THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Almsgiving, Prayer, Fasting: Mt 6,1-18
The Greek for 6,1 translates literally as: "Beware of doing your righteousness before people in order to be observed by them". "Righteousness" in this verse must recall 5,20 and the greater righteousness required by the disciples and recalls 3,15 as well. We've had one presentation of the greater righteous, the demands of Jesus which go beyond the Law and fulfill it.
It is noteworthy that RNJB is always careful to translate the Greek word as "righteous"
There now follows another presentation of the greater righteousness. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting are the way that this is to be lived in practice. It is to be a hidden way so that the Father who see what they do in secret will reward them (6,4.6.18)
We are looking first at the threefold presentation of almsgiving, prayer, fasting and then reading the Lord's Prayer on its own. This undoubtedly highlights Matthew's pattern, but we need to keep in mind his insertion of the Lord's prayer. We are not aiming to improve on Matthew (which could be a weakness of the editing of the Ash Wednesday Gospel).
In these 18 verses, God is called "Father" 10 times. The Father-Son relationship of Jesus with God is to be shared by the disciples, as shown in the prayer Jesus teaches. Thus it is appropriate that the reward which comes from God is seen as a gift.The link word which is also used for the statements of chapter 5 is "But". Once again, Jesus is providing a contrast, this time between the hypocrites and the disciples. The four elements in each presentation are therefore:
The actions of the hypocrites (verses 2,5,16).
Their repayment, introduced by "Amen I say to you" (verses 2,5,16)
But when you (disciples) (verses 3,6,17)
Your Father will reward you (verses 4, 6, 18)
Once again, it is the NABRE which brings out the nuances, that Matthew uses two words, reward and repay. The NRSV and RNJB just repeat "reward" and so miss the point. The word used for the reward of the hypocrites is a commercial term, it's a receipt of payment in full. "It expresses perfectly the crass commercial mentality of the hypocrites" as one commentator put it. The repayment given to the disciples is linked to the word for "give": "give back", "restore" (It might have been better if the NABRE's "reward" and "repay" had been the other way round.
"Hypocrite" comes from a Greek word referring to an actor who hides behind a mask. The hypocrite therefore is pretending to be someone he is not.
For the background, Tobit was the great practioner of almsgiving, Sirach links alms with prayer (Sir 7,30) and atoning for sin (Sir 3,30). The great annual fast of the Day of Antonement (still important for Jews today) is described in Lev 23,26-32. The Psalter continues to be the mainstay of the Church's prayer.
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The Lord's Prayer: Mt 6,7-15
The boundaries of the insertion are marked by the reward for prayer given in verse 6 and the theme of fasting beginning in verse 16. This is important because the opening (verse 7-8) and closing (verses 14-15) comments of Jesus around the prayer provide its immediate setting.
The prayer is situated so as to be the centre of the triple presentation and indeed of the whole Sermon on the Mount.
Luke more clearly than Matthew makes this a prayer which marks our identity as followers of Jesus (Lk 11,1). Whilst we normally pray the longer Matthew version of the Lord's Prayer, this is always the prayer of our Christian identity.
Following the address in verse 9, there follow three petitions about God (You) followed by three "us" petitions. The fifth and sixth petitions both open with "And" (6,12.13). The last line has an emphatic "But" for being delivered from the evil one.
Looking at the "flow" of the prayer, it begins with the Father and ends with the evil one. In the middle, it mentions earth and heaven, the first part of the prayer being about heaven (6,9). It is then unfortunate that English changes the phrase round. Literally it is "in heaven as on earth". The second part of the prayer is therefore about earth, our human needs.
As a prayer it could hardly be more tightly or succinctly constructed. Commentators also point out just how Jewish is the prayer. It would be beyond our limits to explore that background.
Finally in this introduction, many Christians add a doxology when they say the our Father: "Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory...." This is clearly not original, it is based on 1 Chronicles 29,11.
Line by Line
Jesus opens the insertion (6,7-8) with his comments about the way to pray. The contest of the prophet Elijah with the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18) shows the contrast: the prophets of Baal used many words, they babbled, hoping to find the one word which would stir the God into action. As a result prayer becomes magic. For Elijah, the God of Israel is sovereign and free. It is for the Lord to answer Elijah (1 K 18,37). Our Father knows our needs (6,8) and that is the setting for our prayer. This is still the need to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5,17).
Luke's address (Lk 11,1) is simpler than Matthew's more formal "Our Father in heaven". The use of "our" shows that the prayer is always communal, though Jesus himself says "My Father (26,39).
"Hallowed" is old English. "Holy" may be a better word today because it makes the point clear for our own times: God is father and God is holy. Isaiah frequently refers to the Holy One of Israel.
The coming of the kingdom is central to the Gospel. It is already present in Jesus' proclamation (4,17). It will be fully present at the end of time (26,42).
Bread has many layers of meaning. I mentioned from Exodus the bread of the Passover meal and then the manna in the desert. The first is bread for a celebration, recalling the bread of the eucharist (holy communion). The other, manna, is bread for daily life. It is also a bread which looks forward to the banquet at the end of time (Is 25,6).
Forgiveness is important to Matthew, highlighted by Peter's comment to Jesus about how often he should forgive (18,21-22). Sirach speaks of the importance of forgiveness of sins in prayer (Sir 28,2).
Being tested comes up a number of times in the psalms (Ps 115, 26,2). It recalls Jesus' own testing after his baptism (4,1-7). As I noted there, "testing" comes from God whereas "temptation" is from the devil. There lies a weakness in our traditional rendering of the prayer.
These are but brief comments about this all important prayer. As the bread theme brings out, in one way the prayer is about our present needs and the kingdom already present amongst us. It is though also a prayer which looks to the final fulfillment at the end of time, the eternal banquet with the kingdom in all its fullness.
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