Spiritual Blindness

Real Christians

Matthew 6:1-6; 16-23

Opening Words: Ash Wednesday is rooted in the tradition of the early church. In the Bible, ashes were always associated with humility and mortality, fasting and remorse. If you had sinned against God, and you felt remorse about that sin, and you were repenting of that sin, then you would sprinkle ashes on your head as a sign of sorrow and repentance. During 6th or 7th centuries, Christian churches incorporated that private practice into public worship. Instead of sprinkling the ashes on your head, the ashes would be rubbed onto the forehead in the shape of a cross. It was a sign of repentance, and a reminder of your baptism. The ashes would actually be taken from the palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the somber season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is rooted in the tradition of the early church.

Lent is rooted in the tradition of the early church. It is a forty day span of time from now until Easter. During this time, we focus on Christ’s battle with sin and Satan that he waged in order to win for us our salvation. The 40 days of Lent do not include Sundays, because each Sunday is considered a “miniature Easter,” a time of joy and celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Lent is a time of Self-evaluation yourself. It’s a time to abandon the sins you have grown accustomed to committing in your life. It’s a time to receive God’s forgiveness and strength to lead a Christian life. It’s a time to renew your desire to serve God, and to be the Christians that God has made you to be. Lent is rooted in the tradition of the early church.

This evening’s scripture lesson is rooted in tradition of the early church. We visit is annual on this night. We are in the gospel of Matthew, chapter number six, verses one through six and sixteen through twenty-three.

Matthew 6:1-6; 16-23 ¹"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, 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, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

⁵"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

¹⁶"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

    ²²"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Andrew Young and his wife did their best to raise a respectable Christian daughter. They taught her what was right from what was wrong. They took her to church and exposed her to the teachings of Jesus. One evening in their church a missionary came to tell about her work in Africa. Andrew Young and his wife made sure their daughter was present. The speaker was powerful and their daughter took in every word. Their daughter stayed behind when the program was over to get more information. On the way home she told her parents she believed God was calling her in to the mission’s field. They dismissed those words as a school girl’s passion. Several years later, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Young stood at the airport saying good-bye to their daughter. She was headed to the mission’s field of Africa. When the Young’s got into their car they looked at the empty back seat of their car. They fought back the tears and rode in silence. It was Mrs. Young who spoke first. She said, “Andrew, we always wanted to raise a respectable Christian. I never knew we were raising a real one.” How many real Christians do you know? Perhaps, this is a more challenging question. Are you are real Christian?

In our scripture lesson this evening Jesus is talking about being a real Christian. Jesus wants our faith to be genuine. That is what Jesus is really saying. The Master does not want us to be hypocrites. He does not want us to say one thing and do something else. Jesus wants us to be genuine, authentic or real in our faith. So when you give to the needy, pray and fast don’t do it to put on a big show for this world. Do those things to cultivate your spiritual development so you can be more like Jesus.

I have read this evening’s text a million times in my life. It is the traditional text for Ash Wednesday. However, this was the first time that I really read and examined verses 22 and 23. It says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad then your whole body will be filled with darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” Those are powerful words.

They stand as a theme for our entire Lenten series. The truth is most are spiritually blind. Most people haven’t seen God a work in our world for a long time. Between now and March 25 we are going to look at eight reasons why our eyesight is so poor. Each sin acts like a filter, blocking out a little light. The more filters are added the less light can enter the eye. In the end, like the passage says, only darkness remains. What are these filters? They are our prejudices, our narrowness, our arrogance, our jealousy, our self-importance, our mixed up-priorities, our selfish ambitions and our exclusiveness. Each one robs us of perfect spiritual vision. It is my hope to help you eliminate to these filters from your eyes so light can enter your body. So you can God at work in our world. We will begin looking at these eight sins on Sunday morning.

This evening I want to look at something different. In the next few minutes I am going to ask you to use your eyes to look at three things. Each one is appropriate for Ash Wednesday. First, I am going to ask you to look at yourself. Second, I am going to ask you to look at Jesus. Finally, I am going to ask you to look at the cross. In the end you will discover if you are a real Christian. So if you are ready say, “Amen!”

Look At Yourself

When you look at yourself in a mirror what do you see? I don’t mean your mother’s smile or father’s pattern baldness. I mean what kind of a person do you see when you look at yourself? Do you consider yourself a good person? I would guess that most of us who are here this evening consider themselves good person. The reason we consider ourselves good is because we compare ourselves to the bad in our community and the world.

I don’t want to shock anyone here but we have some bad people in our world. Has anyone here looked at the local news or read the newspaper lately? Violence has taken our both the city and the suburbs. Places that were once considered safe are now off limits. We have surplus of murders, abusers, drug dealers and sexual predators. We have suicide bombers and human right violators. There are some bad people in this world. Sin now comes in all sizes and shapes. It is impossible not to compare yourself to them. How can you not feel like a good person when you stand next to a suicide bomber? Can you be honest with me? If you consider yourself a good person say, “Amen!” We began by looking at ourselves but now look at Jesus.

Look at Jesus

When you compare yourself to a suicide bomber you reach one conclusion. When you compare yourself to Jesus you come to a completely different conclusion. The gospel story tells us how imperfect Jesus was. Jesus was born in the ordinary way but lived an extra ordinary life. He never committed a single sin. He reward for the perfect life was to be executed like a common criminal. His perfection made him the perfect sacrifice for the world’s sins. When you stand next to a suicide bomber you reach one conclusion about yourself but when you stand next to perfection you discover your flaws.

Since December the first, my wife, Kathy, has been the interim minister at the First United Methodist Church in Niles. She has had a great experience but her last day is this Sunday. Their new minister begins on March first. Kathy is beginning to wonder what she is going to do with her extra time. She has a surplus of energy. She told me the other night she may paint our first floor bathroom. I am against the whole idea because I know what is going to happen. It is the domino effect. She will paint the first floor bathroom, which make the hallway look bad. She will paint the hallway, which will make the first floor bedroom look bad. Then the living room will need some paint and then the family room. The stairway will look a little drab so it will have to be painted. If you are going to do the upstairs landing it will expose the flaws in the upstairs bedrooms. Can anyone relate to this story?

If we compare yourself to this suicide bomber you look fine. If we compare ourselves to Jesus, the picture of perfection, it is another story. Lent is a time to compare yourself to Jesus. You have some work to do. And all of God’s flawed people said, “Amen!”

Look at the Cross

Finally, on this Ash Wednesday I want you to look at the cross. The cross was a Roman form of execution. It was designed to make an example out of the criminal. The cross was a common site in the Roman world. Everyone had seen someone die on a cross. Jesus saw people die on the cross before he went to the cross. He knew the agony that was waiting for him. The dieing process took hours! It is difficult to look at the cross but it is important that we look at the cross. The cross reminds us of God’s great love for us. The cross calls us to rediscover the person inside of you that God intended from the very beginning. Are you a real Christian?

When Andrew Young and his wife got into their car at the airport the back seat was empty. They had seen their daughter grow up. Their dream was to raise a respectable Christian woman. They never dreamed they were raising a real one. When God looks at you what does He see? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”