Pilgr-image 24 - From the Heart
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven…. Matthew 6:1
“[The one] who does a mitzvah lights a lamp before God and endows [their] soul with more life.” - Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Yes I know that it may be a bit off to have a photo of a sunrise connected to a teaching of Jesus where we are told to practice piety in ways that are not “showing off” but what is in this for me is not as much the “anyone can see it” nature of a sunrise but the regularity of it. No matter what we do, the sun rises each day, moves through the sky, and then sets at night and then does the same thing again. The time of day may shift slightly but it happens every day, even if the clouds hide the sun, it still rises.
What I hear in these words of Jesus (this verse but also really the next 17 verses that follow) is to simply allow spiritual practices to be a natural course of life. While Jesus speaks specifically of giving, prayer, and fasting, I think it applies to the whole of the way of Jesus. I want my discipleship to be as natural and regular as my breathing and as natural and regular as the sun rising and setting each day.
Rabbi Heschel is also quoted in this chapter as saying, “The true goal is to be what we do...a pious person is who is greater than rituals. The deed is definite, yet the task is infinite.… Even before Israel was told in the Ten Commandments what to do it was told what to be: a holy people. To perform deeds of holiness is to absorb the holiness of deeds. We must learn how to be one with what we do.”
So, there it is...may God help us to make our steps along the Way as natural as our breath and as natural as the movement of the sun every day through the sky.
Ah, yes. Spiritual authenticity is without salesmanship, it just is what it is.
This sentence jumped out at me: "To perform deeds of holiness is to absorb the holiness of deeds. We must learn how to be one with what we do.” I think there is more to this. What about looking for and finding holiness in non-action as well as action (deeds)? Nature is an example, so are the everyday lives of human beings. I rarely see the young couple next door to me. Both work out of their home, so I don't see them together much when they are outside. However, I was recently blessed by their coming together. The young woman was out of town for about 8 days and during that time her husband seemed to be MIA. However, when she came home I saw the garage door go up and he met her halfway to the car and they kissed and embraced. They had no idea I was watching through my kitchen window (Rest assured I was not stalking. I just saw activity outside and my eyes were drawn...) I felt so blessed not only because I witnessed their love for each other, but to know these lovely people live next door to me. Seeing married people kiss and embrace is not a natural occurrence in our culture. I wish it were. Loving in this way is authentic.