NOTES for Mat 6:5-6

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus Christ decisively rejects every manifestation of "spirituality for show." Strictly speaking, this is exactly what He denounces in the Pharisees, and this desire to put one's spiritual life on display turns out to be the most characteristic symptom of Pharisaism. The Lord tells His disciples that any things, even the most serious, such as prayer and almsgiving, lose their meaning if they are done not for God's sake. Reading these words, we can pay attention to our own heart: we should oppose Pharisaism first of all in ourselves.

The Lord contrasts Pharisaic ostentatious piety with prayer witnessed by God alone. Praying in secret, communicating with God not for show, we find God Himself in such incredible nearness as no one had ever imagined. To be alone with God is an astonishing gift of the New Covenant and an astonishing calling of Christians. When we read Christ's words about almsgiving, about love for neighbors, about service to people, it is important to remember this call to pray to the Father who is in secret. It is precisely this communion with God alone that the Lord calls the rock on which the whole life of a Christian is founded.

In addition, one cannot fail to note that later Byzantine versions of the Gospel add an extra word: "will reward you openly." This word is not in the ancient manuscripts. Therefore the reward, most of all, does not consist in visible prosperity, which is exactly what the Pharisees considered obligatory. It is remarkable and very important that Christ does not say at all what God's answer consists of. Because for love this has no importance. The meaning of an answer in love is contained in the answer itself.