DON'T BE LIKE THE HYPOCRITES...
The Gospel gives us warnings today. A kind of "How Not To" guide to almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. I admit it! I have searched for my name in lists of donors and felt that satisfying "there I am...so good of me" feeling. I've prayed with just a bit too much umph in a communal setting as if there were some kind of prayer competition. With regards to fasting, well I don't even try as I should.
But what I take away from this day's reading is a heightened desire to be so unselfconsciously in love with God that gifting my life is just who I am. I want to just do because I am. Perhaps being a hypocrite is like living one's life as a performance, always worrying about the audience. This is a ripe context for stiff distinctions. And being an authentic Christian disciple is about encounters and relationships grounded in mutuality, where distinctions are interesting but not telling.
Lord, as I travel on, make my life a living prayer...without my really noticing.
No comments:
Post a Comment