Many of the candidates in this year’s presidential race are deeply religious persons.  In fact, they make considerable efforts to trumpet their faith and to say how their values will inform the way they will govern.  I recently saw a photograph that showed a candidate and his staff standing in a circle, holding hands with their heads bowed in prayer.  As it happens, this particular candidate is known for his literal interpretation of the Bible.  The unspeakable truth is that even those who claim to interpret the Bible literally pick and choose which passages this applies to.  Somehow they determine that the first chapter of Genesis with its account of the creation of the universe in six days is to be taken literally while Jesus’ instructions to cut off your hand or pluck out your eye if it sins – those passage are to be taken metaphorically.  You don’t see too many one-eyed one-handed fundamentalists walking around.  As that campaign photograph shows, that candidate believes that Jesus words which we hear tonight from the Gospel of Matthew are also not meant to be taken literally.  Jesus says, “’But whenever you pray, go into you room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’”  This passage made a big impression on me as a boy.  Back then we read from the King James Version of the Bible, which says, “’But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet.’”  Of course closet is an archaic way of saying room, but as a child I imagined kneeling in the back of the hall closet amidst the boots and coats.  It made prayer seem very personal, very private, and a little weird.  I’ve thought a lot about this passage during this campaign season and have thought that maybe Jesus meant for us to take this passage literally.  I have often wished that our politicians would spend less time praying for the photographers and more time praying in private.

Jesus, of course, is not opposed to praying or even to praying in public, if that were the case we might as well disband the Church.  Frequently the Gospels show Jesus in prayer, most often in private prayer, but also at times praying publicly.  The seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John, for instance, is nothing but one long prayer which Jesus makes at the Last Supper.  What Jesus is opposed to is confusing the outward forms of religion with inner motivation and faith.  Is Jesus opposed to giving to the poor; to praying, or to fasting?  No, he is opposed to calling attention to one’s own generosity or piety.  Jesus says that the proper motivation for giving, praying, and fasting is not to receive the praise of others but to receive the praise of God.

In his concern for motivation, Jesus stands in the great prophetic tradition.  The prophet Isaiah says that the outward forms of religion are useless if the inner motivation is not right.  In the harshest language, Isaiah says that fasting and bowing one’s head in prayer while at the same oppressing, fighting, and quarreling is absolutely pointless.  The true fast involves the disposition of one’s heart, which motivates a person to loose the bonds of injustice, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke. God doesn’t care about the outward forms of religion; God cares about the inner motivation.

Our parish provides many opportunities to be “more religious” during Lent.  If you want to pray more you can come to a midweek Eucharist on Wednesday night or Thursday morning or to Morning or Evening Prayer at 5:15am and 5:45pm.  If you want to deepen your spirituality you can pick up a Lenten meditation guide or a pocket cross this Sunday.  You can attend the Sunday morning adult education program called Theologians under Hitler or the Wednesday evening program called Listening for God.  If you want to give to the poor, you can have a mite box or help out this Saturday with our Second Saturday feeding ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church.  If you want to engage in fasting and self-denial, you can give something up for Lent.  But Jesus and Isaiah’s point is this: We do these things as expressions of our inner faith, not so that everyone can see that we are keeping a holy Lent.

Of course, it isn’t quite that simple.  We all know that the mind and body work together.  Our motivation isn’t always what it should be and we are never free from the desire to show off and look good for other people.  Can any of us say that we pray, or fast, or give alms with completely pure motivation – completely indifferent to how others perceive us?  I know I can’t.  But sometimes when we act with our bodies are minds and spirits follow.  I find the more I pray the more I want to pray.  The more I fast the more I want to fast.  The more I give to the poor, the more I want to give.  One of the purposes of our special Lenten programs is use external actions to train our hearts and minds.  Jesus and Isaiah certainly say that faithful motivation is more important than religious form, but that doesn’t mean that if our motivation isn’t perfect there’s nothing we can do.  Every day we can’t put a little more treasure in heaven and hope that our hearts will follow. Amen.