Our Father who sees in secret

Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-18; 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

The liturgy of Ash Wednesday calls us to conversion. Prophet Joel tells us to fast and beseech God for mercy (Joel 2:15-17), and Saint Paul implore us to be reconciled with God (2 Cor. 5:20). However, there are differences. Joel's hope of forgiveness is rooted in the revelation of God to Moses: "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex. 34: 6; Joel 2:13). Paul, however, reveals to us the power of the cross: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). God's mercy and compassion are fully revealed in the cross of Christ. This gives us the courage to approach God, confess our sins, experience His mercy, and begin a new life in Christ.

"Rend your hearts and not your garments" (Joel 2:13). Today's Gospel explains the meaning of this sentence. What immediately strikes in Jesus' teaching on fasting, prayer and almsgiving is the emphasis on making them "in secret." In the modern world with the help of technology, we can easily satisfy our human desire to become famous. The Greek phrase "to be seen" (Matt. 6:1) is the root of our word "theatre", and the noun "hypocrite" originally meant an actor. We can be like an actor in a theatre, playing a role of a pious person and receiving fleeting applause from an audience, but at the same time forfeiting the reward that Heavenly Father has prepared for us.

Those who desire human popularity proclaim their generosity on the streets, pray in order to attract attention, and disfigure their faces to announce that they are fasting. But we who follow Jesus cannot act in this way (Mt 6:1). Our generosity, prayer, and fasting should be discreet and unpretentious motivated by seeking God's glory. Therefore, we throw away the trumpet, leave the street corners, and stop disfiguring our faces. Instead, the left hand does not know what the right hand has given (Matt. 6:3), the walls of our private rooms witness to our prayer (Matt. 6:6), and during fasting, we anoint our heads and wash our faces as if we were expecting the arrival of a special guest (Matt. 6:17). 

Long ago Isaiah said: "Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior." (Is. 45:15). In the same way, Jesus speaks about our Father: He is in secret and sees what we do in secret (Matt. 6:4,6,18). "No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4:13). This is clearly shown in the parable of the Last Judgment, where the Son of Man knows perfectly well what the righteous and the unrighteous have done (Matt. 25: 31-46).

God who is in secret penetrates the heart of man. "O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways."(Ps. 139: 1-3). David experienced this knowledge of God. Although he had committed sin in secret, God knew all about it (2 Sam. 11-12). Therefore, in his prayer for mercy, he confesses: "I have done what is evil in your sight" (Ps. 51: 6). This knowledge of God is also experienced by those who do good, pray, and fast in secret. After encountering Christ, Paul prayed and did not eat, and the Lord sent Ananias to heal and baptize him (Acts 9: 1-19).

"And your Father who sees in secret will repay you" (Matt. 6: 4,6, 18). How? No eye has seen, no ear has heard no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor. 2:9). It will be a huge surprise (1 John 3:2).