“Recognition”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, September 28, 2023
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 (Forward, p. 61) CEV p. 987
Once again, here in today’s passage, Jesus puts His finger on one of humankind’s most prevalent traits, namely our desire for recognition. I would suggest that it is only natural and to-be-expected that we will want appreciation for our actions and behaviours, especially when these are laudable and benefit other people. (In today’s reading, Jesus picks up on four of these behaviours that we would consider noteworthy: good deeds, charitable giving, prayers, and fasting.)
So, what is wrong with these, or with about wanting, looking for, approval or recognition for having participated in these? Nothing, Jesus might say, except for whom or why we are doing them. These are ‘supposed’ to be acts that we do for God, to do as a way of honouring and worshipping Him. And so, if we do them simply to be in the limelight, simply to impress others and get their approval and recognition, then we have missed the point. They are not really for God, after all!
So, just where does this take us? This leaves me with several questions. Firstly, is it wrong for us to allow our names to go up on a ‘wall of donors’ or to be recognized by Revenue Canada for our giving? Or, is it disrespectful or dishonouring to God to accept praise for a job well done? Or, is it lacking the humility or self-abasement or renunciation that is more ‘proper’ for a Christian to accept praise from others?
I would say, in answer to these, is that our giving is actually a way of honouring God, and that, in modestly accepting praise, we can also bless God for the ways that He has equipped us and worked through us. However, hopefully, in all this we won’t get so ‘caught up’ in the praise and recognition that we forget that we are really doing all this simply to honour God and obey His commands. That should be first and foremost: the praise should surely be secondary, a kind of unsought after by-product of our actions.
Forward notes: “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven” (verse 1).
“The metaphor of being seen doesn’t resonate with me like it does with some people. When I encounter that phrase, my mind leaps toward American culture’s fixations on visual spectacles and superficial appearances that don’t get to the heart of who people are. I envision Big Brother surveillance and objectification of bodies rather than meaningful experiences of feeling noticed, understood, and belonging.
“What fascinates me about Jesus’s teaching is its play with these dimensions of social seeing. The two Greek words used in Matthew to refer to being seen are associated with theatre and shining light—words concerned with performance, appearance, and other people’s estimation. The word for the divine parent’s seeing, however, connotes looking at or seeing that can involve turning toward or taking care of.
“I hear a call for us to recognize a profound truth: the God who made us is paying attention. No show is needed for God to show up.”
Moving Forward: “Do you feel seen by God? By others?”