different and the expectations are different, but the temptation of external validation is still there.
Jesus goes over these ways in Matthew 6 about how we must orient ourselves to God independent from the world. And this gets us to Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the historic beginning of the Season of Lent. It is historically the great penitential season of the church. Penitence is the act of showing regret for our actions and seeking mercy. If you never feel like you have done anything wrong, you never have to seek forgiveness. The words of Jesus cut through the lies we tell ourselves in order to never have to say that we are sorry. The lies about our actions, but also the lies about our acts of faithfulness. The lies about prayer and giving.
The hope of Lent is that God will free us from the lies we tell ourselves as we walk with Jesus on his way to the cross. Humility is freedom. Penitence is freedom. Let go of the pretense of who you think you need to be. God has already seen you and loved you and forgiven you. You are free. Walk in freedom this season.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.