In last week’s sermon passage (Matt 6:1-18) Jesus rebukes the ‘hypocrites’ for doing their acts of piety (giving, prayer and fasting) in front of others, in order to elicit praise from men. I have always read this passage with an angry tone; perhaps due to the very negative label ‘hypocrite’. Yet when read in the context of the rest of the sermon, with Jesus calling his disciples to live the best kind of life, I now hear Jesus pleading with his listeners to throw off the debilitating yoke of ‘religion’.
When used in the pejorative, the word ‘religion’ refers to earning one’s status before God (or others). Modern Christians might look to giving or prayer to do this; but also to service or holy living. If we secretly need people to praise us for our ministry, or are crushed if someone confronts our behaviour, then we’re not playing to the audience of one. Like the hypocrites of Matt 6:1-18, we’re looking for praises from men. And like Jesus says, that’s all the reward we will get.
What Jesus wants from his people is to realise that once we are in Christ, we are completely and unconditionally accepted by God. As the Nathan Tasker song says; ‘he cannot love us more, and he will not love us less’. As fallen creatures, we will never bask in the light of God’s grace perfectly in this life. Yet our goal as Christians is to let the love and grace of God sink further and further into our hearts each day. The more this happens, the better we can rest in God’s glorious grace.
So may we continue to remind ourselves of God’s unconditional love for us this week, and find true rest for our souls.
Brendan McLaughlin
