Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
Source: https://dailygospel.org/M/AM/
Analysis
This passage seems long and complicated, however it contains only one message. Every scenario in this passage is described to explain one message only. Jesus first says His message, that if we are to perform righteous deeds, we must not do so people can see them, or we will not obtain any recompense from God. He then explains other scenarios by comparing with pharisees and the scribes. First, when we give alms, we should not let the other hand know. When we pray, we should go to our room, and pray in secret. When we fast, we must not make it obvious that we are fasting. All of this accounts for one message, what is it then?
The message is simple, that if we wish to do something good, we must do it wholeheartedly, that is we must not do it for an ulterior motive or for self gain. We must do it only for the benefit of others and for the sake of the goodness itself. Of course, doing good acts is a form of loving others and yourself. And selfishness with loving yourself isn't quite the same. If you only do good for self gain, to be praised and rewarded, that probably means you don't love others or yourself, for you are selfish. Again, today's passage tells us the true meaning of love. Love is unconditional and asks for no rewards, and love should be the basis for doing good acts. Thus, if we do good things with an ulterior motive, then we do not love at all.
This passage may seem to contradict another passage about us being the salt of the earth and lamp of the world. As while this passage says we shouldn't expose ourselves while doing righteous acts, the other says we should. Of course, if anyone says this, then they're missing the point. This passage is about doing good things wholeheartedly and not for mere self gain. The other passage is about maximizing our potential and talents so it can benefit many people. If we share our work to many people, and let many people benefit from it, that is a good thing and should be done. But if we become arrogant and show of our work only to get praises, only then it is a bad thing.
I'd like to highlight the interesting diction Jesus used to explain His message. He said that if we do what should be done, we will get recompense from God, what does this mean? Recompense can be described as wage or reward. Does God actually reward us? Not directly, it is merely a metaphor for the logical and natural consequence for our actions. If we do good wholeheartedly, then it brings us closer to true freedom and light. However, if we do it with an ulterior motive, while materially we did good, spiritually, we may actually stray ourselves further into darkness. As our actions becomes fueled with self gain and greed, which in one way or another, would spiral down into sin and death. I believe that is all I have to say, have a nice day and see you tomorrow.
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