“Just for show?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Matthew 6:7-15 (Forward, p. 92 CEV p. 988
“He forgot the missionaries”: it was something that unthinkingly I blurted out which my brother quickly silenced. We were at a public gathering, the official opening of something or other, and a certain pastor had been asked to say a prayer. However, his prayer went on and on and on. He ‘covered’ almost everything and everyone you could think of. I don’t think that he missed anything, but then I remembered ‘the missionaries.’ That is why my brother bade me shush, for fear that the pastor might overhear me and start again!
I don’t know whether this pastor did this ‘for show’ or indeed what his motivation might have been, but I know that his hearers probably didn’t appreciate it for our food was already lying in front of us at our tables—rapidly getting colder by the minute.
Jesus addresses this kind of thing in this small segment from the Sermon on the Mount. Clearly, He is targeting certain prominent Jewish leaders, probably Pharisees, who most certainly did like to make ‘a show’ of their piety, whether in prayer or almsgiving or fasting. To counter such a conspicuous ‘display’ when it came to prayer, Jesus offered a very brief, pithy and to the point alternative, what we have come to know as ‘the Lord’s Prayer. Everything is covered there:
-Adoration of God as Father
-Obedience to Him as our Lord
-Supplication to Him for our needs and those of others
-Forgiveness of our sins
-Petition for protection
(Traditionally, a doxology, a hymn of praise, ‘for thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory forever and ever’, which sort of sums this
up, but really isn’t that necessary. Jesus really covers everything.
So, whether we pray these exact words, or simply use it as a template, a model, doesn’t really matter. It is about ‘cutting to the chase’ and spouting
out a whole bunch of words, as if a multitude of words are really going to ‘get us through to God’ more effectively. It is about saying what needs to be said, simply and plainly and honestly, and being done with that. Doing it ‘for show’ really doesn’t impress God, or anyone else, and really doesn’t get us anywhere.
Forward notes: “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases”
(verse 7a).
“Growing up as the granddaughter of an Episcopal bishop, I treasured my times with him and my grandmother, especially the morning breakfasts when I visited their home. After we finished eating, the family remained at the table, and my grandfather read the day’s meditation from Forward Day by Day. We then all knelt on the floor beside our chairs and prayed together the Lord’s Prayer from today’s Gospel of Matthew reading, using the King James Version.
“I am grateful to finish this month of meditations by sharing that prayer with you and all the saints, who from their labours rest.
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Moving Forward: “What special memories do you have of a family member or friend who has significantly impacted your spiritual life?”