Week 18 Day 6
Finding God in the Mysteries of every day
Matthew 6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets,
Jesus’ sermon on the mount literally turned the whole world upside down. He brought to light very clearly what God had been trying to get through to the Jews from the very beginning. It is at one and the same time the simplest of teaching, while at the same time the most demanding and far reaching expression of God’s love that will ever be expressed out of a human being.
Today, if we read these words in whatever translation with an open heart and mind we cannot help but be undone by the power and truth that comes thundering out of those simple moments on the hillside. All exegetical nuances notwithstanding, Jesus put it very simply to the people listening, most closely his disciples, that without the aid of God the Father, which we now understand and express as the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, that any attempt at righteousness generated from within ourselves is doomed to fail.
We are free to accept or reject these words. We are free to accept or reject this Jesus. But do not delude yourself. Without God’s Holy Spirit filling your heart soul and mind your righteousness will always be “as filthy rags”.
Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Larry M Lawrence- Mysteries 