Christ in Your Closet: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 - Ash Wednesday

[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
  ²“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
  ⁵“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
  ¹⁶“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
  ¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NRSV)

Bedroom Closet Before Full by Jacob Tomaw.  Creative commons image on flickr

I remember my great-grandfather coming to visit when I was a very young child.

He came to my room and he said, “this looks like Fibber McGee’s closet!”

I later learned that Fibber McGee was a main character in an old radio show from the 1940’s called Fibber McGee and Molly—and as a running gag, Fibber McGee would open the door to the closet, upon which the contents to come tumbling out and hit him in the head.

I’ve never forgotten that, because I’ve always had a hard time letting things go, even if I haven’t used or thought about them for some time.

This is why Jesus’ teachings today got me thinking—how can you go into the closet or their bedroom to pray to your Heavenly Father in secret—when there’s so much STUFF getting in the way?

But possessions are only part of the problem.  Your mind, your attention, and your schedule books are also stuffed. No wonder church attendance has declined so much.  There’s so much out there to instantly gratify your needs and wants. 

So at the end of the day—do you have a safe and sacred space for prayer and intimacy with God?  What’s in your room—and your closet—and what do you need to clean out?

If you’re like me, there’s junk—stuff you can get rid of but you can’t let go.  In my closet, it’s clothes!  It’s my hundreds of CDs, DVDs, and books I’ll never read again…  So how many of your treasures aren’t really treasures?

Are there treasures hiding in your closet that could do some good if you were to share them?  Are there treasures that belong to you—instead of God?

Are there treasures you use to present yourself to the world as a good, strong person living the best possible life? 

Are there shameful secrets hiding in your closet?  If this were a nineties sitcom, this would be where the mean and mischievous older brother keeps his dirty magazines. 

And inside every closet, there are fears that must be faced, pains that need to be dealt with; sins to be confessed…  You hide these away in hopes of forgetting about them, but they don’t go away—and you can’t get rid of them on your own.  They’re just too big, too heavy,

In the end, there’s a lesson to be learned from old Fibber McGee—the more stuff you have in your closet, the more that stuff is going to bury you alive. 

We all have junk in our closets—and who of you does not long to be free of it? 

As much as today’s Gospel may sound like a divine command to clean up your life so the Lord can come in, it’s actually quite the opposite: Jesus comes to you today in order to help you clean out the junk and create sacred time and sacred space for you. 

Jesus makes such a big deal about the personal dimension of the faith because everyone needs a time and a place for Jesus to fill and consume you.  If Jesus himself needed it, you most certainly do, too—and it is not God’s will to deprive you of it. 

There’s forgiveness to clean out the sin; repentance to do away with the secret and shameful thoughts and desires.  His love is the strength that will help you to trade in earthly treasures and personal ambitions for treasures in heaven.  His faithfulness is the strength that will help you to confront, manage, and overcome your pains.  Because you are a child of God, you need no longer hide away your weaknesses and vulnerabilities—because they will not define you in God’s kingdom.  You can put on Christ—and be the person you were created to be.

Tonight, you are invited into the Lenten journey—but don’t hear that journey as an obligation.  Hear it as a promise.  Hear it as a gift.  Jesus invites you to journey into God’s heart of love for you and the whole world.  Lent isn’t about giving up stuff or doing extra stuff to prove your Christian worth before God or anyone else.  Jesus shows your worth at the cross—and he wants that love to overflow in your life.  So may your Lent be full of sacred times and sacred places to be filled with the love of Jesus Christ.  May your forty days be full of grace as Jesus takes you to new life.