Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 17, 2020
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
In Jesus’ time people sought God by charitable giving, prayer, and fasting–classic expressions of the desire to be with him.
But Jesus issues a caution. Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting can be useless if they are practiced for the wrong reason. There’s no point in almsgiving if it’s directed toward our own aggrandizement. God doesn’t hear prayer that is addressed to making us look good. Fasting isn’t much good if it only feeds our self-image.
The lesson here is that God is a low-key God who isn’t much impressed by the big blast or the technicolor splash. If we want to get through to him it has to be on his wavelength, that is in quiet and in secret. How do I address God?
