As people called to be Salt and Light in the world, we follow the way of Jesus through heart transformation to where the outward expressions of our faith are seen in how we respond differently to the world around us. These responses are on display for the world to see and therefore ask why we are so different. Our faithful response becomes our witness to what Christ is doing in our lives to make us salty and lit for the world to taste and see. Last week, we transitioned into chapter six where Jesus calls us to question our motivations for the spiritually formative practices we engage in, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.” He advocates for a secrecy in these practices where we do not even realize we are doing them. They are merely tools focused on accomplishing an end game of Christ likeness. This self-forgetfulness in our spiritual formation opens us to the Spirit’s guiding in transformation.
I only briefly mentioned fasting last week but it leads us into what Jesus says about our treasures and our worry. Fasting, while it may be difficult, should develop a deeper sense of joy because it connects us to the gifts which make our lives livable. Fasting isn’t about despising our bodies and neglecting our needs. A life of fasting “is to learn to live without what I assumed I could not live without” (Hauerwas, Matthew Commentary). Fasting brings low levels of suffering which reveal our freedom because nothing enslaves us more than that which we think we cannot live without. The powers of this world enslave us to our desires, cravings, personal rights, and ideals of security. Fasting reminds us that life isn’t about bread but about living “on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4).
Stanley Hauerwas always has a challenging word for me and trying to sum up his transition from fasting to treasures would fail to do justice. He says, “Fasting involves the discovery of who we serve. We cannot serve God and wealth, but we will also be told that we cannot serve God and the emperor (Matt. 22:15-22). There is, moreover, a close connection between wealth and the emperor because we believe that our wealth depends on the security offered by the emperor. After all, emperors always claim to be our benefactors. We may regret what emperors do in the name of our security, but we dare not oppose them because we fear losing what we have.”
Fasting is difficult, not because it causes a temporary pain in the body, but because it reveals in us the tight grip we have on our things and on being the source of our own security. In his teachings on where our treasure is and our worry, he invites us on a journey of transformation. A walk with Jesus is one of calling us deeper into our transformation. It is easy to draw legalistic lines in these passages or weaponize them against others. I find it fascinatingly ironic when I read a blog criticizing “rich” Christians for their wealth when the blog was likely written on a $1200 laptop while sipping a $6 coffee. Richness is relative and it is always easy to criticize those who have more than me while forgetting that I am incredibly rich by comparison to the rest of the world. Let these teachings of Jesus invite you on a journey of self-examination rather than judgment or justification.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” says Jesus. Does this mean you cannot have a 401k? Are you unfaithful if you have savings? There are extreme teachings on this passage that should not be ignored but I don’t think you get to those convictions overnight or through one blog. You get there in steps of letting go. We find it impossible to live the way where Jesus calls us to give up all our stuff because we’ve lost sight of what the Christian community is called to be in how we take care of one another. I’m not advocating for communism because that is forced on people. But I do believe it is impossible to live a life fully detached from our things if we do not have a community committed to taking care of one another.
When we “seek first the kingdom and his righteousness” a community will form where there is no need for worry. This is the kind of community that stands as salt and light in a world where things are worshipped, and people are used. Worry is the air we breathe. So much so that we do not realize how much we worry. When our concern becomes the Kingdom of God, first and foremost, we will have no need to worry about the state of the nation, the economy, culture wars, etc. etc. etc. Concerning ourselves with what matters most frees us from the concerns about tomorrow found on the page of every newspaper you’ll open today. We need creative people to step forward and imagine how to become the kind of community where people can let go of their treasures and worries and embrace the peace offered to us through Jesus Christ.