Day Nineteen - An invitation into secrecy

Read Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Matthew 6 makes for a sombre reading- it is full of ‘do nots’. On one level it is a critique of self-proclamation and I am aware of the irony of writing about the shallowness of self-promotion on a media platform that is notorious for it. However, a wise teacher once told me that when I baulk at the Bible’s ‘do nots’ I should try re-writing them positively. I might then see that they are not just a prohibition but an invitation into another, deeper way of living.

This passage values what is not seen and what happens in secret. Matthew uses the word ‘secret’ five times in his gospel and four of those instances are in this passage. Sadly, we now associate secrecy with the bad - the way that those in power use it to control and abuse others. That is definitely not the type of secrecy that I am considering here.

The word ‘secret’ in Greek is ‘kruptos’ which means hidden or concealed. Perhaps you can hear the origin of our English word ‘crypt’ or ‘cryptocurrency’. It is also where the word grotto comes from meaning a small cave containing a devotional image. There is a hiddenness that is nurturing - think of the tulip bulbs in the soil and the baby in the womb. There is a hiddenness that is restorative and healing - think about your day off when people cannot see or contact you. There is a hiddenness that is habit forming and re-sourcing. If I only pray so that others can see how devout I am then I miss out on cultivating a prayer-life that can be a solace when I am alone. There is a hiddenness that develops intimacy - the most private and passionate conversations should not be for the ears of others. Easy rewards come with public display, but deeper rewards come with hiddenness.

How can we give more time to the unseen things that hold us together? I don’t want to add another burden, when frankly we are all struggling through 2021. Can we read a poem and let it sit in our heart (and not post it online)? Can we switch off the TV and talk with our beloved? Can we drink a cup of tea and name one thing we are thankful for today? Pádraig Ó Tuama from the Corrymeela community suggest that Lent is a time ‘to pay attention to the dark earth that nurtures us rather than the dramas that demean us.’

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help us look to less immediate rewards.

Help us pay attention to the slow, the quiet and the hidden,

The richness of the dark earth that protects and feeds our faith.

Until, at the right time, it can emerge with hopeful green.

And be seen not for its own glory but that of the Father.

Amen.

Suzanne Nockels