A PRAYER TO START
Reflecting on God’s now and forever triumph over that which opposes his good way and reduces us through fear and longing, including our own sinfulness, Eugene Peterson offers this brief but powerful prayer. Pray with him and your faith family today…
Great God, your victorious work reverses everything I have ever thought about the world: all the evil I was afraid of is now a reminder of your power; all the things I was greedy for are now spoil to be shared. Thank you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
GETTING THOUGHTFUL
We all expect religion and community to provide us something. Why else would we give time, energy and resources towards it if we did not expect some return on our investment. There is nothing wrong with such an expectation. After all, Jesus says he has come that we might have life abundantly, to the fullest (John 10:10), and the apostle Paul affirms that to be included in the company of the saints is a rich and glorious inheritance (Ephesians 1:18). Likewise, the kingdom of God is often compared to a valuable treasure (Matthew 13:44-46) and we all know that God possess already everything of worth on this earth and beyond (Psalm 24:1, Haggai 2:8). Why shouldn’t we expect blessing, favor, and more than we can imagine in relation to our faith and the family God has lavishly graced us with?
The problem is not having an expectation to receive something from our relation to God and others in the faith family; the problem is found in what we expect to receive. It is this problem that Jesus addresses in Matthew 6.
Jesus will use the word “hypocrite” three times in this chapter to describe the people whose religious pursuits of giving to the poor, praying and fasting—the actions generally recognized as most acceptable to being in God’s favor (Morris, 135)—were enacted with the expectation that such activities would provide temporal, tangible benefits. And you know what, they got what they expected. These people expected recognition that in turn would provide them with access and resources to a favored life—with God and others. That’s why they did what they did, where they did it. Such a life would be materially as well as spiritually satisfying.
Yet, Jesus says that while they did receive what they wanted, their expectations limited what all they could have received—his kingdom and eternal provision from fear, anxiousness, and want. You see, what the hypocrites, those acting in a manner to receive immediate recognition and advantage, expected brought them a lifestyle they desired it also brought with them anxiousness and a heart related more to disappearing treasures of today than the God who gives life, and every good and perfect gift, today and forever. After all, what if no one heard their prayer or saw their devotion? Even worse, what if no one cared?
REFLECTION
Jesus does not, at least here, give a name to the hypocrites. In fact, it would be the Pharisees and religious elite who would self-identify with Jesus’ description (Matthew 21:45). Even so, we can assume that it is those of us who are most keen to religious exercises who need to consider what we expect from our sacrifices and lifestyle. Again, expectation is expected, but are we expecting to little, and thus living little lives?
Use these questions to help you prayerfully reflect individually and/or discuss as a DNA group
- Consider what the hypocrites where after in their actions. How does favor with others and the benefits such favor affords, compare with what God can provide?
- Why do you think the hypocrites where so easily satisfied with they received, and seemingly okay with missing out on the “reward from your Father who is in heaven”?
- Consider for a moment your own expectations. Honestly, what do you expect from a life of faith in God with others? What is it that you want to receive?
- What do your expectations reveal about what it is your heart loves most?
- In what ways do your expectations cause you anxiousness when they are not met?
- Read again Matthew 6:25-33. How does seeking first the kingdom of God relate to the beatitudes in 5:3-12?
- How would you describe what we should expect from a life of faith in God with others based on these?
ECHO
Thomas Howe’s poem I think captures the weight of expectations that many of us carry upon our shoulders. And, not just us, but our friends and neighbors who have yet to come to know and love Jesus as well. We will never live without exceptions, and while he longs to see the future, we, in Christ have seen what we can expect—all that is his is ours, all the promises of God are “yes” in him. May we let Howe's godless cry echo with empathy in our prayers and conversations to respond with faithful hope and love.
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I can't take the mental strain
It's worse than any physical pain
We always expect the most
From the ones we hold close
Why do we have expectations
Reality has it's limitations
The sooner we figure this out
We will be better off, beyond a doubt
It shouldn't have to be this way
This world isn't black and white, it's gray
Only if I could see the future
I could gain some composure
Lets hope things become clear
Then I may persevere