22 February 2023 – Matthew 6:1-6,16- 18
The three central acts for the devout Jew were prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The only fast actually stipulated in the Mosaic law was that of the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:31), but in later Judaism the practice of regular fasting was common. From the Gospel we know that John the Baptist used to fast and in this he was contrasted with Jesus who
ate with sinners (which is not to say that Jesus did not fast).
For Christians too, these three acts are proper to the Lenten season and can be practised fruitfully during these six weeks and also throughout our lives.
Jesus tells his disciples to give alms “in secret”, to pray “in secret” and to fast “in secret”. Such statements seem to contradict the tenor of what is stated in the Sermon on the Mount: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16). Why hide that which could help one’s neighbour to do good works? Jesus states that the righteous man is the one who does not let everyone know the good he does. The reason could be that he does not look to the consent of others as the motive for doing good. What inspires good works must be the desire for goodness itself and not the approval, consent, and acclaim of others.
For Jesus, those who do righteousness to be admired by men ‘have already received their reward’. Admiration, being held in esteem, respected, admired, praised is a strong motive for feeling fulfilled. Jesus’ teaching is not to do good for the sake of personal prestige. The reward that comes from men cancels the reward that originates from God. The latter is to be desired always and above all.
For good workers…
– To perform good works in ‘secret’ means to place them in God’s hands and to wait for the reward from him, without claiming to get it immediately. It is not automatic that good deeds receive their reward instantly: the timing of God’s reward is not that of men.
– From the awareness of my sin and limitation comes repentance, which is recognition of my own responsibility, suffering for the evil I have committed.
Artisans of synodality in everyday life, breaking away from mediocrity and vanity
Pope Francis
An invitation to set out to follow Jesus in order to deepen and accept his
mystery of salvation. It is addressed by Pope Francis in his Message for Lent 2023, in which he highlights the relationship between the Lenten journey and the synodal journey that as Church we are committed to, rooted in tradition and open to newness: “Do not take refuge in a religiosity made up of extraordinary events for fear of facing the hardships of reality”.
Transfiguration, personal and ecclesial, is the goal of the Lenten journey and, similarly, of the synodal journey. Francis highlights this in his Message for Lent 2023, dated 25 January and published under the title “Lenten asceticism, synodal itinerary”, in which he exhorts us to be “artisans of synodality” in daily life and warns against
taking refuge in “a religiosity made up of extraordinary events, of suggestive experiences, out of fear of facing reality with its daily labours, hardships and contradictions”.
ALOOF, ON A HIGH MOUNTAIN
The inspiration is given to the Pope by the Gospel episode of the Transfiguration on
Mount Tabor. “In this liturgical season the Lord takes us with him and leads us aside. Even if our ordinary commitments ask us to remain in our usual places, living an often repetitive and sometimes boring daily routine,” writes the Bishop of Rome, “in Lent we are invited to climb a high mountain together with Jesus, to live with the holy people of God a special experience of asceticism.
LIKE A MOUNTAIN HIKE
In this asceticism, accompanied by Grace, we overcome our resistance to follow Jesus. To do so, the Pontiff warns, “we must allow ourselves to be led by Him to the heights, detaching ourselves from mediocrity and vanity, on an uphill path that “requires effort, sacrifice and concentration, like a mountain hike”.

TOGETHER
Jesus takes three disciples to Tabor: “Jesus is followed together”, emphasises
Francis. At the end of the climb, the three disciples are given to see him shining with supernatural light. “As in any challenging mountain hike: on the way up one must keep one’s eyes fixed on the path; but the panorama that opens up at the end surprises and repays for its wonder. Even the synodal process,” warns the Pope, “often appears arduous and at times we may become discouraged,” but something wonderful awaits us that “will help us to better understand God’s will and our mission in the service of his Kingdom.

TRADITION AND NOVELTY
On Mount Tabor beside Jesus appear Moses and Elijah, personifications of the
Law and the Prophets. “The newness of Christ,” the Pope explains, “is the fulfilment of the Old Covenant and reveals its profound meaning. Similarly, the synodal path is rooted in the tradition of the Church and at the same time open to newness. Tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking new paths, avoiding the opposite temptations of immobilism and improvised experimentation’.
THE TWO PATHS
There are two paths suggested by Francis to “ascend together with Jesus and with Him
reach the goal: listen to Him and “face reality with its daily struggles, its hardships and contradictions”. Jesus, the Pontiff explains, speaks in the Word of God offered by the Church in the Liturgy and which we can also read on the internet “if we cannot always attend Mass”. But Jesus also speaks in the most needy, as in the brothers and sisters in the Church: listening to one another is “the style of a synodal Church”.
So the Pope recommends “not deluding ourselves that we have arrived on the synodal path when God gives us some strong experiences of communion”: “Let us go down to the plain and may the grace we have experienced sustain us in being artisans of synodality in the ordinary life of our communities”.
P JOBY KAVUNGAL RCJ