Reading: 2 Kings 2:1.6-14; Ps. 31; Matt. 6:1-6.16-18
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGIOUS PIETY AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICES
There are three principle disciplines that guide all our religious pieties, these disciplines include almsgiving, prayer and fasting. They can be rightly extended to every act of righteousness and service rendered to humanity. These disciplines have not been properly understood or implemented by people, for most people see these disciplines as an opportunity to display their piety in order to gain cheap human popularity and admiration.
The negative attitude towards these religious disciplines has been greatly adopted by many people including religious leaders who should know better. Therefore, it is this ugly and negative attitude that Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today when he warned his disciples not to indulge in any form of outward display of their religious pieties so as to attract the admiration of others. Here Jesus presents how we should properly carry out our religious pieties and obligations, and any service we render for the sake of humanity.
Using each of these three spiritual disciplines, he gave us the basic formula saying: That we should not blow trumpets in the streets to draw the attention of everyone when we give alms to the poor. We should not say our prayers in the most conspicuous places so that people will marvel at our holiness and when fasting, we should not put on gloomy and drawn looks so that everyone will know that we are fasting. Then he calls us not to be like the hypocrites who display their charitable deeds, for they have received their reward. After this, he instructed us regarding the secret practice of piety and promised us that God would reward us for any piety practised in secret.
Thus, Jesus calls us to carry out our religious pieties and obligations to humanity secretly, for when it is done in secret we will receive great rewards from God and as recipients of these rewards, we will be surprised, because we have no idea that we did anything remarkable or that anyone noticed our charitable acts.
For we certainly did not perform the charity to gain rewards. Rather, it is the combination of our selfless, sacrificial and unassuming attitudes that opens the channel by which God dispenses His blessings upon us. And this is evident in the life of Elisha who patiently and faithfully served his master Elijah and received as his reward a double grace of the spirit of Elijah as we have it in our first reading today.
Dear friends, we are called to cultivate the right attitude towards our religious pieties and carry them out with the right intention and purpose, and not just for any selfish purpose. Therefore, we must have the right disposition and direction towards our religious pieties and shun all forms of worldly interest or rewards, so as not to be distracted by the vanity of the things of this passing world. Let humility, faithfulness, and sacrificial love be the driving force towards all our religious pieties and every other thing we do for the goodwill of humanity.
LET US PRAY: Lord God, the strength of those who hope in you, graciously grant us the gift of humility and a sacrificial attitude towards our family, religious and societal obligations and responsibilities. May we carry them out faithfully and selflessly with the right attitude and good intentions? We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.
